Meaning of Mass Media and its Importance

 

Meaning of Mass Media and its Importance

• What are The Mass Media:

In communication studies today however the term “Mass Media” has come to be a useful collective phrase through the distinction among the various media “Mass” suggests that modern media are “Experienced” not by individual and groups but as part of the “Mass” and as “Mass” culture: as generally interpreted the “Mass” media are the press, cinema, radio, T.V, books, magazines and pamphlets also. They are so termed because their reach extends to vast masses of the population living in vide and extensive area of a country.

 The organ of mass media is technological means of transmitting messages to large numbers of people. They are very expensive media. They must need be run by institutions like the government or well financed private commercial bodies. They require a group to organize and administer to produce, distribute and constantly maintain in working order, yet another feature of the mass media is that they are founded on the ideas of mass production and mass distribution the marks of an industrialized society.

Now let’s see what are the functions of mass media.

• Functions of Mass Media

1. To inform
2.  To educate
3. To entertain
4.  Transmission of heritage
5.  Commercial etc.

• Development of Mass Media:

 Western mass communication scholars have identified a development progression cycle called as the EPS means Elite, Popular, and Specialization. This cycle holds that all Media Develop in three stages:

Elite:

Media appeals to the affluent. Affluent considered as the leasers of cultural and social trends.

Popular:

 When the notions break through the barriers of literacy and poverty, it enters the popular stage and reaches the mass culture.

Specialization:

Here there is ‘de-massification’ of the mass media due to information explosion and advancement in the communication technology. Media is consumed by highly fragmented segments of population each with his own interest and cultural activities. E.g. Cartoon Channels, Sports channel, News, Films.

What are the impacts of Mass Media? Now let’s see it in detail.

• Impact of Mass Media:

 Lots of things impact to mass media but here we can see the major five impacts that really impact to the mass media. When we go through these five main points that tome we can really see that it is really impact to the mass media.

1. Personal
2. Psychological
3. Social
4. Moral 
5.  Cultural etc.

      These are main five points that really impact to the mass media let’s see it with some examples. Bernard Berelson, an American behavioral scientist defines the impact of media as, ‘some kind of communication, some kind of issues brought to the attention of people under some kind of condition have some kind of effects.’ In personal things we can see that how the mass media impact a lot. T.V, Mobile, Cinema, Laptop, Computer etc. These kinds of things are a part of our daily life and like an organ of our body. In social kind of things we can see that like in politics we can see that in election time we can see that the political leader use mass media a lot to impress the voter. In cultural things we can see that in our culture we can also see that the mass and media also impact in our society and culture a lot we can see and follow the other culture with the help of mass media. So with these kinds of examples we can see impact of mass media.

•  Western Communication Theories:

 In our country we can see that we mostly follow and see the western things a lot and in our culture we can also follow the western things and culture a lot. So in mass media we also see some theories of western communication. It has divided in six points. And these six points are,

                              I.            Lasswell Model of Communication

                           II.            Shannon and Weaver Model

                       III.            Osgood and Schramm Model

                       IV.            Ritual Model of Communication

                           V.            Communication as Dialogue

                       VI.            Communication as Power Relationship

•  Lasswell Model of Communication

          Laswell saw communication as performing 3 functions: surveillance of environment, correlation of components of society, cultural transmission between generations.

• Shannon and Weaver Model

It is effects oriented approach. In this we can see five parts: information source, a transmitter, a channel, the receiver and the destination. Plus noise.

• Concepts:

1. Entropy
2. Redundancy
3. Channel Capacity etc.

• Osgood and Schramm Model:

 Schramm defined communication as ‘sharing of information, ideas or attitudes.’ He endorsed 3 important elements of communication i.e. source, message and destination.  He emphasized on the encoding and decoding of the message. He suggested communication is circular where both the sender and receiver are involved in encoding and decoding and equal partners in exchange.

• Ritual Model of Communication:

          James Carey an American anthropologist promoted this model. ‘Role of ritual in societies’. All members of public not just the senders are actors contributing in some way to the pattern of meaning of a nation or a region. Objective of Communication/transmission of messages are for the purpose of Social Control. Communication is thus seen as a process of creation, representation and celebration of shared belief.

