PEOPLE FEEL A NEED FOR IDENTITY

MEDIA INFLUENCE SOCIAL IDENTITY
WHO THEY ARE IN RELATION TO "OTHERS"
CITIZENSHIP
COMMUNITY / ROLES

MEDIA AUDIENCES
CONSUMERS IN A MARKET
MEMBERS OF A SOCIAL / CULTURAL GROUP
DEMOGRAPHICS (SEX / AGE / EDUCATION / INCOME
TASTE CLUSTER
LIFESTYLE CLUSTER

"The media reinforce the power of the market over identity, even as they produce the very identities that locate people in the market as consumers." (MediaMaking, 212)

ADVERTISING CONSTRUCTS AUDIENCES AS CONSUMERS

"Someone who refused to consume or who opposed consumption in American society would seem like an outsider or a crackpot." (MediaMaking, 215)

IDENTITIES = SOURCE OF POLITICAL CONFLICT

ESSENTIALISM V. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

 

THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY AND RECOGNITION

POLITICS OF RECOGNITION
EDUCATION POLICY:
- separate schools
- heritage languages

LANGUAGE POLICY:
- official languages

RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS:
- not only individual but group or collective rights

RECOGNITION LINKED TO IDENTITY

INDIVIDUALS HAVE MULTIPLE IDENTITIES

INDIVIDUALS HAVE COMPETING IDENTITIES

SALIENCE OF IDENTITIES

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION:
- "visible" minorities
v. ESSENTIALISM
POLITICIZATION

POLITICS OF SOLIDARITY AND PRIMACY

INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF GROUPS

SYMBOLIC RECOGNITION / MATERIAL DEMANDS
PROMOTING CANADIAN CULTURE: IDENTITY
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

DEFINITIONS:
CULTURE:
- anthropological / cultural
IDENTITY:
- self-concept / sense of belonging

IDENTITY AND:
HISTORY
CITIZENSHIP / GENERAL SUPPORT (for community)
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
CREATIVITY
RECOGNITION

COMMUNICATION AS RITUAL

IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY

"Canada is so much of a global village that both sides of every conflict in the world are present here. While combatants over there battle each other violently, their people here co-exist peacefully. Some even manage to cross the cultural, religious or ethnic divides to embrace.

"Most, however, live in splendid isolation - Greeks and Macdonians; Serbs and Croats; Russians and Hungarians; Czechs, Ukrainians or Poles; and, more recently, Tamils and Sinhalese; Indians and Pakistanis."

"Jews and Arab Canadians are no different. In fact, they make common cause more often than other groups."

" ... Both are using democratic means to advance their causes - holding rallies, manipulating the media and lobbying politicians ...."

--Haroon Siddiqui (Toronto Star,Oct.15 / 00)

CANADA'S MULTICULTURAL CHARACTER

- nearly 45% of Canadians have ancestry that is neither British nor French (1996)

- more than 16% of Canadian population born elsewhere

- among highest % in world (2x US)

- unevenly distributed: 38% in Toronto, 7% in Saskatchewan

THIS PATTERN MAKES CANADA VULNERABLE TO:
- loss of social cohesion
- increased import penetration ("3rd language" imports)

BUT IS HAS ADVANTAGES IN GLOBALIZED WORLD:
- creates expertise in cross-cultural communication
- language skills for cultural exports / co-productions
- understanding of many culturals can help in design of cultural exports
- our two official languages are the dominant languages for cultural exports
- Montreal leads world in "dubbing" French-English / English-French

Smith,"Media, Policy, National Identity, and Citizenry in Changing Democratic Societies ...."

CONTRIBUTIONS:

»1. Identifies key assumptions underlying Canadian policy and the issues they raise
»2. Critiques the assumptions

WEAKNESSES

»1. Simplistic view of national culture

- exaggerates the degree of distinctiveness / dominance / internal consistency needed for an effective national culture [i.e., one that promotes the legitimacy of the fundamental structures of the state]

- exaggerates the importance of language

»2. Assumes that Canadian communication and cultural policy has been aimed at excluding "foreign [i.e., American] products

Whereas, in fact, the main goals have been:
- to protect Canadian producers [for both cultural and economic purposes]
- to preserve space for Canadian narratives / issues