Communications and Culture
Countries and societies pride their prosperities in their culture. It is a composition of socio-economic values, language, tradition, and history. Culture stays in the behavior and the mind of an individual in society (Khan, 2012). On the flip side, communication involves the transmission of information through a medium to a specific recipient. Also, it is what we can read or find out from the non-verbal cues and behavior. Therefore, the inter-relation between culture and communication lays the framework for progressive development on a global scale.
Carey’s proclamation concerning communication holds relevance in some social settings. For instance, in the high-setting cultures like the Latin Americans and Central Europeans, the communication process is not distinct. Most senders of the messages leave the task of interpreting the sent information to the recipient (Goman, 2011). These cultures give so much consideration to the delivery and nitty-gritty details of a message. They give a lot of value to the unsaid. Which implies that communication is in our surrounding; the attitudes people harbor, the behaviors that are predominant within a setting and the objects around us communicate. However, the low-setting cultures confine communication to that which is said or written. This position neglects the interpretation of the external factors present in an environment.
Further, communication choice has a great influence on the culture within a setting. This proclamation finds its relevance in the Classical Marxist Theory. The theory puts forth that the ruling class is on the forefront to control the communication means, which is predominantly the mass media (Khan, 2012). Since the ruling class has a lot of control over this medium of communication, most of the ideas that the media presents are awash with their interests. Therefore, the general society does not have an allowance to take part in the production and distribution of the information. The mass media, thus, communicates ideologies that do not relate to the beliefs of society. Consequently, the masses are given information that is different from their cultural practices. They will conform to the ideas that the ruling class communicates and they will adopt new habits into their culture, which is cultural transformation.
Besides, the perpetrators of Marxist Theory views the position of mass media as a tool that communicates the ideologies of the authoritative institutions. The communication of these ideas to the masses acts as a justification of these institution’s actions. Therefore, communication introduces new false beliefs to the minds of the ruled masses. It restructures the original position of culture and does not establish a new wave of ideologies.
However, culture also has a great impact on the communication choices that society exercises. Language, which forms the framework of communication, is one of the elements of culture (Khan, 2012). In its form, culture shifts from one generation to the next. The transition contains the beliefs, sets of rules, and conventions that are inter-generational. A collection of these elements amplifies the communication process. The members of a society can find the basis of verifying their behaviors as they continue to interact. Also, the masses build their creativity from cultural habits which they translate through communication.
The communication culture inter-relations eventually comes out in the contemporary millennial generation. For instance, pop culture has a good reception across the globe. Communication has a great bearing on the growth of this popular culture. Thus, the mass media plays a key role in the transformation of cultures globally.
References
Goman, K. (2011). How Culture Controls Communication. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2011/11/28/how-culture-controls-communication/.
Khan, F. (2012). Communication and Culture: Reflections on the Perspectives of Influence. Wulfenia Journal, 19(8); 197-212. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253341225_Communication_and_culture_Reflections_on_the_perspectives_of_influence_Wulfenia_Journal_198_197-212