The Marxist Version of Culture of Above and Below at Starbucks with proof of Saussure's Theory of Signs and Imagery.
A few hours observing just the day to day operations and surrounding’s of a local Starbucks at Nordhoff and Woodley in Northridge really puts into perspective the culture from above and below as discussed in Chapter 1 - Introduction” “The Politics of Culture” by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan and the Theory of the division of class by Karl Marx (Barker 14)
The smell of coffee is fresh, strong and thick in the air. There are even a few grinds in the air flying around like snowflakes. It’s 8 a.m and right in the middle of rush hour. Espresso machines are fully working, steamers are going off, names are being taken and names are being called. It’s almost like an assembly line. Come in, order your coffee, pay, give your initials, walk to the corner, and wait for y Saussure our initials to be called. It’s a busy day today, or maybe this is how it is every day. I can hear the variations in people’s order. Black coffee, no cream, extra cream, extra shot, multiple extra shots, decaf, soy milk, coconut milk, blended, iced and the list just goes on and on. They are many people who come by themselves, probably the majority is one person customers, some customers do come in multiples. Everyone seems so disconnected and so disinterested. Even though people are in such close proximity of another person, everyone’s seems so engrossed with the phones, iPads, iPods or newspapers. There is no level of social connection. The only verbal communication that occurs is between the baristas and customers. Very little to non communication between customers, you can hear the baristas loud and clear with the orders. There are three employees working. One takes orders, while the other two make and serve the drinks. People are very professionally dressed. Most slacks and suits are the mode of uniform here. Very few people in jeans or shorts and the same with sandals and slippers, definitely looks like the people are in a hurry to get going. Not a feeling a calm, but rather of feeling of rush is in the air. Customer walks in yelling loudly at someone on his phone, startles the crowd and breaks the silence. He is yelling at someone, and using loud and foul language. Customer’s and baristas stare at him and he leaves the store and continues yelling outside. That opens up the room for discussion. A lady comments about how rude that was and people agree. The line is getting longer and two lines have now been formed. There is only one cashier. People are expressing their frustration and ask for another cashier. Barista informs them that a new employee should be here in five minutes. The store is loud. You can hear almost every machine being fully used, coffee is being grinded, milk is being steamed, espresso and cappuccinos are being served, refrigerators and coolers are being open and shut, whipped cream is being spilled, pastries, Danishes and bagels are being consumed, and newspapers, Cd’s and coffee mugs are also being purchased. Its 9:08 a.m. and a new barista and taken over a new cash register. The lines start moving more quickly and customers express their pleasure at that. More and more people are walking in. The door barely closes. All seats and tables are occupied now. Laptops are out, so are the books, notepads and papers. There are just a handful of students here. A group in the corner forms, adjoining tables and forming a discussion. It is a Math study group. They are all expressing displeasure on the subject. A few of them leave to order drinks, while the other’s pulls books and calculators out. On the table next to them, a young man is on his computer. He seems bothered by the forming of the group. He seems to be shielding his laptop screen from the eyes of other people. He continues working on his laptop. As the students return with their drinks and discussions begin to form, the young male with the laptop seems perturbed and shuts his laptop and leaves the store. Another employee is also working now. There are a five in total now. The line has slowed down, and the rush has dissolved. Baristas seems to be calm and joking around. Two young males walk in, one is wearing shorts and slippers and the other is wearing jeans. They are speaking a language other than English and are being very loud. They seem to be on drugs. Other people are staring at them. They order coffee and continue to be loud in conversation while waiting for their drinks. While no one says anything it seems they are disturbed by it. There drinks are called out; the loud customers get their drinks and leave the store.
What I saw through my observations was a clear example of and influence of a culture from above (Rivkin, Ryan). What we see through Starbucks is a direct culture from above. It is a Marx like theory based system where there is social division of class and power (Barker 56). This is further evident by the very similar social class of people that were the most frequent customers. As observed above over abundant similarities of the same way of clothing – the suit, the tie, the good perfume and the professional look. In age, we see mostly people from the working class age (25-55). What was absent was a fair distribution of young adults aged 15-22 and older citizens in the ages of 65+.
Starbucks is an example of culture from above in the sense that it is “Owned by large corporations and largely run by men. Generated by those at the top of the social hierarchy, the media inevitably further attitudes and perceptions that assure its continuation.” (Rivkin, Ryan).
When looked at from a Marx point of view where he talks about social divisions of class (Barker, 14), we see a division of class between of Starbucks customers. As noted in my observations, there was a division of age and class. The age was a steady range of 25-55, and many working professionals were the main job description. By working professionals, I mean people in suits and tires, with polished boots and cuff links - Someone who looked like they were going to go work an office as opposed to doing construction. I noted is as a division of social class at its finest, as even though it is not planned in such a way, it occurs naturally.
We also see a relation to the theory of “Capitalism” as in discussed in the Barker book on page 13. “The centerpiece of Marx’s work was an analysis of the dynamics of capitalism. This is a mode of production premised on the private ownership of the means of production. The fundamental class division of capitalism is between those who own the means of production, the bourgeoisie, and those who, being a property less proletariat, must sell their labor to survive” (Barker 13). We can see this division of social class and the theory of Capitalism as we can see a clear division between the owners of the means of production and everyone else. Essentially, the owners of the means of production are the few top people of power at the top. Everyone else, including the lower level of employees of Starbucks to the customers, are the other part of the division, one’s who must sell their labor to survive.
We can also see relations to the development of structuralism as discussed by Ferdinand de Saussure (Barker 16). Saussure argues that meaning is generated through a system of structured differences in language. We see that this evident in the way Starbucks markets it’s product. The create names and signs that are hallmarks and instantly recognizable to their product. Words such as Tall, Venti or Grande in relation to sizes are unique to Starbucks. And the ever so famous “Frappacino” – both the word and it’s image... The image of an ice blended coffee drink with whipped cream on top has become synonymous to Starbucks. The similar drink else at some establishment would be called a shake or a smoothie, but at Starbucks they have the image familiarized with a Frappacino. We see the imagery of signs even further developed by the Starbucks symbol/logo. Through the years, Starbucks has gradually moved away from putting their name of their products and have instead replaced it with just a symbol, a symbol of a mermaid, which is their trademarked logo. This shows their intention to become a global icon and powerhouse who wants people to recognize their company and product by nor just name, but something as simple and powerful as an image, and that image that is their logo.
In conclusion, I would say the Starbucks is an example of Culture from above as well as can be seen as a social division or class like division as discussed by Karl Marx. We also see a division of class based on the theory of Capitalism. At the first level we see a division of class when seen as a division of class between the people who are customers and the people who are the employees. At the second level, we see the theory of capitalism as discussed by Karl Marx. We see a division of class between the few at the top of the ladder, ones that control the means of production, and the others must sell their labor in order to survive. We are also able to make a connection between the developments of structuralism to the use of Starbucks imagery as discussed by Ferdinand De Saussure. We see that Starbucks is trying to make imagery as part of their name. We see this further cemented by how Starbucks is taking their name off of their logo and replacing it just the logo itself. This is a move by Starbucks in the direction to become a more powerful and global icon. This a move by Starbucks to cement it’s place as a Culture from above, this is a move by Starbucks to make and set itself apart as a higher division of class as discussed b Karl Marx, this is a move by Starbucks to be known only as an image, not even as Starbucks anymore. This is a move to be the next Apple.
Works Cited
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications Ltd. 2008. (Pages 14, 56, 13, 16, 18)
Rivkin, Julie, and Ryan, Michaels. Chapter 1 Introduction: “The Politics of Culture”. Malden: Blackwell, 1998
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