PS 331 Participation Exercise Edelman
1. The Political Spectacle
a. Edelman defines the political spectacle as, “Accounts of political issues, problems, crises, threats, and leaders now become devices for creating disparate assumptions and beliefs about the social and political world rather than factual statements. The very concept of ‘fact’ becomes irrelevant because every meaningful political object and person is an interpretation that reflects and perpetuates an ideology. Taken together, they compromise the spectacle which varies with the social situation of the spectator and serves as a meaning machine: a generator of points of view and therefore of perceptions, anxieties, aspirations, and strategies” (pg. 10).
b. An example of the political spectacle would be Fox news coverage of a memo as compared to CNN coverage. Each station highly dramatizes the event, making it a spectacle and spinning the information in completely different directions. c. The political spectacle is important because understanding it helps those involved become more aware of the manipulations that occur. 2. Positivism a. Positivism is, “the assumption that citizens, journalists, and scholars are observers of ‘facts’ whose meanings can be accurately ascertained by those who are properly trained and motivated” (p. 1). b. An example of positivism is calling a stop sign red. Everyone agrees that the color of the stop sign is red; therefore, it is red. c. Positivism is important because having a unified interpretation serves as a guide for behavior. 3. Relativism a. Relativism is the idea that, “The realities people experience, then, are not the same for every person or for all the time, but rather are relative to social situations and to the signifiers to which observers pay some attention” (p. 4). b. An example of relativism is global warming. Depending on who you talk to, global warming may or may not exist. Thus, everyone understands the same concept differently, making it relative. c. Relativism is important because being aware of it serves as a challenge in that it doesn’t provide any guides for behavior or basis for making decisions. 4. Indifference and Quiescence a. Indifference and quiescence is, “The evidences of general political apathy and quiescence in the face of determined and continuous efforts to awaken interest in ‘public affairs’ are persuasive” (p. 33). b. An example of indifference and quiescence, “widespread ignorance of the information that is most often publicized and stressed in news reports and in early schooling; the inconsistency of many beliefs about ‘important’ political issues; a high incidence of nonvoting” (p. 33). c. Indifference and quiescence is important because when people don’t have a set position to start with they’re easier to sway and manipulate. 5. Symbols a. Edelman states that, “Symbols become that facet of experiencing the material world that gives it a specific meaning. The language, rituals, and objects to which people respond are not abstract ideas. If they matter at all, it is because they are accepted as basic to the quality of life” (p. 8). b. An example of a symbol is, “A flag may be a garish piece of cloth, a reminder of the repressions and sufferings justified by appeals to patriotism, or an evocation of nostalgia for …show more content…
Ambiguous Language
a. Ambiguous language is language that is vague and does not suggest an explicit meaning.
b. An example of ambiguous language is that the economy is doing well. Without any additional information to back this up or any further detail as to why the speaker believes the economy is doing well, there is little room to directly counter the statement. What one person defines as the economy doing well another may not; thus, there is less room for disagreement.
c. Ambiguous language is important because, “Political developments and the language that describes them are ambiguous because the aspects of events, leaders, and policies that most decisively affect current and future well-being are uncertain, unknowable, and the focus of disputed claims and competing symbols. Even when there is consensus about what observably happened or was said, there are conflicting assumptions about the causes of events, the motives of officials and interest groups, and the consequences of courses of action. So it is not what can be seen that shapes political action and support, but what must be supposed, assumed, or constructed.
8. Condensation
1. The Political Spectacle
a. Edelman defines the political spectacle as, “Accounts of political issues, problems, crises, threats, and leaders now become devices for creating disparate assumptions and beliefs about the social and political world rather than factual statements. The very concept of ‘fact’ becomes irrelevant because every meaningful political object and person is an interpretation that reflects and perpetuates an ideology. Taken together, they compromise the spectacle which varies with the social situation of the spectator and serves as a meaning machine: a generator of points of view and therefore of perceptions, anxieties, aspirations, and strategies” (pg. 10).
b. An example of the political spectacle would be Fox news coverage of a memo as compared to CNN coverage. Each station highly dramatizes the event, making it a spectacle and spinning the information in completely different directions. c. The political spectacle is important because understanding it helps those involved become more aware of the manipulations that occur. 2. Positivism a. Positivism is, “the assumption that citizens, journalists, and scholars are observers of ‘facts’ whose meanings can be accurately ascertained by those who are properly trained and motivated” (p. 1). b. An example of positivism is calling a stop sign red. Everyone agrees that the color of the stop sign is red; therefore, it is red. c. Positivism is important because having a unified interpretation serves as a guide for behavior. 3. Relativism a. Relativism is the idea that, “The realities people experience, then, are not the same for every person or for all the time, but rather are relative to social situations and to the signifiers to which observers pay some attention” (p. 4). b. An example of relativism is global warming. Depending on who you talk to, global warming may or may not exist. Thus, everyone understands the same concept differently, making it relative. c. Relativism is important because being aware of it serves as a challenge in that it doesn’t provide any guides for behavior or basis for making decisions. 4. Indifference and Quiescence a. Indifference and quiescence is, “The evidences of general political apathy and quiescence in the face of determined and continuous efforts to awaken interest in ‘public affairs’ are persuasive” (p. 33). b. An example of indifference and quiescence, “widespread ignorance of the information that is most often publicized and stressed in news reports and in early schooling; the inconsistency of many beliefs about ‘important’ political issues; a high incidence of nonvoting” (p. 33). c. Indifference and quiescence is important because when people don’t have a set position to start with they’re easier to sway and manipulate. 5. Symbols a. Edelman states that, “Symbols become that facet of experiencing the material world that gives it a specific meaning. The language, rituals, and objects to which people respond are not abstract ideas. If they matter at all, it is because they are accepted as basic to the quality of life” (p. 8). b. An example of a symbol is, “A flag may be a garish piece of cloth, a reminder of the repressions and sufferings justified by appeals to patriotism, or an evocation of nostalgia for …show more content…
Ambiguous Language
a. Ambiguous language is language that is vague and does not suggest an explicit meaning.
b. An example of ambiguous language is that the economy is doing well. Without any additional information to back this up or any further detail as to why the speaker believes the economy is doing well, there is little room to directly counter the statement. What one person defines as the economy doing well another may not; thus, there is less room for disagreement.
c. Ambiguous language is important because, “Political developments and the language that describes them are ambiguous because the aspects of events, leaders, and policies that most decisively affect current and future well-being are uncertain, unknowable, and the focus of disputed claims and competing symbols. Even when there is consensus about what observably happened or was said, there are conflicting assumptions about the causes of events, the motives of officials and interest groups, and the consequences of courses of action. So it is not what can be seen that shapes political action and support, but what must be supposed, assumed, or constructed.
8. Condensation