The “relevance” of cultural identity in audiences' interpretations of mass media

Abstract

This article discusses the promise of “relevancy” as a concept for analyzing socially situated meaning processes. It does so through an analysis of how gay male spectators make a “gay discourse” relevant in their interpretations of Harvey Fierstein's teleplay Tidy Endings. The study illustrates how the gay viewers' knowledge of Fierstein's works, oppression, AIDS, and issues of gay identity interact in the construction of meaning. The article demonstrates the value of relevancy for overcoming conceptual boundaries in studies of mass media interpretation. Particular attention is paid to the ways relevancy synthesizes sociopsychological, textual, and conversational resources in given moments of interpretation.