James Marginalised
The Circuit of Culture - A brief Study Case

The 'circuit of culture' is a model of culture (i.e. objects and practices that fit Raymond Williams' social definition of culture, "in which culture is a description of a particular way of life which expresses certain meanings and values").
It demonstrates a process whereby culture gathers meaning at five different 'moments' - representation, identity, production, consumption, and regulation.
Each of these 'moments' is interlinked with the other 'moments' in an on-going process of cultural encoding and dissemination. Taking one 'moment' as an example, the way culture is represented affects how it is identified with. It also affects the way it is produced, and consumed, and also how it is regulated.
The same applies to any 'moment'; one 'moments' nature affects the other four.
One major strength of this model is that it focuses the attention, not only on these 'moments' where power and culture meet, allowing meaning to be shared, but also on the links between 'moments', where culture is mediated.
This process is referred to by Stuart Hall as 'articulation', the bridging of the gap between 'moments' of the circuit. These gaps are populated by what Pierre Bourdieu refers to as 'cultural intermediaries'; by this he seems to mean people in professions like advertising, marketing and design.
However, it seems logical to apply this term to everyone involved with cultural production or reception. The benefit of using this model of culture as a study guide is readily apparent. Paul Du Gay's comment that this is the circuit "through which any analysis of a cultural text or artefact must pass if it is to be adequately studied" seems like sound advice; if these 'moments', and the interconnections between them, are studied thoroughly all of the major viewpoints into culture appear to be covered.
A holistic analysis of the object of study can then, potentially, be made.
The 'circuit of culture' thus enables a thorough study of cultural meaning in an artefact like the Walkman. Any one of the 'moments' can be chosen as a starting point; it doesn't matter where an analysis starts, as long as account is taken of the entire nexus, and it is observed that each moment relies upon the others for the cultural meaning to fully emerge.
Representation is clearly essential for culture. It carries meanings and allows them to be communicated. The way in which things are represented colours our understandings of them and the ways we share this with others. With the Walkman, Klein's description of an unfamiliar product as a "smallish stereo-headphone cassette-player" was helpful, situating the product within a familiar discourse.
The launch of the Walkman was carefully timed to coincide with the school holidays because it was principally being marketed to the youth sector.
For this sector pricing levels needed to be minimized. Thus production was conceived with this aim in mind. Components were manufactured in-house and eliminated where possible through the use of integrated circuits in order to manage costs.The planned consumption base also shaped the representation of the product by those involved in marketing and advertising.
Mobile urban youth (often engaging in sport) were frequently represented using the product. This aimed to promote the product to its market by creating identification within that sector. If the product were encoded with connotations of youth, mobility and sport, people within these groups would more readily identify with it.
As Sean Nixon remarks, tight targeting of product markets means that consumer groupings become more differentiated, and also encourages campaigns that mobilize distinct codes to reach these groups. Sony's press launch was far more than just a press conference; the company initially distributed a hundred Walkmans to musicians, magazine editors and other influential people.
At the official press launch Sony took journalists (who had received cassette invitations) on a sightseeing tour to Yoyogi Park, where they could watch young roller-skaters using the product, as well as allowing them to experience the Walkman personally.
The original product was fitted with two headphone sockets, but this tended not to be used in consumption - a far more private affair than Sony had envisaged.
The redundancy of this feature fed back into production, and later versions just featured the familiar single jack socket. The demand for the Walkman was also far more socially diffuse than had been imagined by those responsible for the original marketing. Sony adapted to the market, utilizing 'flexible specialisation' as a production method (in contrast to the traditional 'Fordist' production line), and producing a bespoke product to a variety of lifestyles. From a single product that was launched in different countries under a variety of different names, the Walkman quickly became a standard term to refer to all portable cassette players.
This made the move to standardize the brand name not only shrewd with regards to creating a global image, but also in relation to the cultural image that had already arisen.Today Sony produces over 700 versions of the Walkman, with annual production of some 15 million. Global consumption is further supported by two things, an international warranty system and uniform electrics (a two dry-cell battery), encouraging people to buy regardless of where they are.
The consumption of the Walkman has provoked several criticisms. Some critics have been concerned about potential damage to hearing by the continual barrage of noise the Walkman allows; others have been worried about public disturbance. These issues led Sony to develop 'in-ear' headphones that reduce sound leakage and require less volume. There is still an ongoing agitation between those who see the product as a tool for empowerment, giving the ability to 'soundtrack' environments, and those who fear the product engenders social atomisation, encourages introversion, and is just plain anti-social.
A thousand words can do scarce justice to either the complexity of a cultural artefact such as the Walkman, or the things that may be uncovered by 'circuit of culture'.
However, it does clearly point to the value of this model in such analyses.

Bibliography : du Gay, P. et al (1997) Doing Cultural Studies, The story of the Sony Walkman, the Open University and Sage Publications, London Audio Cassette AC 2253 Circuit of Culture Video Cassette VC0902 Culture, Media and Identities TV Programme "The Cultures of the Walkman "


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