Page 137 - Myths for the Masses An Essay on Mass Communication

Mass Communication and the Meaning of Self in Society

Thus, material objects, people, or events and immaterial feelings
or ideas are produced, defined, described, and sometimes reproduced
for emphasis; feelings or ideas are reconstructed in language or visual
performances with growing confidence in the workings of the
public imagination, for instance when it comes to understanding
and constructing the meaning of film narratives, literary genres,
or journalistic styles. Individuals encounter the narratives of mass
communication as a matter of course; they are involved in the daily
routines of making sense of a world of events and opinions that
exists solely in media reproductions and is disclosed through
drawing on a familiarity with culture and society that comes from
memory and history.
In fact, the notion of “flow” suggests a proximity to film or to
the experience with surfaces and interiors that unites literature and
film and extends beyond them to other media. Exposure to the
narratives of the media, in general, is a social event that involves
individuals whose collective consciousness is reconstituted in
notions of spectatorship, audience, or readership. Like film, which
needs to specify its audience, the media must also engage in efforts
– beyond advertising – to attract and keep individuals through
developing a type of brand recognition or genre loyalty. The latter
is frequently established with the aid of personalities, or movie stars,
whose presence is apt to guarantee popularity and success of the
medium. The construction of stars or personalities occurs through
the combined efforts of different media, from fanzines to the daily
press, and from broadcasting to film and television, and helps chart
a specific course of consumption for the individual fan. The latter
is interested not only in the activities of favorite personalities, but
uses them – like the imagery of people in general – to materialize
issues or ideas, such as social or political positions or more abstract
philosophical notions.
The “flow” of mass communication offers representations that
serve specific purposes for specific audiences, although not every-
body participates in this process, since rising prices – and increas-
ing sophistication – make attending to the “flow” of mass
communication an elitist practice. For instance, while movie-
going accentuates growing social and cultural differences, television

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