Bormann, Ernest G. "Fantasy Theme Analysis"
From RhetorClick
Brief Summary
Similar to Symbolic Convergence Theory, Fantasy Theme Analysis is a communication theory described by Ernest G. Bormann to explain how cultural communities form.
FTA suggests that two or more people engaging in communication will eventually develop a shared view of reality, or a common way of explaining their experiences. As this view begins to encompass more and more people, a rhetorical vision emerges, as in the case of national identities or corporate missions.
This view of reality is often expressed as a fantasy theme, or a dramatistic fulfillment of the view of reality. One assumption made by Bormann in FTA theory is that meaning and hidden ideals are found in action, rather than in the minds of the actor.
As time progresses, entire moral value systems emerge out of the shared view of reality, which, Bormann states, help people to understand, cope with, and internalize events happening around them. For example, a common fantasy theme in the US is the "rags to riches" expression of human experience. It is glorified and as such it becomes ingrained into the cultural consciousness, until individuals develop a subconscious ("knee-jerk") reaction to the story, where individuals understand the here-and-now theme of rags-to-riches in the case of one person in terms of all the previous rags-to-riches stories the individual has ever experienced in the past. In many ways, Fantasy Theme Analysis shares many common themes with Attribution Theory.
