Page 96 - Myths for the Masses An Essay on Mass Communication

Mass Communication and the Promise of Democracy

case, becomes communal and intimate again; its growing exclusiv-
ity reflects an idea of democratic communication that stimulated its
rise as a political symbol and an expression of democratic practice
in the first place.
But the demise of mass communication as an element of demo-
cratic practices within national boundaries has been successfully
obscured by a growing interest in the politics of globalization.These
(political) interests have seized on collective experiences with the
process and effect of global communication during half a century
of commercially generating and disseminating ideologically charged
information and entertainment throughout the world. From
Hollywood film to CNN television, mass communication enterprise
produces global audiences and meets global commitments in a his-
torical process of cultural leveling that replaces authentic feelings of
belonging to the local with a false sense of belonging to the world.
Absorbed by the process of mass communication, individuals search
for their identity among the social or commercial constructions
of self. But, reduced to spectators and defined as audience, they
become alienated from their own existence while engaging in rituals
of cultural consumption.
It has been a long time since Harold Innis described the rela-
tionship between empire and communication or Herbert Schiller
warned about the consequences of an American empire of mass
communications. But both realized – albeit in different ways – the
effectiveness of a system of mass communication that emanates from
centers of political and commercial power.The outcome is not only
technological control of media systems, but also a rigorous reori-
entation of communication practices, from language uses to viewing
or listening habits, while disregarding systematically the need to
protect and nurture the autonomy of cultural differences. Moreover,
as we have seen, the politics of mass communication threaten the
sovereignty of democratic societies by inviting individuals to a dis-
course they cannot share and into a reality they cannot understand.
Thus, ample supplies of mass communication products raise
expectations – regarding economic and political participation, for
instance – that cannot be fulfilled.The resulting frustrations – even
when not turned into violence and destruction – have long-term
consequences, not only for those caught without clues between the

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