Agency in a Constructed Society
As we study everyday life and culture, along with the influence of media, we are faced with the issue of structure versus agency. In doing these studies, we cannot make valid large scale claims about culture and individuals because we must take into account that we exist as individuals and have agency. Our own realities are subjective; in studying people we can find superficial patterns, however we cannot apply these patterns to every individual, as our realities are subjective.
In Fiske's, "Active audiences", he claims that reality is subjective--we engag…