| Coarseness in U.S. Public Communication Contributor(s): Dalton, Philip (Author), Kramer, Eric Mark (Author) |
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ISBN: 1611476941 ISBN-13: 9781611476941 Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press OUR PRICE: $49.49 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2015 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Communication Studies - Social Science | Media Studies - Social Science | Popular Culture |
| Dewey: 302.209 |
| Series: The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Communication Studies |
| Physical Information: 0.53" H x 6" W x 9" (0.76 lbs) 232 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Public expression in the United States has become increasingly coarse. Whether it's stupid, rude, base, or anti-intellectual talk, it surrounds us. Popular television, film, music, art, and even some elements of religion have become as coarse, we argue, as our often-disparaged political dialogue. This book's contention is that the U.S. semantic environment is governed by tactics, not tact. We craft messages that work-that perform their desired function. We are instrumental, strategic communicators. As such, entertainment and journalism that draw an audience, for instance, are "good." This follows the logic that the marketplace, an aggregate of hedonically motivated individuals, decides what's good. Market logic, when unencumbered by what some characterize as quaint human sentimentalities, liberates us to cynically communicate whatever and however we want. Whatever improves ratings, web traffic, ticket sales, concession sales, repeat purchases, and earnings is good. Embracing this communicative paradigm more fully necessitates the culture's abandonment of collective notions of both taste and veracity, thus weakening the forces that keep individual desires in check. Our present communication environment is one that invites the hypertrophic expression of the ego, enabling elites to erode public communication standards and repeal laws and regulations resulting in immeasurable individual fortunes. Meanwhile, perpetual plutocratic rule is made even more certain by the cacophonous public noise the rest of us are busy making, leaving us incapable, disinterested, and unwilling to listen to one another. |