COMMUNICATION, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY

What is communication, why do we communicate, how do we communicate, and to

what end, are all questions we ask in the study of communication. At its most basic,
communication is the exchange of information and meaning. We are
constantly communicating, in a wide range of different contexts, such as with each
other (interpersonal communication), with different cultural groups or subgroups
(intercultural communication), or to large audiences (mass communication).
However, to understand communication, one needs to understand the place of
communication in culture.

There are different forms of communication. At the broadest level, communication is

an exchange of meaning between people using symbols. The most common symbols
used are verbal and written words, but there are also many forms of nonverbal
communication. What sign language, verbal communication and written
communication have in common is the use of abstract symbols to convey meaning.
Whether you say “thank you” in face-to-face communication, send someone a card
with the words “thank you” written on it, or use nonverbal cues to express thanks,
the meaning is the same.

Successful communication, whether intended for personal use, for use within an
organization, or for a wide audience, can help people to understand each other and
to get things done.

If good organizational communication is necessary for groups to function with a

formal purpose, mass communication is essential for societies to function. Societies
are made up of formal organizations of various sizes. Usually, the larger the group,
the more complex its communication structures.

Communication structure refers to a combination of information and

communication technologies (ICTs), guidelines for using those technologies, and
professional workers dedicated to managing information and messages. In the mass
communication field, communication structures are more than computers and
transmission networks. The guidelines for using networks to create and distribute
messages for mass consumption are a matter of corporate policy as well as law.

Culture as a term is widely used in academic as well as in daily speech and discourse,
referring to different concepts and understandings. While the term originally stems
from ancient Greek and Roman cultures (Latin: cultura), it has various dimensions
today built from the different needs and uses of each field, be it anthropology,
sociology or communication studies. For communication studies, one might start by
defining culture as a set of learned behaviors shared by a group of people through
interaction.

Culture — the knowledge, beliefs, and practices of groups large and small —
is not necessarily formalized. Culture is necessary for enjoying and making sense of
the human experience, but there are few formalized rules governing culture.
Cultures are not fixed, monolithic entities, but are fluid, always changing and
responding to pressures and influences, such as the changing experiences of its
members or interaction with other cultures. However, to its members, the artefacts
and even the existence of cultural behaviors and schemas may seem invisible or
unremarkable. A culture may even have within it certain subcultures which exist
within the main cultural framework of a society, but share within it specific
peculiarities or modalities that also set it apart from the mainstream. These
subcultures may continue to exist for many years or only a short period of time. They
may die out, or may become incorporated into the mainstream as part of this ongoing
evolution of culture.

While there are specific differences to each culture, generally speaking, cultures share
a number of traits, such as a shared language or linguistic marker, definition of proper
and improper behavior, a notion of kinship and social relationship (i.e. mother, friend,
etc.), ornamentation and art, and a notion of leadership or decision making process.

Culture and society, though similar, are different things. It has been noted that a
society is made up of small groups, larger communities, and vast institutions. A more
complete definition of the term comes from the field of sociology. A society is a
very large group of people organized into institutions held together over
time through formalized relationships. Nations, for example, are made up of
formal institutions organized by law. Governments of different size, economic
institutions, educational institutions and others all come together to form a society.
Cultures are defined by these learned behaviors and schemas. Society, at its
simplest, can also be defined as a group of interacting individuals. However, it
is through this interaction that individuals develop and communicate the markers of
culture, and so in human societies, it is very difficult to separate out ‘culture’ and
‘society.’

Thus, we come back to the role of communication within culture. The idea of culture
as something that is shared means that it is vital to understand culture and
communication in relation to one another. The relationship between culture and
communication, in all its forms, is tightly interwoven and interlinked. One can see
that communication enables the spread and reiteration of culture. Both
communications and the media propagate the values and schemas of a culture
through the repeated interaction and exchange enabled by the communication
process.

Notice that it is not in a single instance of communication that culture is made, but
rather in the repeated exchange of information and the reinforcement of the ideals
and values it embodies, all conveyed within a particular moment. One way we can
think about this complex interplay is by looking at du Gay, et al (1997) notion of the
circuit of culture.

The circuit of culture is a way of exploring a product of a culture as a complex object

that is affected by and has an impact on a number of different aspects of that culture.
Five Variables of the Circuit of Culture

 Representation

How is the meaning conveyed to the audience, user, or co-communicator?

What signs, modes and discourses help convey the meaning – not only the
‘factual’ or informational meaning, but also the social meaning? Example, what
does the color black represent in your cultural context?

