Week #3 Question #1

*Consider the social constructionist perspective. How do we “build worlds” through communication? Think of some ideas we talk about in our culture that may not exist in other cultures. How do these concepts contribute to our happiness or success (of the lack of these) in our culture?*

As a Cultural Anthropology major, the social constructionist model presented in the text is very familiar and, I believe, presents the most plausible theory or perspective on how and why we as humans communicate. In Anthropology the term "world view" is used to describe a particular culture's ideas (current, present and past) and how those ideas, or ideology, were (are; will be) put into practice. Cultural norms of public practice (even speech itself) are created by the masses over time and passed down, generation to generation. One could even argue that the greatest aspect of one's private practice, religion, is itself a "built world" of communication.
While around the world most of the norms described by the social constructionist model are based upon years of cultural experience, adaptation and the direct passage from older generations to the young, in the United States, I believe, the majority of our "world view" is not passed on my elder generations but by commercialized mass media. Here in the United States (and now elsewhere around the world due to the globalized economy and international/intercontinental flow of cultural ideology/practice) nearly every aspect of our world view can be seen promoted on air by one FCC approved station or another. Want to know what American cultural norms concerned with health, hygiene and beauty are: watch all the pharmaceutical ads, cosmetic promotions (plastic and not), and toiletry commercials during day time, prime time, all the time...because after all...if you didn't use Krest...you're really not Krest Clean(tm)...right? Even the social norms of politics, religion, and the arts are controlled and promoted by the media in the United States. I believe the American people's willingness to look toward media outlets as a "world view compass", when those media outlet's primary interest is the production of revenue, is a communication practice which separates use from other countries in the world. Now, whether or not this is a good thing...that is the true debate.
Our created world view can build worth out of the smallest things which in another part of the world may be viewed as absolutely useless. Those things we culturally create to be important can often times dictate one's social status and entire future, while in another culture those very same things would be viewed as useless (or the other way around). Happiness in both the material and the mental (religion for example) stem from communication passed down and created into a culturally accepted and promoted norm.