How Culture Was Brought to Brick Lane - Essay Example

How culture was brought to brick Lane How Culture was brought to Brick Lane Introduction Every town usually has a distinctive feeling of its own and the culture of the place is its unique feeling and attitude as expressed in the town. The attitude may result from history, the people and their interactions in the public space showing that the culture is a process that takes place in the daily life of the individuals concerned. The culture of a place has got the possibility of building bridges on which commitment, understanding and harmony of a community is advanced. Heritage and diversity have become important for towns to rely on in order to come up with specific cultures or the creation of unique identities which they may mobilize to enrich their culture. From the onset, it is important to note that culture is not usually genetically inherited but instilled through upbringing in a given cultural context or a set of contexts that are parallel to yours within which the individual must learn the ideas and absorb them (Yasmin, 2005, p. 3). Therefore, in any given society the members encapsulate the identity of their culture and how it shapes the place and the individual lives in their socio-economic and political well-being in terms of culture. Brick Lane is located in East London, England in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and at the moment it is the heart of the city’s Bangladeshi-Sylheti community, sometimes known as Banglatown.  Since the seventeenth century, immigrants have continuously settled there starting with the French Huguenots who were experts in tailoring and weaving while the Irish and Ashkenazi Jews settled in the place from the nineteenth century into the twentieth century. The major reason for the place being very attractive for the immigrants was to provide semi or unskilled labor to the upcoming industries such as weaving and the tailoring industries. The East End has also served as the first port of call for those that are migrating into Brick Lane as they work at the ship docks and some of them have brought their cuisines into the area especially the curry. The Bengalis from Bangladesh remain by far the most influential culture as after settling there, they established themselves there working in the Jewish tailoring works which they took over before establishing the curry restaurants. The richness and complexity in this specific area can be attributed to many influences especially the cultural overlapping legacy of the groups of immigrants that have either settled there or made a contribution on the composition and the character of the area. How Culture was brought to Brick Lane and its Authenticity Zukin argues that authenticity is a tool of power in that if a group imposes its own tastes of an urban space especially its looks and the feelings around it, then that group can make a claim to the space after the replacement of the longtime residents (Zukin, 2010, p. 30). The authenticity is therefore used as a lever of cultural power for a particular group to claim the space without direct confrontation with the long-time residents that have been found there. Moreover, this authenticity lies in the fact that it has adopted a strong identity and a radical transformation of the neighborhood from its original position and appearance to what the majority of the inhabitants’ desire. The authenticity is visible through the added value of the urban space and its attractiveness and the economic and experience of the dominant culture. The cultural entrepreneurs thereafter colonize the place and turn them into attractions that may showcase food stores as well as fashion chains and this is exactly what has happened in Brick Lane. Brick Lane is therefore an authentic place as the Bengals from Bangladesh have made this urban part of London to adopt their culture without much effort. This is shown through the original Bangladeshi culture as seen through the food and the fashion sense mostly in the form of the curry in the food and the clothing associated with native Bengals. The Bangladeshi community thrives in the East of London at Brick Lane and the current third generation have also established themselves in the commerce and politics of London and most came from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh (BBC, 2008). Most of these immigrants came with the Bangladeshi culture especially on the food with its curries and their vibrant textile market that exhibits their fashion sense. Brick Lane is therefore assumed to be the cultural heartland of the British Bangladeshi community showing how multicultural London has become confirming the notion that the residents of this area have claimed the space and made the community as one in which they belong to (Alexander, 2011, p. 201). Their social space has been conceived through movement and narration and an emphasis on the social agency of the community that resides at Brick Lane basically the Bangladeshi immigrants and the multiple meanings that they have for their community in terms of culture. Arvidson argues that ‘looking’ can be conceptualized as ‘labor’ and the human ability to create an ethical surplus or a social relation which means that there is a shared meaning or emotional involvement that had not existed prior and this is the basis of its economic value (2005; 237). The coming up of cities or towns such as Banglatown depends much on the traditional factors of land, labor