mass-communication-theory

eer to our houseguests than we are to serve Michelob or Heineken? Why? What
makes brand-name products or clothes with designer labels better than generic
alternatives?
Alternately, consider the example of airport security checks. We as individuals
don’t have much control over what we’re able to do during these checks. If we
travel frequently, we’ve probably worked out strategies to enable ourselves to
move efficiently through the security checks. We go to the airport early, expecting
that there could be a long wait. As we wait, we remove all metal objects from our
pockets to our luggage. We wear shoes that slip off easily. We place our photo ID
and ticket where we can easily access them. But even after all this preparation, an
alarm may go off as we go through the metal detector. We know to stop immediately
and allow ourselves to be scanned with an intrusive hand wand. If we happen
to travel on a day when security is especially tight, our carry-on luggage may be
opened and searched. We may be asked to turn on our electronic equipment to
make certain it is operational. In many other situations we would consider this
kind of treatment demeaning and humiliating. But now it’s just part of flying. We
have learned a typification scheme enabling us to cope.
So who’s right about the amount of agency exercised by individuals in the social
world? Are symbolic interactionists correct when they argue that important
ways of interpreting things (symbols) get created through everyday interaction? Or
are social constructionists correct when they argue that typifications are handed
down to us primarily by institutions that dominate the social world? Could both
of these perspectives provide useful insights into different aspects of the social
world?
We’ll look next at framing theory as developed by Erving Goffman. Goffman
based his ideas on notions derived from both symbolic interactionism and social
constructionism. As we’ll see, his theory is an interesting combination of these
ideas. It allows for a certain amount of individual agency, but it also grants a fair
amount of power to institutions. As we’ll also see, Goffman asserted that social
INSTANT ACCESS
Social Constructionism
Chapter 11 Media and Culture Theories: Meaning-Making in the Social World 329
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Rejects simple stimulus-response concep- 1. Gives too little recognition to power of
tualizations of human behavior
individuals and communities
2. Considers the social environment in which 2. In some contemporary articulations, grants
learning takes place
too much power to media content
3. Recognizes the complexity of human
existence
4. Foregrounds social institutions’ role in agency
5. Provides basis for many methodologies and
approaches to inquiry
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