Communication Studies and David vs. Goliath

Then they'll raise their hands,
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands,
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered.
And like Pharaoh's tribe,
They'll be drownded in the tide,
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.
Bob Dylan, When the Ship Comes In

Flying west, high above the North American continent, the words of Bob Dylan come clearly through the high fidelity earphones attached to my generation five iPod. Todd Gitlin's Media Unlimited on my lap, the messages about messages and information present an eerie counterpoint to the mythical incantations of the man who was once called the voice of a generation.

The great dancer, director, and choreographer, Twyla Tharp writes in her book, The Creative Habit, that playwright John Guare says that every tale tells one of two stories. They are Romeo and Juliet and David and Goliath. Whether you agree with Guare or not, it's an interesting lens from which to view Gitlin and Postman. And it seems, also, to resonate in our discussions.

We've identified the Goiaths as the big corporations that control the media onslaught. So who are the Davids? And what will be their contribution? Are we the ones, students and academics, who will lead the way and serve as a counterweight to the Goliaths? Or will it be some young entrepreneur who instead of selling to Murdoch or Google decides to keep her creation and rival the giants? Or will it be a giant like Google that professes a creed of “Don't be Evil”?
Remember, too, that even David, the greatest King of Israel and the forebear of Jesus, was a complicated and tortured soul. The future King who killed the giant becomes a killer himself. David sends Uriah to his death so David can have Bathsheba. And David's son, Absalom, meets an untimely death, a source of tremendous grief for the great King David.

When we work to enlighten the public and weaken the Goliaths what follows in their place? Leadership and artistry confront money and power. The intellectual path influences but seldom compels. Our field of Communication Studies offers a vantage point from which we must bring a practical, real world approach to our deep learning and insight. How do we get beyond the righteous exhortations and condemnations about the status quo?

Stanley Deetz's ideas about practical theory offer a bit of hope for the future. Professor Deetz, himself, engages the corporate world through his work. Michael Schudson is a University of California, San Diego, Communications scholar; like Deetz, he engages the world of business and offers insight. My experience has been that many in the capitalist world are open to a certain type of intellectual who can get off his or her high horse and help handle higher pursuits that are also profitable.

Perhaps this is a utopian capitalism that may never arrive; but it is a worthy goal, more realistic than many of the failed socialist experiments. But if we are to be the Davids opposing the corporate Goliaths we must not forget that once the giant is neutralized leadership is required. And simply knocking down the giant does not make the world better. What follows must be a compelling and rich alternative. Postman is correct in his assessment of capitalist radicals. We need them to drive progress and shape the world. But we must not let them abuse their power. We must help them strive to reach higher and to remember that even the great King David faltered after his boyhood victory over Goliath.