Structural units of mass culture mythology: a cultural semiotic approach
Date
2019-10-28
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Abstract
Minu väitekiri keskendub tänapäeva massikultuuri tekstides ilmnevate müütide ja nende semiootiliste mehhanismide uurimisele. Ehkki müüte ja ka massikultuuri tervikuna on erinevate distsipliinide vaatenurkadest palju käsitletud, pole aga uurimusi, mis tegelevad massikultuuri mütoloogia süstematiseerimisega ja müütiliste markerite semiootilise määratlemisega. Käesoleva dissertatsiooni teema ei ole huvipakkuv üksnes üldteoreetilisest, filosoofilisest, antropoloogilisest ja semiootilisest vaatenurgast, vaid ka praktilistel põhjustel. Usun, et suudan oma töös veenvalt näidata, et massikultuuri müütide semiootiliste mehhanismide uurimine ja tuvastamine on rakendatav turundussemiootika ja sotsiaalse kommunikatsiooni valdkonnas.
Oma dissertatsioonis võrdlen esmalt massikultuuri mütoloogiat sotsioloogilisest, filosoofilis-antropoloogilisest ja semiootilisest perspektiivist. See võimaldab mul kombineerida kaht peamist müüdiuurimise epistemoloogilist lähenemist ja käsitleda müüti ühelt poolt kui terviklikku meta-kontsepti, teiselt poolt aga läheneda müüdile kui kultuuritekstile.
Lähtudes loodud raamistikust analüüsin oma töös erinevaid massikultuuri tekste ja keskendun massikultuuri mütoloogia kõige levinumate ja püsivamate struktuuriüksuste tuvastamisele. Kuidas määratleda müüdi väiksemat ühikut? Selle piiritlemisel tuginen müüdi kahele strukturaalsele printsiibile: eemilisele ühikule (ingl.k emic unit), mida tähistan mütologeemi mõistega ja hübriidsele ühikule (ingl.k hybrid unit), mida tähistan müteemi mõistega.
Analüüsi käigus toon välja järgmised mütologeemid: Saatus, Teekond, Maailmakõiksus, Katastroof, Kuldajastu ja Emake Loodus ning müteemid: Transformatsioon ja Tagasitulek. Lisaks nimetatud mütologeemide ja müteemide eristamisele toon välja, mis on nende väärtus ja funktsioon mütoloogilises diskursuses. Saatus ja Teekond aitavad indiviidi elu integreerida tervikusse. Emake Looduse mütologeem seostub inimese eksistentsiaalse autentsuse- ja identiteediotsingu vajadusega. Maailmakõiksuse, Katastroofi ja Kuldajastu mütologeemid konstitueerivad aga inimese aeg-ruumilise mineviku-oleviku-tuleviku kolmiksuhte. Viimased seostuvad inimlike küsimustega maailma algupära, mineviku nostalgia ja tulevikuhirmude kohta. Trasformatsiooni müteem osutab aga ime ideele ja Tagasituleku müteem inimese semiosfääri aeg-ruumilisele teljele, korrastusele.
Töö viimane peatükk rakendab dissertatsioonis arendatud teoreetilist raamistikku konkreetsetes juhtumiuuringutes. Esimene neist on pühendatud Ukraina poliitiku Darth Vaderi TV-poliitturunuduse analüüsile ning seal ma näitan, kuidas arhetüüpsed müüditähendused poliitilise narratiivi ülesehitusse kaasati. Teine juhtumuuring keskendub konkreetse brändi väljatöötamisele, mille ma tegin koostöös Venemaa tuntud popartisti Manizhaga ja kus ma rakendan Emake Loodus mütologeemi.
Mütologeemide ja müteemide edasine uurimine võiks avada uusi semiootilisi markereid ja laiendada sellega semiootika rakendusvaldkonda ning aidata ühtlasi paremini mõista kultuuri mütoloogilist alust.
