Abstract
We each identify with many different cultures, for example national, ethnic, religious, organisational, professional, gender and generation cultures, and encounters with difference are inevitable on a daily basis. These encounters, when lived reactively, can often lead to misunderstandings, polarisation, and even conflict. Yet when lived consciously, they provide opportunities for empathy, problem solving, creativity and innovation. In audiovisual narratives, encounters with difference - and the conflicts that ensue - are the basis of the drama, and what provokes the transformation and development of the characters. Existing studies around diversity in audiovisual narratives have focused mainly on the presence and authenticity of the representation of difference. Little research has explored how transformation occurs through these encounters with difference, and what that could show us about how we experience these encounters in ordinary life. This research explores first what we know from communication theory about behaviours that draw positive transformation from encounters with diversity, and then analyses these behaviours in the television series ‘This is Us’. In doing so, allegory, metaphor, myth and analogy in the audiovisual medium contribute a new reflective awareness on how positive transformation can be achieved from encounters with diversity. The resulting analysis provides insights on both the communication behaviours that favour positive transformation, as well as the creative outcomes that can be achieved both individually and socially when one is open to encounters with difference.
Presenters
Clare Elizabeth CannonResearcher, Adjunct Professor, Ciencias de la Educación, Lenguaje, Cultura y Artes, Ciencias Historico-Jurídicas y Humanísticas y Lenguas Modernas, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Television, Diversity Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Prosocial Behaviour, Constructive Conflict, Identity
Digital Media
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