and capital as well as the languages of exclusion and entitlement are used for the advantage of the residents of the town. Therefore, the look of cities will depend on what should be visible and the concepts of order and disorder in order to create a symbolic economy for a particular area Brick Lane is famous or its fashion and the Bengali food but its rich historical heritage is defined by immigrants who also include the French Huguenots and the Bengali Muslims as well as a mixture of persons of Jewish-American descent who have also had a cultural influence on the minority. The area is known for its rich cultural heritage and diversity and can be identified by a range of religious and cultural influences that have been absorbed by the inhabitants to have a distinct culture. It is characterized by a large Bengali presence who migrated into the area in search of employment opportunities and safety from the effects of the two world wars while the Jewish who have settled there were escaping the oppression and violence in Eastern Europe. This means that a brand creates a consumer market which when managed well may lead to the improved welfare of a place or the urban space in question (Jensen, 2007, p. 236).Further, the shopping by consumers in this area shows that it is not merely the purchasing power of the consumers but as an act carried out as part of urban life that creates and transforms the identity of the residents (Grunenberg and Hollein, 2002, p. 78). Brick Lane is an international brand as it has been home to a succession of migrant groups who have brought with them fashion and clothing manufacture and other retailers in the creative industries, food as well as entertainment and leisure industries. The blend of the economic activity and the social relations in the area has given Brick Lane an opportunity to establish itself as an important brand where many cultures meet in the East of London. The cultural and creative sectors that are dominant in the area have quick turn-over and share the thirst as well as enjoying the benefits that this area enjoy as a brand. The areas around Brick Lane is a focus for a city-wide interaction and interchange of ideas as it is an attractive location for activities by persons who may be from several cultures aided by the fact that it is just a stop away from London. In the 1990s, the towns in the United Kingdom underwent massive renaissance with an aim of regeneration that was meant to promote culture and attract visitors to the area (Great Britain, 2004, p. 11) through such initiatives and areas such included even Brick Lane which had the Whitechapel Art Gallery and a new institution to be known as ‘Rich Mix’. The cultural regeneration of a place is usually meant to be a meeting of different ideas and culture and this act as a means of branding and the regeneration of the culture of the place (Evans and Shaw, 2004, p. 5). The redevelopment or regeneration of Spitalfields did not take place or succeed but the areas around Truman Brewery has resulted into a cultural anchor that has brought in many entrepreneurs and restaurants that continue to attract different cultures to the area. The confluence of events and the developments that occur within the Brick Lane has led to it being an international destination supported by a cultural consumption which is a great attraction to the visitors and immigrants in the area. Zukin, focuses on urban lifestyles, their diversity and the standardization of cities as contexts for consumption and further assesses the economic viability of urban redevelopment policies, urban renewal strategies as well as urban politics and culture. In the last few years, the meaning of urban lifestyles has greatly changed from social status to that of pursuing cultural capital which encourages various forms of consumption whereby in cities, it will lead to growth of cultural industries and institutions (Zukin, 1998, p. 325). As the immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities move into the public spaces and the cultural field, they make the alternative lifestyles more visible especially in the urban centres where they are more visible. The changes in the symbolic and material composition of cities have the effect of altering the previous consumption as a residual category of urban political economy whereby the new urban consumption spaces relate to new patterns of leisure, culture and travel. The ability to successfully attract commerce and industry in a particular area can have positive impacts on a town and Brick Lane is no exception as these effects are visible through the economic structure and the concentration of activities in this part of East London. The positive effect of the commerce that takes place in the area is shown through the quality of life in the area as a result of the cultural identity that has been created in the public space. This shows that a creative city is one in which creativity can be used to conceive cultural products such as the Banglatown curry powder whereby the idea of the curry has been produced, exchanged and marketed as a brand and an identity to the town. The growth of the cultural industries symbolizes a trend in which culture and market forces have merged to create an economy of leisure, culture and creativity that when combined resulted into the formation and composition of Brick Lane. Zukin in her work ‘Whose Culture? Whose City?’ analyzes the way urban centres and spaces can be appropriated and privatized