Interaction Between Communication and Culture

Communication and culture are often unique concepts, but their influences on society often overlap. In most instances, cultural influences have dictated how media should permeate through different aspects of society. At the same time, it is important to point out that the media has also had a significant impact on society because, in different parts of the world, culture has adjusted, or reshaped, based on media influences. For example, I have observed that in many African states, African women have tried to emulate fashion styles from the west, thereby suppressing the authentic African fashion style associated with the same culture.

Similarly, I have noticed that some eastern cultures that have often associated themselves with communal cultures have slowly started to embrace individualism, often associated with western cultures. Such changes have often come from influences in the media. However, certain cultures have strongly opposed such changes, thereby demonstrating the power of culture over the media. For example, in my experience, I have observed that most countries, which profess the Buddhist culture, are strongly against western ideals of life because they deem it a “threat” to their beliefs and values. This is only one example of how culture could oppose media.

Broadly, the interaction between communication and culture could be summed as a symbiotic relationship where media provide the framework for understanding or conveying a specific cultural dispensation. Without it, it would be difficult to understand what a culture represents or even what it is about. At the same time, culture provides the contents for communication in the media because it provides the fodder through which the media thrives. In this regard, we would find many cases where media compares different cultural ideas and strives to provide a platform to interact. Thus, broadly, we see that communication and culture overlap.