Media culture

Abstract

Abstract Media culture (MC) refers to a historical process whereby the cultural sphere of modern, Western societies becomes increasingly permeated and shaped by the content and forms of the modern mass media. In the narrower sense, MC describes the patterns of communication and prevalent mediated themes of social discourse of a certain time or place (“the US media culture of the 1950s”). In a wider, conceptual use, MC can be understood as a contemporary approach to popular, mainstream culture in Western consumer societies that continues the tradition of previous centuries' mass culture debates. Much of the current media culture research has its roots in the tradition of the Birmingham tradition of cultural studies. Culture is seen as global, contested terrain as it constitutes the realm of societal discourse concerning ideals, values, identities, and meanings.