A cultural form’s meaning is determined by its social field, not its intrinsic content.

Evidence

The meaning of a cultural form and its place or position in the cultural field is not inscribed inside its form. Nor is its position fixed once and forever. This year’s radical symbol or slogan will be neutralized into next year’s fashion; the year after, it will be the object of a profound cultural nostalgia. Today’s rebel folksinger ends up, tomorrow, on the cover of the Observer color magazine. The meaning of a cultural symbol is given in part by the social field into which it is incorporated, the practices with which it articulates and is made to resonate. What matters is not the intrinsic or historically fixed objects of culture, but the state of play in cultural relations: to put it bluntly and in an oversimplified form—what counts is the class struggle in and over culture. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1012

Categorization

• XREF: Defines ‘articulation’ in Hall’s sense — connects to the earlier chapters establishing Hall’s theoretical vocabulary around articulation.
• SEED: The ‘rebel folksinger becomes magazine cover’ motif is the germ of an essay on how oppositional aesthetics get metabolized into commodified style.