Making Meaning...

According to Michel Foucault, his concept of discourse is defined as the "frameworks of interpretation" (p. 337) in order to make sense of relationships between societal power, communication, and mass media. But Stuart Hall claims otherwise-- he claims that the 'primary function of discourse is to make meaning' in his book Representation. The catchy phrase that caught my attention is the one that is stated in the text: "Words don't mean; people mean." That short statement says a lot to me, because it's something that I also believe. I almost interpret it as words don't mean anything unless there is something/someone to validate it, or back it up. But of course, not everyone is going to interpret meanings in the same way. Stuart Hall's theory is that people learn what signs mean though discourse (through communication and culture). He proceeds to explain how culture works in terms of producing and exchanging meanings, and that people of the same culture are likely to interpret the world around them in similiar ways. This makes a lot of sense considering meanings and signs are learned culturally and through past experiences.