Laura Yaníz Estrada Vivas 1105771

Jorge Enrique Tirzo Morales 1105821

Discourse Analysis
Profr. Miguel Ángel Nájera

Précis: The Production of the Sony Walkman

The book Doing Cultural Studies: the story of the Sony Walkman written by Paul du
Gay, Stuart Hall, Linda Janes, Hugh Mackay and Keith Negus analyzes the Sony
Walkman from a cultural studies perspective. It articulates the sociocultural
phenomenon around Sony Walkman studying the circuit of culture divided in
Production, Consumption, Regulation, Representation and Identity.
The chapter “The production of the Sony Walkman” studies all the factors involved in
the production of this music player assuming that in order to understand the production
of the Sony Walkman, is necessary to analyze the narratives and representation of the
“facts” related to the origins of the product.
Based on Marxian assumptions, the authors say that production and consumption are
close related because they over determine each other. It makes cultural production non-
dependant exclusively of individual geniality, but of a whole set of changes in a culture.
This process occurs because between production and consumption exist an
“intermediary movement” that articulates these two moments. In that movement, the
design plays a very important role because it over determines the effect of the product in
the consumer and the feedback from the consumer to the producer. That’s why the
cultural production is related with the organizational culture and the outsides
perceptions.
The chapter begins talking about the different versions about the origin of Sony
Walkman. It compiles different declarations about who is the real “father” of the
concept. As a matter of facts, there are many versions involving many persons, but it
concludes reviewing the case in which a court concluded that the concept of the Sony
Walkman was too broad to have one single creator.
After that, the authors make an historical analysis of Sony and Akio Morita (Sony’s
founder) using a documental research. It goes beyond a biographical narrative because it
includes an analysis of the sociocultural context of Japan and USA. In order to prove
the hybrid personality of Sony, the author contrasts Sony’s politics against Typical
Japanese Enterprises’ characteristics. It concludes that Sony has an hybrid culture of
production mixing American and Japanese ways of production. As a consequence, Sony
Walkman was invented inside a complex process involving individual inspiration,
organizational culture and historical situation.
At the end of the reading, the author assumes the Marx’s perspective in which the
production and the consumptions are the same thing. Using the example of the
headphone jack sockets, the reading proves that the production over determined the
consumption habits, while the consumers over determined the redesign of the product
by changing the consumption habits. It is an example in which the imagined consumer
didn’t correspond to the real consumer. That’s why the consumer feedback modified the
design of the Sony Walkman.

Strengthens an Weaknesses of the approach

The chapter explains the complete process and transition of the Sony Walkman like a
cultural product. It goes beyond the inspiration-focused approaches describing the
cultural process as a whole. Even though, it is an extremely historical reading and for
moments it looses the cultural studies approaching. The methodology used is an cultural
analysis based in a historical contrast between texts and processes around the
representations of the origins of Sony Walkman.
The authors use cites from Narayan and Katz (1993) to argue that the Sony Walkman’s
concept is too broad to be a single mind creation, contrasted with cites from Akio
Morita (1987) who present the music player almost as his invention, closely related to
his own biography. The historical analysis also cites Sony (1989) in order to compare its
characteristics with those of a typical Japanese enterprise. At the same time, Schlender
(1992) is used to describe the hierarchical structure of Sony.
In the cultural analysis of the production process, the authors cite Karl Marx
(1980/1857-8) to argue that consumption and production are the same thing, only
separated in order to articulate a more detailed analysis.

References

Doing Cultural Studies: the story of the Sony Walkman

Paul du Gay, Stuart Hall, Linda Janes, Hugh Mackay and Keith Negus
The production of the Sony walkman (p. 42-59)
1.- Theoretical and methodological approach
The development of the Walkman is an example of the development of a cultural
product.

2.-Object of study
Factors involved in the production of Sony Walkman

3.- Epistemological assumptions

In order to understand the production of the Sony Walkman, is necessary to analyze the
narratives and representation of the “facts” related to the origins of the product

4.- Main theories

Production and consumption are close related because they over determine each other.
Cultural production doesn’t depend exclusively of individual geniality, but of a whole
set of changes in a culture.
Between production and consumption occurs an “intermediary movement” that
articulates these two moments. (design)
The cultural production is related with the organizational culture and the outsides
perceptions.
5.- Research questions
Which where the elements that allow the changes in the cultural production of the Sony
´s Walkman?
How are the production and the consumption related?

6.- Main methodologies

Documental research
Historical analysis
Textual analysis

7.- Major conclusions

Sony is an hybrid enterprise: A mix of both cultural production Japanese and USA
Sony Walkman was invented inside a complex process involving individual inspiration,
organizational culture and historical situation.

8.- Strenght of this approach

It explains the completely the process and transition of the Sony’s walkman like a
cultural product. It goes beyond the inspiration-focused approaches describing the
cultural process as a whole.

9.- Weakness of this approach

Extremely Historical, for a moment it looses the cultural studies focus

10.- 5 most cited authors

-Narayan and Katz, 1993
- Morita et al, 1987
-Marx, 1980/1857-8
-Schlender, 1992
-Sony, 1989