ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a story passed on at various meetings associated with intercultural trainers. The trainers review three different theoretical perspectives in the field of intercultural communication: interpretive, critical, and social scientific. They explore the many possible ways different cultural communities create understanding with other members, but often create misunderstanding when interacting interculturally. The social-scientific perspective views culture as a variable that must be considered in accomplishing the goals of life. This variable may be identified as group membership, but this membership is associated with set values and specific forms of action that need to be considered in interacting successfully with others. The trainers discuss these perspectives in terms of research on popular culture and the media, with particular attention paid to the critical and social-scientific perspectives. They reviewed work from a social-scientific perspective that demonstrates how media and popular culture can either be used or overcome in efforts to achieve certain social goals.
