Portent Lore and Medieval Popular Culture

Norman R. Smith begins his essay by pointing out that there is no such thing as “popular” monster lore (teratology) in the Middle Ages, but goes on to say that a knowledge of the teratological thought of, say, Isidore of Seville, may give us a very good insight into the popular thoughtof the day. Ideas concerning “monstrous births,” considered portentous until recent times, tell us a great deal about the concepts men had of themselves in relation to their world, their god, and their historical place, factors which illuminate the imaginatively constructed ideas and their popularity during the Renaissance. Monster lore, of course, remains popular in our own day, hence our passionate interest in the Loch Ness Monster and our devotion to the myriad types of Frankenstein that have appeared recently, a fact that perhaps links us and our time in a rather startling way to the Middle Ages.     

Above Rubies: Popular Views of Medieval Women

Shirley Marchalonis' essay suggests that it is not always so easy to define the medieval attitude toward womerz in such clear-cut terms as the virgin or the whore. Nonetheless, Marchalonis admits that the courtly lady of the romances comes awfully close to the passivity of the Virgin Mary. The courtly lady in the romances plays only a minor role i n many instances; she is the prize, more often than not, of the hero at the end of the story. At best, she is a vehicle ofpassive virture, acted upon rather than acting. Obviously such a role is admired: the woman stays within her boundaries, which are defined by men, and so is respected and desired. One of the popular images of women, i n the medieval world at least, is one of dependence; women exist as complements to men.     

Feminae Populi: Popular Images of Women in Medieval Literature

Maureen Fries's essay, although not about witches, expands upon Elizabeth Tucker's paper. The duality of women i n the literature examined by Fries show them to be virgin or whore: the woman saint is a model of such desirable qualities as chastity, obedience, and fortitude, while the fabliau woman uses her sexuality for fun and for profit. The literature, in both instances, depicts male values in a male world. Ultimately, the popular image of women can be distilled into the roles of Mary, wholly above feminine weakness, and Eve, who represents theopposite. Possibly the only “mixed” image is that of the Magdalene, who recalls the fallen Eve, but who also is transformed into the virtuous woman. The Lack of flexibility, not noted elsewhere in medieval literature, in the perception of medieval women suggests that we need to know more about the society of the Middle Ages and women's place in it.     

大众文化与文化大众

在文化的多元、文化的转型期间,我们有必要在调查梳理的基础上研究和关注"大众文化"这一新型文化形式,并就如何"文化大众"作以新的探索。     

大众文化的批判与辩护——当代西方大众文化理论述评

对于"大众文化",西方学界一直存在着不同的观点.批判者认为其是"欺骗群众的启蒙精神",是肤浅文化的同义语,是美国文化对本土文化的入侵,是民间文化的灾难.辩护者则认为,对大众文化的这些非难关系到一系列价值标准的判定,大众文化和趣味标准不应由意识形态的制造者来决定,大众文化与其说是将艺术降格为商品世界的符号的再生产,不如说它是一个转折点,即终结了旧的文化形式,并将符号和消费引入自身地位的界定之中.所以,传统的批判理论指责大众文化被框定在极度的消费主义之中,风格千篇一律的刻板单调和平庸陈腐,是无的放矢.大众文化或许同样可以对高雅文化说,它事实上什么也不缺.大众文化本质上是一种下层文化.大众用两种基本方式来对待自己的下层性:一是逃避;二是对抗.两者是相互联系在一起的,并且都包含着快乐和意义的相互作用.在逃避中快乐多于意义,在对抗中则意义比快乐更为重要.大众文化的负面影响表现为全球文化一体化和单一化的趋势,对人生深度、意义深度的消解,对艺术的神圣性、超越性的消解.