The rhetorical limits of polysemy

Abstract Current critical studies emphasize the way in which the polysemic qualities of mass mediated texts empower audiences to construct their own liberating readings. An examination of the text, audience readings, and historical placement of an episode of Cagney & Lacey concerning abortion indicates serious constraints placed on audiences by the rhetorical situations in which readings occur. The pleasures of the audience, I argue, may not be sufficient to certify a positive role for mass media in the process of social change.