Weak Cultural Ties

While reading the Jameson piece after having read the Granovetter article, I started wondering about the application of Granovetter's theories on the ability of weak ties to create broader, less fragmented communities to the idea of "emptied" culture of post-modernism (as explored by the comparison of Van Gogh's "A Pair of Boots" and Warhol's "Diamond Dust Shoes"), and the strength of shallow cultural icons to foster a similar idea of broad communities. Basically, the point of interaction is the idea that broad cultural icons can only work because the ties made to them are predominantly superficial- the ties people create with them are "weak," by which I mean there is little depth to the icons/the ties between them and the audience. By extension, then, the ties between people who are weakly tied to the same icons are proportionately weak, allowing, via Granovetter, for a wider, less fragmented community built around that icon; by contrast, (cult) icons that cultivate strong ties with their audience allow for stronger ties between audience members, which consequently fosters a smaller, more closed system. The depthlessness/depth of cultural icons corresponds to the quality of interaction required between members of its community, which then allows for the general openness of weakly-tied communities, as compared to communities requiring stronger ties.

To contextualize this with a recent example, plans have been announced for the opening of a McDonald's (and a McCafe) at the Louvre. As has been discussed earlier in the class, not all McDonald's are the same; however, this particular franchise is intended to be a complete symbol of American culture, as the museum explained in its statement that the restaurant is intended to serve as the American segment of a new food court. The point I wanted to explore with this example is, again, the juxtaposition of an ostensibly deeper cultural icon (the Louvre; although some people might argue that its popularity severely weakens its capacity for strong ties) with a shallower one (McDonald's.) In a statement made by the museum, they said they had plans for a "quality" McCafe- which I find interesting, because "quality" is rarely the goal of any such mass-icon.

Lastly, the museum said that it thought that the project was "in line with the museum's image;" which highlights the end-goal of the project as a play for a larger community by allowing a weaker access point to an historically "elite" past-time.

- Stefan Offermann