Mainstream
From Wikinfo
- For criticism see Criticism of Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority. It is a term most often applied in the arts (i.e., music, literature, and performance). This includes:
- something that is available to the general public;
- something that has ties to corporate or commercial entities.
As such, the mainstream includes all popular culture, typically disseminated by mass media. The opposite of the mainstream are subcultures, countercultures, cult followings, underground cultures and (in fiction) genre. Additionally, mainstream is sometimes a codeword used for an actual ethnocentric or hegemonic subculture point of view, especially when delivered in a culture war speech. It is sometimes used as a pejorative term. In the United States, mainline churches are sometimes referred to synonymously as "mainstream."[1][2]
Contents |
Media
In literature
In literature, particularly in literary criticism, "mainstream" is used to designate traditional realistic or mimetic fiction, as opposed to genre fictions such as science fiction, romance novels and mysteries, as well as to experimental fiction.
In music
Mainstream music denotes music that is familiar to the masses, as for example popular music, pop music, middle of the road music, rap or soft rock; but it should be noted jazz is generally seen as an evolution of be-bop, which was originally regarded as radical, and now wants to be seen as mainstream.
Opposing mainstream music is the music of subcultures. This exists in virtually all genres of music and is found commonly in punk rock, indie rock, anti-folk and Heavy Metal, among others. In the 1960s this music was exemplified by the music of the hippie counterculture. In more recent years alternative rock, such as the music of Nirvana, has managed to express musical nonconformity while still working within the confines of the mainstream music market.
In sociology
Gender mainstreaming
The difference of male and female, in the sense that we are distinguished as inconformant.
Education
Mainstreaming is the practice of bringing disabled students and into the “mainstream” of student life. Mainstreamed students attend some classes with typical students and other classes with students that have similar disabilities. Mainstreaming represents a midpoint between full inclusion (all students spend all day in the regular classroom) and dedicated, self-contained classrooms or special schools (disabled students are isolated with other disabled students).
References
- ^ Caldwell, John. "Faith in school: as mainstream churches continue to wrestle with homosexuality, some religious colleges are taking an increasingly welcoming attitude toward gay students,", The Advocate Sept 2, 2003
- ^ Baer, Hans A. "Black Mainstream Churches; Emancipatory or Accommodative Responses to Racism and Social Stratification in American Society?" Review of Religious Research Vol. 30, No. 2 (Dec., 1988), pp. 162-176
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Mainstream. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of this Wikinfo article is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. |