This dissertation presents a semiotic study of myth revealing in contemporary mass cultural texts and exploration of its inner semiotic machinery. Although a variety of studies have been devoted to myth, and quite a few studies have tackled mass culture issues, less attention has been given to the systematic articulation of mass cultural mythology and its markers, which reveal its inner semiotic machinery. Those issues are relevant not only from a general theoretical philosophical, anthropological, and semiotic point of view, but also have concrete applicability in marketing semiotics and social communications. Firstly, I discuss mass culture under an emancipatory umbrella approach and explore mass culture mythology from the sociological, philosophical-anthropological and semiotic perspectives. Secondly, I combine two main epistemological attitudes of myth and integrate a holistic object of research – which appears as a meta-concept – from one side, and a text of culture – mass cultural narratives around brands conveying their main values – from the other side. Thirdly, I discuss the smallest units of mass culture mythology and explore its most widespread structural units. I classify the smallest units of myth by their structural principles: the emic units (mythologemes) and the hybrid ones (mythemes). There are the mythologemes of Fate, Course, Universe, Catastrophe, Golden Age, and Mother Nature, and the mythemes of Transformation and Backtracking considered in detail. The main existential values of those smallest mythological units are discussed. The mythologemes of Fate and Course help to understand individual life as a part of an integral whole. The mythologeme of Mother Nature relates to the existential search for inner authenticity and identity. The mythologemes of Universe, Catastrophe, and Golden Age constitute an integral triadic idea about time and space (past-present-future) and reflect the human existential quest for an explanation of the world origin, nostalgia for the past and fears about the future. The mytheme of Transformation represents the idea of mythological miracle, and the mytheme of Backtracking appeals to the idea of a mastered time and space. Fourthly, I extend the process to finding more minimal units of myth in cultural texts of different genres. The first case is dedicated to close analysis of the television communication of the Ukrainian politician Darth Vader. This case demonstrates the combination of archaic meanings and contemporary forms of myth within a narrative, producing new powerful connotations. The second case applies the Mother Nature mythologeme as a branding tool for building a coherent image of a musical artist. The further exploration of the mythologemes and mythemes and articulation of other semiotic markers of myth systematically enriches a profound understanding of human mind and culture.
This dissertation presents a semiotic study of myth revealing in contemporary mass cultural texts and exploration of its inner semiotic machinery. Although a variety of studies have been devoted to myth, and quite a few studies have tackled mass culture issues, less attention has been given to the systematic articulation of mass cultural mythology and its markers, which reveal its inner semiotic machinery. Those issues are relevant not only from a general theoretical philosophical, anthropological, and semiotic point of view, but also have concrete applicability in marketing semiotics and social communications. Firstly, I discuss mass culture under an emancipatory umbrella approach and explore mass culture mythology from the sociological, philosophical-anthropological and semiotic perspectives. Secondly, I combine two main epistemological attitudes of myth and integrate a holistic object of research – which appears as a meta-concept – from one side, and a text of culture – mass cultural narratives around brands conveying their main values – from the other side. Thirdly, I discuss the smallest units of mass culture mythology and explore its most widespread structural units. I classify the smallest units of myth by their structural principles: the emic units (mythologemes) and the hybrid ones (mythemes). There are the mythologemes of Fate, Course, Universe, Catastrophe, Golden Age, and Mother Nature, and the mythemes of Transformation and Backtracking considered in detail. The main existential values of those smallest mythological units are discussed. The mythologemes of Fate and Course help to understand individual life as a part of an integral whole. The mythologeme of Mother Nature relates to the existential search for inner authenticity and identity. The mythologemes of Universe, Catastrophe, and Golden Age constitute an integral triadic idea about time and space (past-present-future) and reflect the human existential quest for an explanation of the world origin, nostalgia for the past and fears about the future. The mytheme of Transformation represents the idea of mythological miracle, and the mytheme of Backtracking appeals to the idea of a mastered time and space. Fourthly, I extend the process to finding more minimal units of myth in cultural texts of different genres. The first case is dedicated to close analysis of the television communication of the Ukrainian politician Darth Vader. This case demonstrates the combination of archaic meanings and contemporary forms of myth within a narrative, producing new powerful connotations. The second case applies the Mother Nature mythologeme as a branding tool for building a coherent image of a musical artist. The further exploration of the mythologemes and mythemes and articulation of other semiotic markers of myth systematically enriches a profound understanding of human mind and culture.
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Keywords
mass culture, mythology, ontoloogia, epistemology, structuralism, cultural semiotics