Page 138 - Myths for the Masses An Essay on Mass Communication

Mass Communication and the Meaning of Self in Society

watching supports the idea of universal availability in a society
which is characterized by decreasing media accessibility for the
working class and increasing reinforcement of a bourgeois media
culture.
Nevertheless, attending to the “flow” is a notable moment in an
individual’s search for identity, because it occurs at the site of desire,
once described by Sigmund Freud as the gap between the real and
the imaginary. The media are located in this gap. They require
people to see or listen, and looking (as well as hearing) will stim-
ulate the imagination. Thus, meaning-making refers to the gaze of
an audience and its longings for the objects of desire, which may
include conditions of existence or a state of mind, through cultur-
ally and socially determined narratives. Under these circumstances,
the “flow” of mass communication becomes a voyeuristic experi-
ence in which people identify with the process, that is, with the eye
of the camera or with the perspective of the journalist/writer. By
collapsing the differences between individuals and the respective
media apparatus, reality is no longer a media representation, but an
instance of personal perception; in fact, the media not only consti-
tute people’s social, cultural, and political context, but they also
merge with individual identity. Individuals embrace the subject posi-
tion of their idols in dress, speech, and behavior: as readers, they are
a part of the text.
Unable, however, to also possess – or completely internalize and
control – the media reality, individuals continue to be fascinated by
particular forms of representation; searching for the perfect match,
they are drawn to watch, read, or listen to their favorite sequences
in the “flow” of mass communication.Yet unlike film, which offers
a complete narrative – from beginning to end – the “flow” of mass
communication continues to produce sequences over time from a
variety of media, which reinforces a permanent state of becoming.
Since an understanding about being in the world always remains a
partial experience, the process of mass communication invites indi-
viduals to complete this experience by creating their own paths
through representations of existence with the help of selective reten-
tion, reflection or consciousness, and preferred readings, although
the outcome of these applications is most likely determined by
social formations such as class, gender, or ethnicity.

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