Summary
Contents
The Third Volume in the series Communication Processes engages in understanding processes of communication in relation to cultural configurations and contending forces that permeate them. This volume is positioned at the interface of culture and communication—exploring ways in which interaction, negotiations, and even conflicts are voiced. It re-examines our conception of culture to show that communities cannot be divided into polarities such as ‘elite and popular’ or ‘dominant and subaltern’—establishing that such clear divisions cannot exist in society. Culture is therefore perceived as a field of contending forces: a milieu of exchange, encounter, confrontation, and possibly conflict.
Chapter 2: Interventionist Tendencies in Popular Culture
Interventionist Tendencies in Popular Culture
What is evident to any traveller in India is that the ‘democratic’ state, the ‘free’ market and the ‘nationalist’ Hindu right are today the dominant fulcrums of cultural production. In doing so, they have drawn on elements of popular culture–be they cultural practices predating the modern mass media, or those created and shaped by the latter. Moreover, they have harnessed the most significant techno-organizational elements of contemporary media industry towards proliferating the production and circulation of their culture-ware.
Prevailing Fulcrums of Culture
What is, however, not evident is that all three are involved in a rigorous exercise of codifying elements of popular culture. While looking at instances of these, it is important to take note of how each ...
