理论与经验:介入大众文化的两种路径——法兰克福学派和英国文化研究的比较研究

The theoretical or the experiential:Different Approaches to Understand Mass Culture——A Comparative Study of Frankfurt School and British Cultural Studies

法兰克福学派继承了马克思主义的理论旨趣和辨证方法论,英国文化研究则实践了马克思主义的政治立场;法兰克福学派以黑格尔和马克思以来的"异化"思路批判和解析大众文化,而英国文化研究则采用历史主义的现实态度,凸显了工人阶级对英国社会"共同文化"的贡献;法兰克福学派对大众文化所采取的是抵制和超越的态度,英国文化研究则对工人阶级文化进行不遗余力的救赎与正名;法兰克福学派对"精英文化"被褫夺表现出了极其的不情愿,大有用"应然"反对"实然"的意蕴,而英国文化研究则小心翼翼地求证工人阶级文化现实的合法性,更多地是要为"实然"争取"应然"的地位;在法兰克福学派那里,大众文化因为达不到他们的审美趣味而必然招致政治上的无能,而英国文化研究则认为,工人阶级的生活方式,不但在政治上是合法的,而且本身就是一种文化经验。从法兰克福学派到英国文化研究,介入大众文化的路径所发生的变化,某种程度上体现了当代文化批评的一种不可抗拒的潮流,其中,以审美趣味还是现实政治作为出发点,是这一变化发生的重要契机。

Frankfurt School inherited dialectics of Marxism,and British Cultural Studies embodied political position of Marxism;Frankfurt School criticized and analyzed mass culture with an approach of'alienation'derived from Hegel and Marx,and within a realistic perspective,British Cultural Studies historically shed light on what British working class contributed to societal'common culture; Frankfurt School adopted an approach of resistance and transcendence to mass culture,and British Cultural Studies spared all efforts to redeem and justify working class culture;for Frankfurt School, mass culture failed to meet aesthetics and incurred incompetence in politics,British Cultural Studies believed that the life style of working class is not only legitimate in politics,but also a cultural expe- rience in itself.From Frankfurt School to British Cultural Studies,changes of the approach to under- stand and interpret mass culture,indicated to a certain extent an inevitable trend in cultural criti- cism,in which aesthetics or status quo serves as different starting point.