Abstract
This research explores how meanings drawn from advertising and the mass media may contribute to the cultural identity of young adults who are first generation Americans and children of immigrants. We examine the meanings informants derive about U.S. culture and people, how they interpret the media portrayals of people of different national ancestries, and how such meaning-making affects their daily lives and cultural identity. A key finding is that informants experience a number of conflicts that stem from negotiating multiple and sometimes contradictory cultural messages received from the media, society, family, and friends. We explore the nature of these tensions and the role of the mass media in contributing to them. Moreover, we examine a variety of cultural identity management strategies employed by informants in dealing with these diverse influences. We close by discussing implications for advertising and media managers and avenues for future research.
Highlights
Transactions between marketers and consumers are, above all else, exchanges of meanings. -Sidney Levy, 1959The role of advertising and the mass media in shaping our perceptions of who we are can hardly be overstated
In this study, using in-depth interviews with young adults who are children of immigrants, all being first generation Americans, we explore cultural meanings drawn from the mass media and the role that media messages may play in the formation and expression of their cultural as well as individual identity
Previous research shows that advertisements that used African-American models but lacked African-American cultural sensitivity failed to convince African-American youths to identify themselves with those advertisements (BRISTOR, LEE, and HUNT 1995)
Summary
Transactions between marketers and consumers are, above all else, exchanges of meanings. -Sidney Levy, 1959The role of advertising and the mass media in shaping our perceptions of who we are can hardly be overstated. Unlike in the past when the US was considered a “melting pot” and emphasis was placed on becoming assimilated to the US society, the recent trend in the US is maintaining and promoting diversity, as can be evidenced by the proliferation of ethnic restaurants, publication of newspapers in different languages, requiring high school students to learn a second language, White House dinners and receptions to for different religious groups (e.g., Iftar Party for Muslims and Diwali for Hindu people), celebrating the national days of different countries by holding parades in New York and other big cities, etc Further evidence about this rowing emphasis on diversity can be found in a number of practices such as the US government issuing a special category of immigrant visa called Diversity Visa through lottery to people from countries that are underrepresented in the US (www.usais.org), educational institutions and government agencies more aggressively recruiting people from diverse backgrounds, and the establishment of bilingual schools in various parts of the country (Rothstein 1998). Such a paradigm shift may have a profound impact on the pace, extent, and nature of acculturation and assimilation of immigrants and their children
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