Cultural currency, cultural capital, cultural assets, and watching films as a learning tool
Having been teaching for 2 years now, I see a shift in access to education in comparison to when I started my higher education back in 2012. Freire’s text, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” really resonated with me, and this post will elaborate on cultural capital in the context of Freire’s work and how cultural asset is devalued in context of more and more monetarised educational systems.
I am now working on a repertoire for a film club at one of the universities where I’m teaching, and I wondered how cultural asset could be discussed using film as a learning tool?
Cultural capital refers to the social assets and advantages that individuals or groups possess as a result of their cultural knowledge, skills, education, and experiences. It is a concept developed by the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who argued that, in addition to economic capital and social capital (networks and relationships, especially visible in more wealthier student group), cultural capital plays a crucial role in shaping social inequality and determining one’s social status and opportunities.
Cultural capital can be referred to as knowledge, fluency, and eloquence in arts, music, literature, general feel for aesthetics and all in all cultural/artistic areas. It can be acquired through formal education, upbringing, and belonging to in a specific cultural environments (class?). For example, possessing extensive knowledge of architecture and related fields can be considered forms of cultural capital, but it is driven by determined origin of an individual and how easy was to gain such knowledge, as cultural capital is not evenly distributed in society. It is unequally distributed because, for example socioeconomic status, race, and access to education. This unequal distribution contributes to further social polarisation and can deepen already existing social inequalities.
That, in turn, makes me think of Freire… In his seminal work, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” Freire highlighted the concept of the “banking model” of education, which treats students as passive recipients of knowledge, perpetuating on a hierarchy of relationships between teachers and students. Instead, Freire proposed a model of education that encourages a more interactive way of teaching and an exchange of knowledge between teachers and students in general.
Having been focusing on play and pleasure in my previous studies for Pg Cert, I wondered how such a “Freiric” approach to teaching can facilitate a better understanding of cultural currency and how students themselves can start observing the differences, disadvantages some have, and privileges others do.
I looked for a couple of films to screen, and I found:
“Moonlight” (2016) directed by Barry Jenkins: “Moonlight” is a coming-of-age drama that follows the life of a young African-American man growing up in Miami. The film explores themes of race, sexuality, and identity, depicting the challenges and experiences of a disadvantaged individual as he navigates his life through different cultural (racial) paths.
The film addresses cultural capital and the struggles faced by individuals who do not belong nor want to become belonging to any predictably supreme sphere.
“Crazy Rich Asians” (2018) directed by Jon M. Chu, is a romantic comedy that explores themes of cultural capital, wealth, and identity within the context of the Asian diaspora. The film follows a Chinese-American woman who accompanies her boyfriend to Singapore and encounters his wealthy and traditional family.
The film touches upon issues of cultural assimilation, class distinctions, and the value placed on cultural knowledge and heritage, as well as what is associated with a particular group in a specific environment but is not associated with the same in a different context.
These films offer insights into the ways in which race intersects with cultural capital, highlighting the challenges and opportunities faced by individuals from different racial backgrounds. They depict how race can influence access to resources, social status, and recognition within cultural spheres.
That also refers to the ‘Freiric’ teaching focus where learning is experiential and where self-reflection (acquired through a way of teaching that isn’t prescriptive but based on exchange and mutual development) is encouraged.
Firstly, experiential learning through film allows students to engage in hands-on experiences that involve different forms of cultural capital: by attending film screening events, students explore artistic fields, such as film, and engage with one another regardless of their background. They then have an opportunity to exchange observations, opinions, and critically (hopefully) place themselves in the context that will allow them to understand that they are the agents of change.
Secondly, watching films creates an opportunity (mental/intellectual space) to observe one’s own cultural capital and biases, their own cultural values, preferences, and assumptions. This process can help students become aware of their own privileges or disadvantages and foster empathy and understanding towards others’ cultural backgrounds. In turn, they can understand that both disadvantage and privilege are essential for change as long as they become the agents of change and collaborate to make a difference.
REFLECTION ON ‘ROOM OF SILENCE’ FROM RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ABOVE: Learning about society and social interaction could easily be introduced as part of extracurricular activities, for example, in the form of a screening of a documentary made by other students. A film from RISD discussing the visibility or lack of diversity is a great example of how a form of art like film can both easily and uncomfortably bring to light the conversation on dominant social class and unveil the cultural currency ‘live’ as the audience shares the space, the room (of silence?). As part of the educational dialogue, artistic critique could be introduced after the film. Both societal (political) and artistic values could be discussed as a form of visual experiential learning. Students engaging with a film like “Room of Silence,” which depicts diverse cultural contexts and experiences, allow viewers to immerse themselves in the narratives and experiences of the characters. Some of the audience would easily relate, while others would not, as they both sit in the same room, sharing the experience of space as well as the screen – the universal and neutral object. That, in turn, would allow insights into the nuances of cultural capital and how sensitive, yet intense, the subject can be.
To sum up, the post explores the concept of cultural currency, cultural capital, and cultural assets in the context of teaching and learning using film as a learning tool. It discusses the shift in access to education (from Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”) in promoting a more interactive and inclusive approach to education. The “Freiric” teaching approach can facilitate a better understanding of cultural currency and encourage students to observe differences in privileges and disadvantages, and film is considered as a way to introduce the method. The films “Moonlight” and “Crazy Rich Asians” are drawnin as examples that intersect race and cultural capital, depicting the challenges and opportunities faced by individuals from different racial backgrounds. Experiential learning through film is something I’d like to implement in extra-curriculum to engage students to elf-reflect, and foster empathy and understanding towards diverse cultural backgrounds. Having seen documentary “Room of Silence” from the Rhode Island School of Design I myself learned a lot and I’d like to forward and facilitate such ways of acquirng knowledge and enocurage dialogue on cultural diversity and cultural currency within the educational setting that may be less or more corrupted.