•  Communication as Dialogue:

          Communication as a dialogic and ‘participatory’ relationship is at the heart of South American perspective. They key elements here are ‘liberation’, ‘participation’ and ‘conscientization’. This model challenges the Aristotelian model of communication which focuses on ‘transmission’ and ‘transportation’.

• Communication as Power Relationship:

              This perspective has its basis in Marxist ideology which sees ‘conflict’ and class differences rather than consensus as the function of communication. In some situations, Communication is an exercise in power relations, the power of one individual over another, of an individual over a group, and of mass media owners and producers/professionals over audiences.

• Indian Communication Theories:

          First we discussed about the Western Communication theory and its role in mass media and now we discussed about the Indian communication theory. In this we discussed about the role of Indian Communication theories in mass media.

          In recent years communication scholars in India and Sri Lanka have made attempts to develop theories of communication based on Indian classical texts and on popular Indian culture. Indian theory of communication forms a part of Indian poetics; and can be traced to a period between second century B.C. and first century A.D. in the works of Bharata. It draws it central idea from the concept of Sadharanikaran (which is quite close in meaning to the Latin term communis, commonness, from which the word communication is derived.) The most important assumption in the process of sadharanikaran is that it can be achieved only among sahridayas, i.e. only those who have a capacity to accept a message. This is an innate ability acquired through culture, adaptation and learning. Thus communication is an activity amongst sahridayas.

In this Indian Communication Theories we can see the three more theories in it. And these three theories are,

1.     Bharata Muni’s Theory

2.     Hindu Theory

3.     Buddhist Theory

1.     Bharata Muni’s Theory

          As per this theory human psyche is composed of ‘sthaibhava’ (permanent moods). These moods are of capable of arousing a corresponding state of feeling, rasa there are nine permanent moods and they give rise to nine rasas or forms of aesthetic pleasures. These Sthaibhavas are accompanied by many fleeting or secondary moods that are common to several dominant moods and serve the purpose of completely manifesting the permanent moods. These are called sancharis or vyabhichari bhavas. In addition there are vibhavas and anubhavas. In our Indian tradition there are nine permanent moods.

• Permanent Moods:

1.  Bhayanaka – Bhanayak (Anger)

2.  Hrsha -- Hasya (Humour)

3.  Din – Karuna (Compassion)

4.  Saumya – Shant (Peace)

5.  Shringar – Prem (Love)

6.  Rudra (Terror)

7.  Bibhatsa (Disgust)

8.  Adbhuta (Wonder)

9.  Vir – Shaurya (Valor/Heroism)

2.     Hindu Theory:

          Second Indian Theory of Communication is from the Hindu philosophical perspective. Indian concept takes into account the place of an individual in the universal context and considers one’s relationship with other living and nonliving elements of the environment. Hindu concept of universe is based on the ‘Virat Purush’ (cosmic man) view. i.e. that Dharma is the basic principle of the whole universe and is existing eternally. This natural law of Dharma regulates human existence and governs relations of individual beings; communication too is governed by the same law.

3.     Buddhist Theory:

          Wimal Dassanayaka draws on the Vedas, the Upanishads, and non philosophical tradition. The primary focus of this model is how the receiver makes sense of the stimuli he receives so as to deepen his self awareness. He argues in Indian tradition, ‘communication is an inward search for meaning – a process leading to self-awareness, then to freedom, finally to truth.’

• Mass Communication and Mass Culture:

              Culture can be defined as the beliefs, values, or other frameworks of reference by which we make sense of our experiences. It also concerns how we communicate these values and ideas. The concept of Mass Culture refers to a whole range of popular activities and artifacts to entertainments, spectacles, music, books, and films –but has become identified with the typical content of mass media and especially with the fictional, dramatic and entertainment material which they provide.  Mass media are centrally involved in the production of modern culture. Reach of Mass Media is limited in India thus Mass Culture in our country is still by and large the one that prevails in our villages where over 77% of the our people live. Here folk media is still predominant. Most popular entertainment medium in India is Cinema. Nearly 800 films produced per year. Indian Cinema has qualities of a mass culture product but it is doubtful if it is the only factor that contributes to the ‘mass culture’.

