Cultural Meaning
CULTURAL MEANING
The meaning humans give to actions, concepts and behaviours is dependent on the cultural milieu and is conditioned to a great extent by the underlying meaning systems, values and frames of meaning he/she inherites from the society in general. Socialization plays a direct role in that process. Education, effects of peers and the intellectual atmosphere all contribute to what is called cultural meaning or systems of meaning. Cultural meaning conditions our perception and determines the way we process external perceptions. In this sense, what Gregory Bateson calls "an ecology of mind" is at work here. The mind acts in an ecology of preceding concepts, comments and semantic networks operating in a particular field and in society as well. Through these networks meaning is produced within a particular person, system, or culture. This meaning then frames and motivates the actions of individuals and groups. "Events are not just there and happen, but they have a meaning and happen because of that meaning," wrote Clifford Geertz.
Meaning is also historically formed. For example; body image varies across cultures and is shaped by the specific meaning given to it by a culture. There is a time dimension involved in this same process, too. Western societies tend to value slim and fit bodies in terms of representation in popular culture. Whereas, body images of other cultures are very different in most cases. Some Pacific island people prefer fatness both as a sign of wealth and of esthetic superiority. But with the advent of globalization and the expansion of western cultural codes through TV and other media, these same people have come to question their body images. Western culture's meaning system expanded its sphere of influence in that case. In fact, a mild fatness was accepted as a desirable physical trait in western history, too.
Much of what is classified under popular culture is subject to meaning systems and the accompanying perceptions about
The meaning humans give to actions, concepts and behaviours is dependent on the cultural milieu and is conditioned to a great extent by the underlying meaning systems, values and frames of meaning he/she inherites from the society in general. Socialization plays a direct role in that process. Education, effects of peers and the intellectual atmosphere all contribute to what is called cultural meaning or systems of meaning. Cultural meaning conditions our perception and determines the way we process external perceptions. In this sense, what Gregory Bateson calls "an ecology of mind" is at work here. The mind acts in an ecology of preceding concepts, comments and semantic networks operating in a particular field and in society as well. Through these networks meaning is produced within a particular person, system, or culture. This meaning then frames and motivates the actions of individuals and groups. "Events are not just there and happen, but they have a meaning and happen because of that meaning," wrote Clifford Geertz.
Meaning is also historically formed. For example; body image varies across cultures and is shaped by the specific meaning given to it by a culture. There is a time dimension involved in this same process, too. Western societies tend to value slim and fit bodies in terms of representation in popular culture. Whereas, body images of other cultures are very different in most cases. Some Pacific island people prefer fatness both as a sign of wealth and of esthetic superiority. But with the advent of globalization and the expansion of western cultural codes through TV and other media, these same people have come to question their body images. Western culture's meaning system expanded its sphere of influence in that case. In fact, a mild fatness was accepted as a desirable physical trait in western history, too.
Much of what is classified under popular culture is subject to meaning systems and the accompanying perceptions about