GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP OF MASS MEDIA AND ITS EFFECTS
ON CULTURE: A MACRO-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF THE USE
OF MASS MEDIA TO PERPETUATE SOCIETAL
This research, at a general level, examines the effects of ì
government censorship of the mass media on culture. More ì
specifically, this research focuses on the use of mass media to ì
perpetuate societal control by the elite of a society.ì
A macro-level of analysis is applied in this examination. ì
Two theories associated with the use of communications in society ì
provide the bases for the analysis. The first theory is ì
memetics, a geopolitical which applies biological models to the ì
spread of ideas both between and among cultures. T 3.ls1
1"Contending Theories of Global Communication," 201.
analytical base is regime theory that in the context of ì
communications describes patterns of behavior between states. , 3.ls1
The presentation of the findings of this research begins ì
with a theoretical discussion of the theory of memetics and ì
regime theory. This discussion is followed by a review of the ì
literature reflecting censorship or attempted censorship of the ì
mass media. Lastly, the effects of censorship or attempts at ì
censorship of the mass media on the perpetuation of elite control ì
Both the theory of memetics and regime theory is covered in ì
this discussion. The two theories are reviewed separately.ì
The theory of memetics views information as a virus. ? 3.ls1
geopolitical theory "holds that natural selection applies to ì
behavior in the same way that it applies to genetics." & 3.ls1
to the theory of memetics are the following concepts: & 3.ls1
1. Ideas develop according to certain predictable rules.ì
2. The cultural spread of ideals of all types occurs in ì
accordance with the predictable rules.ì
3. A similarity exi...