Chapter 1: Culture and Communication

Elite Culture

          Cultures in our society today can be defined as many things to different people. In the earlier centuries the elite culture and the popular cultures (mass culture) categorized people in class based on their wealth. "The elite culture consisted of fine art, literature, and classical music. Folk culture consisted of street carnivals, tavern drinking, and folktales "(Culture and Communication 4). This culture was specifically referred to as the "rich and famous" culture where they came from a lot of money. During this time the two main cultures couldn't come into each other's standings. The popular culture is referred to as a society that is for actions everyone that consists of our daily actions including things that entertain and our behaviors conditions. "... our attitudes, habits, and actions: how we act and why we act; what we eat and wear; our buildings, roads, and means of travel; our entertainment and sports; our politics; religion, and medical practices;our beliefs and activities and what shapes and controls them. In other words, it is to us what water is to fish: It is the world we live in"(Culture and Communication 4). When Ray B. Browne states this he means that all the things we do on a daily bases is automatically mass culture related society. As years and generations go by the cultures become less and less categorized than they were in the 19th century. In our society today all cultures are mass-produced by the help of technology and mass media. People usually recognize businesses by different brand types when glancing at the symbols. "Most of today's popular culture is mass-produced and is disseminated through the mass media. Popular music, cheap paperback novels, soap operas, videocassette movies, and a myriad of advertised products from designer jeans to disposable razors make up our everyday environment. Stephen King novels, Levi's jeans, McDonald's golden arches are instantly recognizable symbols or icons of contemporary pop culture"(Culture and Communications 4). We recognize these businesses all around the U.S. by just the icons and signs we remember from an everyday glance. Looking back at the culture from the early 19th century to now is very liberal and doesn't depend on the class people come from. As we still view some elite culture from time to time out society today has come to become a mass-produced culture that is present in our daily actions and behaviors.

Mass Culture

         There's a significant amount of time that goes into a communication process in which some people don't know about but hear about daily. There are different types of communications including intrapersonal and interpersonal communications but the steps to communicate an interpersonal takes a lot more exertion than intrapersonal. It takes several people to be able to communicate a news report starting with the source then the messenger, to the channel, and followed by the receiver."When communicators select symbols for their messages, they must keep in mind that each person has a different frame or reference and, as a result , certain symbols may mean different things to different people"(Culture and Communication 8). When sending a message to a big audience it is important to pick specific pictures that mean the same meaning to different types of people. When communicating to other people, pictures do a better job of understanding the message being applied than words. The receiver getting the message from the messenger sometimes has a hard time understanding the concept of the message being sent causing misunderstanding usually from the description of the pictures shown. If the message is misunderstood there's a feedback person who corrects the receiver if he/she has gotten the concept wrong."...a word takes on connotations or emotional meanings that are based on experiences rather than on the word's dictionary meaning. Take the words liberal and conservative. These words mean different things to different people, based on individual political points of view"(Culture and Communications 10).  If one thing means a certain thing to another person it might mean the exact opposite to a different person. We all think different things. This process can have some issues concerning communication noise. There are three different noises that could make everything go wrong. The three including the channel noise, semantic noise, psychological noise, and selective exposure which all lead to misunderstanding and miscommunications in between the communication process. "... we expose ourselves to information that reinforces rather than contradicts our beliefs or opinions... Selective exposure also helps to explain why people with extreme political views have difficulty getting their ideas across to the general public..."(Culture and Communications 11). When certain people have strong political views it can change the way the receiver will receive the message being delivered.