Liz Horgan - Reflection for Chapter #6 Communication Ethics Literacy

! Public discourse is where diverse ideas are actively made known, where ideas

wrestle for dominance, hashed out through conversation and dialog, and from which

temporary answers/points of view/decisions can emerge. Alternatives, standards,

norms, a diversity of ideas and voices all jockeying to be heard, to be understood and to

be formed into current nuggets of knowledge. This active forum for public decision

making can be seen as a big pot of stew, full of a variety of ingredients. Private space

comes when individuals choose from the stew of different ideas, beliefs and “answers”

and make them their own. If the private and public spaces blur, the ingredients of the

stew suffer and the overall quality/taste of the stew is less “good”.

! There are dangers that lurk and highlight public discourse ethical issues. For

example, “reality” TV can blur the public and the private space. Substance is replaced

by entertainment when people like “The Situation” and “Snooki” on Jersey Shore (TV

Series) work their...magic. The Show embodies what can happen where there is no

personal space, where every private thing is thrown out for public viewing and the world

sees base, mediocre frivolity. It results in a dumbing-down of meaning and discourse.

! Public discourse fosters relationships that are formal and distant, while private

discourse encourages personalized, intimate space. Our celebrity culture brings good

examples of this: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They have a very public visage, they

promote their personal careers, their presence in the public sphere feeds both

voyeuristic dialog and strengthens the economics of their movies (and the entertainment

industry in general), they give voice to the disenfranchised (discourse justice) from
Pakistani flood victims to African orphans, and they even spark style and fashion

decision-making that has in-the-moment yet far reaching impact. They are part of the

raucous dialog that swirls in the public space. I believe their goal in this realm is to

communicate through PR crafted snapshots and exposures - which for them works

more often than not. However, speculation and sensationalism follow them as

celebrities and vies for the “truth” with their crafted messages.

! Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie also live privately. They have security to protect

them from the demands of the public, and unlike many celebrities (Brittny Spears comes

to mind), appear to guard their intimate family life and their privacy. They have very real

barriers (fences, remote and guarded homes, bodyguards) that they use to draw the line

between public and private. They do not talk about their private lives (much) to

outsiders, likely they require others who know them to keep private things quiet as well,

and do seem to be able to keep the public and private spaces separate. Their

communication is strategic, planned and executed with practiced precision.

! Protecting both the public and the private spaces leads to an invigoration of both

places. Without activity in both arenas, Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie would likely be less

interesting, less famous, and both their public and private lives would suffer or change -

they enliven the knowledge pool for both spheres. And finally, to continue the earlier

stew metaphor, it makes for good, hearty, healthy stew.