Breaking the Frame

In: Mobilization: the international quarterly review of social movement research, Volume 5, Issue 1, p. 61-64

Abstract

A reply to David A. Snow & Robert D. Benford's comments on the authors' "What a Good Idea! Ideologies and Frames in Social Movement Research" (both, 2000) notes that the article was intended to provoke dialogue & revive theorizing about the relation between ideology & frames. Snow & Benford object to use of the noun frame, rather than the verb framing even though most research in the framing perspective does the same. The noun-verb distinction is at the core of their other criticisms, & it is argued that the noun is an interpretive frame described as a cognitive structure, while the verb describes framing processing as unique entities. The noun moves the framing process forward & does not detract from the knowledge that "all social life is emergent, negotiated, & contextual." The notion that framing as an activity is more observable than ideology is contested, & new methodologies are examined, eg, story grammar analysis, that hold promise for enhancing both the frame/framing & ideology perspectives. 4 References. J. Lindroth