Cultural Exposure, Resonance, and Resilience: the Dramatic Characters of George Floyd’s Murder

• In Event: 20263 - Recent Advances in Social Movement Research

Abstract

Why did videos of George Floyd’s murder bring so many people, in the US and sixty other countries, into the streets to protest? More generally, how do carriers of cultural meanings connect with audiences? We use the concepts of exposure, resonance, and resilience to suggest how some packages of meaning spread further and affect more people than others do, especially trying to insert emotional dynamics into our models. We also try to add substance to what have been abstract claims about resonance by turning to character theory, the study of villains, victims, heroes, and minions through the emotions they arouse, in understanding the unique power of Darnella Frazier’s video of Floyd’s murder. Emotions are crucial for understanding how cultural artifacts affect action.

Authors

• James M Jasper, CUNY-Graduate Center

• Kristen Lynn Miller, CUNY-Graduate Center