for commercial purposes and argues that culture can play a significant role in the way cities are controlled. The commercial activities in these urban spaces have got a serious effect on the minds of the consumers who consume both the space and the time. In discussing symbolic economy, Zukin states that it is a concept whereby the building of a city will depend much on the availability of land, labor as well as capital but also includes the manipulation of the symbolic languages of exclusion and entitlement (Zukin, 1995, p. 40). To her, the traditional institutions that control the social and political aspects of the society have become relevant in the expression of identity and those with the political and economic power possess this opportunity to shape the culture and control these public spaces. The upshot of this argument is that culture acts as an economic base and may lead to the formation public spaces in cities or urban centres. From the above argument, culture can therefore act as an economic base in that the culture of a place can lead to the production of certain specific goods. From the Marxist point of view, cultural institutions may establish a competitive advantage in that the consistency of a specific brand may help in the production of other commodities (Zukin, 1995, p. 40). Brick Lane is also listed as a ‘curry capital’ as there are restaurants and places of eating that specialize in cuisines with foods that have a lot of curry as a seasoning from their culture. The Brick Lane Festival which takes place over a period of two weeks includes an international curry festival where the participating restaurants serve special festival menu. Another important factor of the culture of Brick Lane is the fact that it has adopted anchor channels or the ability to identify and domestic the external knowledge from people, institutions and firms to embed knowledge on a person. In Brick Lane which falls under Tower Hamlets, buildings are used as symbolic homes for regeneration activity and attraction of tourists who bring with them their culture. The cultural mix has also brought with it Asian fusion which is a cosmopolitan cuisine aimed at the cultural tourists or those who live in the area but it is alien to them. This shows the fact that Brick Lane has got to the point where there is commodification of ethnicity in a cultural economy and it gets to a point where it is bought and consumed by the different cultures. In Brick Lane there is the aspect of the mobilization of culture in urban regeneration or the blurring of the idea of culture as linked to citizenship and creativity of the idea of culture linked to a specific community and in the latter aspect the idea is usually firmly fixed. In the mobilization of resources for urban regeneration, there is no conflict in the culture and entails multiculturalism and the multicultural festivals are important in establishing the credentials of a community. At Brick Lane, there is also institutional multiculturalism which is simply a continuation from the past and increasingly integrative such as the cultural mix between the Hindus and the Muslims in the area. Conclusion Brick Lane fully presents diversity and culture and its different aspects and is shown either through members of the Bengali community or the immigrants in the area and how they have previously interacted to come up with the area as it is currently made. The confluence of the culture of the citizens in the specific area show multi-culturalism that has transcended the area as originally made but has made it a brand as a culture hotspot. Brick Lane has got several attractions and aspects worth noting that clearly demonstrate that culture played a key role in its upbringing and the past and present composition. It is considered the curry capital of the United Kingdom in that different restaurants offer a variety of flavors mostly drawn from the Bangladeshi culture of most residents there. The art in the streets of Brick Lane also show a continuous shift and coming together of different cultures for example the Huguenots to the Muslims as well as the Jews who have in one way or the other left an impact on the culture of the place. Reference List Alexander, C. (2011). Making Bengali Brick Lane: claiming and contesting space in East London. The British Journal of Sociology. 62. 201-20.  Arvidsson, A. (2005) ‘Brands: a critical perspective’, Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol 5(2): 235-258. Evans, G., & Shaw, P. (2004). The contribution of culture to regeneration in the UK: a review of evidence : a report to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. [London], London Metropolitan University. Great Britain. (2004). Culture at the heart of regeneration. [London], Dept. for Culture, Media and Sport. Grunenberg, C. &Hollein, M (2002) Shopping: A Century of Art & Consumer Culture. Frankfurt: HatjeCantz Publishers. Jensen, O. (2007) ‘Culture Stories: Understanding Cultural Urban Branding’. Planning Theory 6(3): 211-236. Yasmin H. (2005). Writing diaspora: South Asian women, culture, and ethnicity.Aldershot, Hants, England, Ashgate. Zukin, S. (1995). ‘Whose Culture? Whose City?’ The cultures of cities. Cambridge, MA, Blackwell. Zukin, S. (1998). Urban Lifestyles: Diversity and Standardisation in Spaces of Consumption. Urban Studies. 35, 825-839. Zukin, S. (2010).Naked city: the death and life of authentic urban places. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Read More