Ritual Theory and the Media

Abstract

This chapter explores the origins of ritual theories of the media, focusing on work done since the 1970s more than on earlier studies in anthropology and sociology. It begins with a discussion of the key components of ritual and of the reasons why the concept of ritual might prove attractive to scholars studying modern communication media. It then identifies several key moments in the development of ritual theory: James Carey's seminal comparison of transmission and ritual models of communication; the interest in the ritual role that media play in politics, as discussed in the work of Philip Elliott, Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz, Karin Becker, and Marvin and Ingle; the effort by Eric Rothenbuhler to frame a more general theory of ritual communication; and recent efforts by Nick Couldry to understand how the ritual construction of “the media” affirms the system of power relations in society.

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