When the Cart of Media Is Before the Horse of Identity

Abstract

Different positions have argued that the media have effectively shaped and reshaped national and transnational identities. In light of recent studies showing the complexity of identity-formation processes, however, it is unclear that prevalent arguments convincingly explain the relations between media and identity—whether at the local, national, regional, and global levels. This article offers a critical review of approaches that foreground the role of media technologies and suggests alternative ways to understand the relations between media and cultural identities. In discussing this question, the analysis focuses on the formation of national and regional cultures in Latin America. It is argued that technological potential does not automatically engender new forms of consciousness and identity. Media technologies abridge distance and fuel a new consciousness, but identity shaping entails, above all, a process by which populations are mobilized and integrated into cultural communities, and identities are created and maintained.