Media, Culture and Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media, Culture and Identity - Essay Example The media therefore plays an important role in the formation of a cultural identity because of the vital role that it (the media) plays in the communication process. It is seen that communication is an important part in the formation of a cultural identity as it is the means through which people interact and through the interaction, the culture is transmitted. The media is therefore seen to play a vital role in the formation and in the transmission of cultural identity for different people. The media is important in that it facilitates the process of communication between the different people in a community. By facilitating the process of communication, the media makes a major contribution in the creation and in the spread of culture. The media also has an important role in the evolution of the different cultural practices. The media can be said to extend the human capability to create, spread, and store messages. By extension, the media also enhances the human capability to engage i n activities that are relevant to the different aspects of culture. When the process of communication is facilitated, the cultural practices can be spread. What is seen in the media is also a reflection of the cultural activities that are being engaged in by the people in the society (Gentz and Kramer 2). The increase in the consumption of media has been instrumental in the formation of identity. The introduction of new media and new media technologies has been linked to the formation of new patterns of identification. The cultural orientation of a given group of people and the way that people identify themselves change when they begin to consume the different kinds of new media and new technologies that are available to them. An example of the new media and media technology that has influenced the way people identify themselves and their cultural identity is the increased uptake of satellite television and the increased use of the internet. This is because of the interconnectedness and the high level of interaction that is offered by the new media. Media plays an important role in the formation of culture and identity in that it has increased the level of mobility that the community has access to. The mobility that the media offers is from the increased access to symbolic world that is enabled by the media. The media technology also brings change in cultural identity in that it increases the level of self sufficiency among the members of the given community. The interdependence that is offered by the media has led to a situation in which the global events and happenings have a major impact on the local culture. The local cultures of those who consume the media assimilate the culture of those that they watch and read about from the different media sources. The media is a major source of information as well as a source of cultural information. When it comes to transmitting cultural information the different actors and events in the media are typified into the d ifferent codes. They (actors and events) are also made to generic forms that are in line with the culture of a given society. The media through the different actors and events recreates the codes through which the events and actors are interpreted. The physical and social institutions as well as the cultural spaces have been reconstructed by the media, through the introduction of unlimited access to events and actors that are not physically