• Features:

Unlike ‘elite’ or ‘high’ culture is an aesthetic and literary standard are low, and commercialized, as it is mass produced programmers aim at the mass market. The culture propagated by mass media is not necessarily the popular culture of the masses of the majority community in the country. The ‘mass culture’ is a complex cultural phenomenon which is a creation of the mass media. It is therefore more precise to term it ‘mass media culture’ to distinguish it from the majority culture or folk culture.

So at last we may say that Media has its own significance in the world and aura of globalization.

Heroism in ‘A Grain of Wheat’

Heroism in ‘A Grain of Wheat’

v  What is Heroism?

                   True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost.

-         Arthur Ashe

v Introduction:

          African Literature, oral and written literature produced on the African continent. Africa has a long literary tradition, although very little of this literature was written down until the 20^th century. In the absence of widespread literacy, African literature was primarily oral and passed from one generation to the next through memorization and recitation.

  

                      We can see ‘Heroism’ is a central theme in most literature, especially Western literature such as Beowulf, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Song of Roland. In Western literature, we expect heroism to be found in books that “chronicle the heroic deeds of great warriors like Achilles, Odysseus, and Aeneas and celebrate the life of warfare”. Not all literary heroism is like this though. Also, this theme is not limited to European or American literature. Kenyan author Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s certainly toys with this common literary theme in his novel ‘A Grain of Wheat.’

We can see in this novel that there are three characters that show the heroism in this novel. And they are,

Heroism:

1.     Kihika

2.     Gikonyo

3.     Mugo

There can be little question that Kihika, the rebel in Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s A Grain of Wheat, is a hero. With respect to Mugo, however opinion may be divided. Mugo is a traitor who finally admits his treason. To be sure Mugo’s peers, the people of thabai are deeply puzzled by the sense of his acts. Yet Ngugi’s choice of narrative form can direct the reader’s interpretation, for the novel proposes an expansion of the concept of heroism to include not only the magnanimous gestures of an exceptional man but also ironic self-discovery by the average man.

v  Kihika is martyr for movement

Kihika is the first to really be known as a hero and stands as such in the novel. “Kihika, a son of the land, was marked out as one of the heroes of deliverance”. His heroism is defined by his words and actions throughout the book. In the beginning, even when he was a young man, he was known as a strong speaker and eventually a man of action. When he was younger, he dared to stand up and tell the preacher he was wrong about a certain interpretation of Scripture. After he left school, he found he had a new vision and that vision led him to speak about independence.

It is the struggle against the British. The Emergency and Mau Mau that create for Khihika the occasion to realize his ideals for both himself and his people. By lashing out at the enemy of his people, Kihika proves himself to be a man of great deeds and noble qualities. He eventually becomes a martyr for Kenyan freedom. His bravery and death earn him the admiration of his fellows, and he becomes and inspiration for them as did Gandhi and Christ for him Khihika is clearly a hero in the eyes of both the people of thabai and in those of the implied reader; it is through battle and the sword that Kihika’s dreams come to fruition.

Just as Kihika dominates the prelude to the novel’s action (pre-independence) Mugo dominates the action itself, which starts when freedom has been won and independence is to begin before independence, Mugo, and orphan, lives with a cruel aunt. Unlike Kihika, he is lonely, introspective and taciturn. Yet he too aspires to be part of the community. Mugo feels rootless when his aunt dies.

Whom could he now call a relation? He wanted somebody, anybody, who would use the claims of kinship to do him ill or good. Either one or the other as long as he was not left alone, an outsider. He turned to the soil. He would labor, sweat, and through success and wealth force society to recognize him.

v  Gikonyo as a sacrificer

         

                    Gikonyo and Karanja are harder to discuss with regard to heroism since they both get labeled as cowards at some point in the novel. Karanja has a harder case to prove with being a hero since he actually changes sides a few times and seems to have the most sinister heart out of all the characters. Gikonyo, as were many others, were brutally treated for their involvement with the Movement and were subsequently sent to concentration camps and beaten severely. During the six years in detention, Gikonyo remained steadfast to his party loyalties and never took the oath. Gikonyo stood firm as a normative hero, never wavering from his loyalty to Kenya and remaining defiant of the white man who oppressed him.

