Page 121 - CULTURE IN THE COMMUNICATION AGE

JORGE A. GONZÁLEZ

lack of self and social reflexivity. Acquiring reflexivity means to empower one-
self, at least to the point where some signi ficant degree of self-determination
can be achieved. That is at least part of the reason why the study of contem-
porary culture through the cultural fronts approach can be useful, not only in
terms of the creation of scientific knowledge but in grassroots terms of getting
involved in the reflexive reconstruction of self and society.

Identity: always dialogical, always plural
Identity is a rather rigid concept frequently used by social theorists to describe
the ways different symbolic universes are constructed and used. In the con-
temporary world, however, the complexity of systems of self-reference has
increased enormously. Accordingly, I will address questions of ‘identities’
rather than ‘identity’. Furthermore, it is the everyday experience of the
structured social worlds that brings about differentiated and differentiating
representations and perceptions of these increasingly multi-dimensional social
worlds. Thus, we recognize and talk about ourselves as ‘being part of’ a number
of imagined communities (Anderson 1983). For instance, a single person can
feel ‘Latino’, ‘Mexican-American’, or just ‘Mexican’ depending on the kinds of
complex cultural tools the person employs in a specific social context (Werscht
1998). The person may feel proudly Latino when Ricky Martin, Selena, or
Carlos Santana is launched to the top of entertainment business by the media.
The same person can also feel deeply touched as a Mexican-American in the
midst of a demonstration against an anti-immigration law. That same individual
may feel simply Mexican through family and barrio memories when eating
enchiladas, drinking Corona beer, and ‘listening’ (singing, shouting, dancing,
crying) at a massive live concert when Los Tigres del Norte performs ‘El otro
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México’ or ‘Los Hijos de Hernández’. This person certainly will never meet
either the ‘Latino Community’ as a whole, or the ‘Mexican-American minor-
ity’ in person. But through contact with various cultural texts and complex
narratives, a man or woman, boy or girl, can have the sensation – the deep feel-
ing of being part of something bigger – in which he or she is included in one
way or another.
The concepts of cultural field and social network will now be introduced to help
understand the two main forces (order and chaos, centripetal and centrifugal
energy) merging in those intertwined symbolic zones I call cultural fronts.

Facing plural identities: communication between
cultural fields and social networks
We know that any kind of identity is constructed into a determined situation,
and that any construction is a selection of traits that fit particular social situ-
ations. Beyond this, we must recognize that each situational construction has a
trajectory; it is built up historically. Consequently, we have a very complex

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