Lakoff

Lakoff brings up a lot of interesting ideas about frames. She states: "We need our frames and conventional assumptions. These form the glue that holds cultures together and allows individuals within those cultures to feel like competent members of a cohesive community." I've always thought that frames defeated the point of individuality, but in this sense I begin to see them in a positive light. I believe frames tend to give us a sense of community and belonging, and we migrate to people with similar frames. Without certain frames, I wonder if the world would be in chaos. Or would it ever be possible not to have frames? Frames are everywhere; from our political party to the sports team we endorse. Every promotion we see is focused on a certain frame.
I believe Lakoff's frame idea completely correlates with why Conservatives have kept control of the government. She states: "What makes conservative ideas go down smoothly, while new ones stick in the craw, is their blind familiarity." Conservative write in a certain frame that attracts a large mass of the population. They don't go outside of the frame like many liberals tend to do. They have a set frame (which tends to be a great deal of the voting population) and write towards that. People feel they can identify with their frames, and therefore they vote for them. It kind of goes back to what the clip we heard in class demonstrated, although the man agreed with more of the ideas for kerry, he still voted for bush because he saw himself in the Republican frame.