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Article: The fragmentation of America: the erosion of mass culture.
- Article from:
- Current
- Article date:
- November 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the last few decades, advertisers, academics, political operatives, and the producers of mass entertainment have had increasing difficulty conveying media messages to broad audiences. While the purveyors of mass culture were never able to reach everyone, fewer of them are even trying, and they often content themselves with communicating their message to only one part of the mass audience. Mass culture has not fallen, but it has been tilting lately under the pressures from clusters and segments that want cultural forms addressed only to their own group. This inquiry into the nature and implications of this social shift surveys how mass culture arose, explores how and why ...