          Karanja, as a character, gets caught somewhere in the middle between Austen’s hero types. While other characters such as Gikonyo and Kihika are much more well defined in their political or national heroism, Karanja is never illustrated as speaking in public or having anyone really pay honor to him as others do to Kihika or Gikonyo. When they were younger, Karanja attended the same social circles as Gikonyo and Kihika but his only attitude toward Kihika was one of criticism. When they were at the train station, Karanja once commented on Kihika’s oratory, “You say one thing now. The next hour you say another”. Karanja never gives any sort of positive feedback to those who are known as heroes and in fact, he is never labeled as a hero. But is he an anti-hero? Karanja certainly displays less becoming characteristics especially that of siding with the forces that beat the Kenyan nationalists, but he never really becomes a true trickster.

                    There is one incident which might be thought of as similar to being a trickster but I would not classify it so. This is toward the end of the novel when Karanja became a chief. He was “more terrifying than the one before him. He led other home guards into the forest to hunt down Freedom Fighters”. Karanja has essentially become an antagonist but his “trickery” doesn’t occur until he tries to convince Mumbi to give into his wishes for love.

                   This is the extent of his trickery; he overcomes a woman in her point of joy and emotional breakdown and rapes her. This act of rape is a pent up desire for her that he had six years prior. But she found love in Gikonyo and not him so he grew jealous until he could have revenge. While this is not textbook trickery, it certainly has some deviance and planning involved. Karanja is certainly no normative hero and not even quite an anti-hero. He is sort of a middle man whose flaws outweigh his good qualities.

v Mugo is a real Hero

         

          Mugo is the last of the possible heroic characters and due to his presence throughout the novel, is perhaps the most important character yet. Moreover, his character is so well orchestrated and our perception of him changes throughout the book. He is also a character whose heroism seems nonexistent in the first part but later we come to realize that he may just be better than all the rest. During the first chapter and most of the book, we get the idea that Mugo is perhaps the most cowardly of all Africans. He constantly avoids talking to people and when they try to talk to him or confront him, he acts almost mad. In fact, throughout the entirety of the novel he seems mad. However, the people love him and think him to be this great hero.

As a reader, I did not feel their favor for him was right or just. I merely thought that the African populace didn’t know Mugo as well as we did. After all, we have the omniscient narrator to tell us all. But just when one thinks there is no hope for this coward, Gikonyo comes to his house to talk to him and we realize why he seems mad. He was beaten several times for not taking the oath and suffering for his devotion to the freedom movement. Gikonyo also declares him to be a hero, “You have a great heart. It is people like you ought to have been the first to taste the fruits of independence”.

This declaration really changes our view of Mugo from his lack of spine to realizing that he was beat so much for his heroism that he was changed forever. Mugo then becomes at that point a great hero. However he is not without faults since very shortly after this declaration we learn that just before men were sent off to concentration camps, he was the one who betrayed Kihika. While this act of betrayal might negate our Western ideas of heroism, he is praised for his act of courage to speak the truth.

v Conclusion:

                              As one looks at the male characters in this novel, we find several heroes and perhaps one anti-hero. Mugo, Gikonyo, and especially Kihika are praised for their acts and words as they fought for Kenya’s freedom. Though they may not be quite similar to the Western heroes of old, still they stand for their cultural values and are loved and respected by others. Karanja does not fit into the mold of hero or anti-hero as well as other book characters, but nonetheless, he is never praised for his heroism and is hated for his betrayal and brutality toward his fellow native Africans. This novel helps Western readers understand the African sense of heroism as well as the realities of the human condition. No hero is really as pure as we’d like him to be but nonetheless they are still worthy of honor and devotion