 Identity

How is meaning internalized by the receiver or audience? Identity is shaped

by our culture, which creates a range of viable and non-viable identity options
that are presented, refined, and renegotiated through communication and
exchange of cultural objects. By consuming and displaying certain
communicative texts and strategies, we are both claiming certain identity
positions, and simultaneously rejecting others.

 Production

This refers to the production of meaning. Meaning can be produced and

reproduced in a number of ways. An individual may produce meaning about
themselves in the way they dress or wear his hat. Apple™ produces meaning
about itself in the way they design and build the iPhone™. A terrorist
organization may produce meaning about itself by making videos they put on
YouTube. This act of meaning production may be unproblematic within
mainstream culture, and help maintain the hegemony, the dominance of a
 particular set of schema or values. Alternatively, this production may
challenge dominant beliefs or values in some. A pop culture example of this
is Lady Gaga, whose mode of dress is confrontational because it deviated from
existing cultural schema about appropriate dress for someone of her class,
race, gender and occupation.

 Consumption

The flip side of production is consumption. Consumption of texts, whether an

outfit, a conversation, or a pop-song, reflects cultural values and expectations
– conforming to values and expectations leads to unproblematic consumption
– it is what is expected; it fits our internalized schema. Texts that do not fit
this schema are confronting, challenging, and even shocking. To continue to
use Lady Gaga as an example, when she released a nine-minute long music
video centered around a narrative of female violence, it was shocking both in
terms of its format (which was not standard MTV fare) and its narrative
structure.

 Regulation

This refers to the forces which constrain the production, distribution, and
consumption of texts. These forces may be explicit, such as the television
broadcasters’ code of conduct, or they may be implicit, such as the blogger
litmus test of ‘would you say this in front of your mother?’

Finally, linking together these areas are the arrows. The arrows are very important
because as du Gay says, none of these variables can really be considered in isolation.
It would be like looking only at the tyres to try and figure out why your car is not
running. It is important, when considering communication within a cultural context,
to remember that there are multiple factors influencing the production of text and
meaning. These factors may support the text, reinforce a cultural position, or
alternatively, they may challenge or confront a cultural schema.

The Circuit of Culture model is regularly applied to analyzing the interplay between
communication and culture within one cultural situation. However, with the
globalization of the media and communication landscape, it is becoming increasingly
important to think about the specificities of intercultural communication.

Mass communication influences both society and culture. Different societies have
different media systems, and the way they are set up by law influences how the
society works. Different forms of communication, including messages in the mass
media, give shape and structure to society. Additionally, mass media outlets can
spread cultural knowledge and artistic works around the globe. People exercise
cultural preferences when it comes to consuming media, but mass media corporations
often decide which stories to tell and which to promote, particularly when it comes
to forms of mass media that are costly to produce such as major motion pictures,
major video game releases and global news products.
More than any other, the field of mass communication transmits culture. At the same
time, it helps institutional society try to understand itself and whether its structures
are working.

The Mass Media Dynamic

The mass media system is an institution itself. What sets it apart is its potential to
influence the thinking of massive numbers of individuals. In fact, the ideas exchanged
in organizational communication and interpersonal communication are often
established, reinforced or negated by messages in the mass media. This is what it
means for societies “to exist in transmission, in communication.” Different types of
communication influence each other.

But the mass media are also shaped and influenced by social groups and institutions.
This is the nature of the mass media dynamic.

Individuals and groups in society influence what mass media organizations produce
through their creativity on the input side and their consumption habits on the output
side. It is not accurate to say that society exists within the mass media or under mass
media “control.” Social structures are too powerful for mass media to completely
govern how they operate. But neither is it accurate to say that the mass media are
contained within societies. Many mass media products transcend social structures to
influence multiple societies, and even in societies that heavily censor their mass
media the news of scandals and corruption can get out. The mass media and society
are bound together and shape each other.

Almost everything you read, see and hear is framed within a mass media context;
however, mere familiarity is no guarantee of success. Products in the mass media
that fail to resonate with audiences do not last long, even if they seem in tune with
current tastes and trends.

The Big Picture

Society functions when the mass media work well, and we tend not to think about
the technologies or the professionals who make it all possible. Interpersonal
communication can function with or without a massive technological apparatus. It is
more convenient, though, to be able to text each another. When interpersonal
communication breaks down, we have problems in our relationships. When
organizational communication breaks down, it creates problems for groups and
companies. But when mass communication breaks down, society breaks down.

Sources:

 https://opentextbc.ca/mediastudies101/chapter/communication-culture/
 https://press.rebus.community/mscy/chapter/chapter-1/