Many stories, multiple meanings : narrative in the O. J. Simpson case as a cultural discourse event

Abstract

America's continuing obsession with the O.J. Simpson case can be explained as a defensive strategy of repetitive narration, to avoid confronting the difficult issues the case raised. These narratives forrn a series of concentric circles, from the facts of the cases thernselvesto the meta-analysis of the media. This paper analyzes these rnultiple levels and their interpenetrations as a way of examining the mutual influence of culture and discourse upon each other.