Mediating modernity: Theorizing reception in a non-western society

These two lines of response revolve around the figure of the nation. “National culture�? becomes the trope through which anxieties about the precise nature of the medium’s effects play themselves out. While advancing the cause of “development,�? television at the same time holds out the promise of defending national tradition, and serving as a line of defense against foreign culture, or against any other elements defined as negative; television culture becomes a key site for discerning symptoms of the national mood.