Social myth as a factor in constructing images of the future

The article defines the contemporary social myth as a value-laden phenomenon with the potential and significance, but which is used in different ways by actors – an indwelling by a myth, a creator of a myth and a critic of a myth. The process of myth-making is considered as launching the so-called work on myth, which includes both the activity of myth-makers and the functioning of the myth in the masses. The appeal to the project function of the social myth and the consideration of the degree of awareness of the myth by individual groups actualize the question of the myth as a factor in constructing images of the future. Taking into account the ideas of R. Barthes and C. Bottici, the author concludes that the myth already contains significant images that allow the future to become more concrete. Using the example of the state as the main generator of myths for a wide audience, it is suggested that all the trajectories of creating potential images of the future are confined to the myth of the hero. Conclusions are drawn about the demand for such images of the future, which are built around the figure of a leader correlated with a mythological hero, that the scale of the state is a suitable level for reasoning about the spread and limits of the influence of modern myth-making, and that the constructive potential of the myth is involved in creating images of the future.

The makeup art: social stratification and social myth

Purpose of the article. The purpose of the article is to analyze the phenomenon of makeup art and its connection with social stratification and social myth. Methodology. The study of the phenomenon of makeup in connection with social mythology and social stratification is associated with the use of general scientific methods of analysis, generalization, synthesis, etc. Not only in line with art history and sociological knowledge, but also knowledge of psychology, cultural studies, philosophy, etc., which provides for the integration and inclusive combination of appropriate methods and approaches. The artistic and typological method made it possible to analyze the phenomenon of makeup, social myth and social stratification as integral phenomena with specific features. The combination of anthropological, axiological and historical approaches with the use of socio-cultural and art criticism tools made it possible to identify the main value-semantic and content-structural constants of these phenomena. Scientific novelty. The art of makeup is presented as the basis of social mythology and its connection with social stratification, which makes it possible to position makeup as one of the backbone components of the socio-cultural system, as well as facilitate the study of the entire spectrum of its cultural phenomena. Conclusions. Makeup, as an axiologically loaded phenomenon, is the basis for the creation of social mythology and support for social stratification, characterizes the processes of social development, significantly affects the public consciousness and behavior of both social groups and individual subjects. By the nature of the course of the processes of being, the phenomenon of makeup allows one to see the specifics of social phenomena and determine their place in the structure of social life. The positive role of makeup is that it is one of the conditions for the integrity of society, providing cultural, art, moral, etc. the continuity of its imperatives. The negative one is that it not only represents the social stratification of society, but also becomes a means of deepening it, stereotyping and accumulating in its practices both positive and negative patterns of sociocultural models of behavior. Because, as part of social mythology, the phenomenon of makeup is ambiguous: on the one hand, it partly threatens social development, and on the other hand, it helps to consolidate people and society in overcoming the challenges of our time.

The social myth and human domination of nature in Georg Sorel and Stanisław Brzozowski

In this article I aim to bring to the fore a problematic trait of Polish philosopher Stanisław Brzozowski’s (1878–1911) thinking, which is his insistence on the metaphysical importance of human domination of nature through work, technology, and maximization of production. The focal point of the article is Brzozowski’s interpretation of Georg Sorel, with an emphasis on Reflections on Violence and the concept of the social myth. I argue that Brzozowski considers the primary strength of the social myth to lie in its contribution to such domination, because its principal trait is to provide man with a sublime feeling of elevation above nature. Furthermore, this feeling becomes a motive force for struggle against nature. In conclusion, I suggest that the perspective of the sublime is a fruitful path for future critical encounters with Brzozowski’s work. The first part of the article stresses the importance of the sublime in Reflections on Violence. Sorel uses this concept throughout his main work to describe the affective nature of the violence of the social myth, which coordinates the inclinations of the masses towards emancipation. The second part discusses how Brzozowski understands the social myth, law, and nationhood from the perspective of human domination of elemental nature.

Modernity’s fears of depopulation and sterility in Mario Sironi’s urban landscapes

This article focuses on Fascist artist Mario Sironi’s urban landscapes as a site of modernity and its contradictions. With their gloomy buildings and deserted streets, Sironi’s landscapes highlight two of modernity's woes: The periferia of the “liberal” city and the fear for its inhabitants’ degeneration and sterility. In his “Il discorso dell’Ascensione,” Mussolini openly accuses industrial urbanism of its sterilizing effect on the Italian race, thus, jeopardizing his imperial ambitions. By giving an aesthetic form to the Regime’s fears, Sironi reaches two goals: The aestheticization of fascist politics, as described by Walter Benjamin, and the creation of the Soreal social myth that would ultimately propel Italians toward the resolution of their presumed problems. Moreover, the article suggests a reading of Sironi’s murals as an integral part of the urban landscapes’ reading and interpretation. The murals’ fascist imperial rhetoric would lose its referent should the Italian race succumb to physical degeneration and sterility.

The Letter of Aristeas

Even though the Letter of Aristeas was unmasked as a pseudepigraphon over 400 years ago, the question of its value as a historical source continues to dominate the field of Septuagint Studies. First, this chapter discusses how the genre of the Letter of Aristeas is actually a mix of historiography, rhetorical display, Hellenistic philosophy, and biblical wisdom literature. Next, it discusses several recent approaches to the problem of historicity: the search for a kernel of historical truth in the Letter, the application of insights from the study of ancient historiography, and the Letter as a source for the reception history of the Septuagint. Finally, it addresses the identification of the Aristeas story as a social myth of Alexandrian Jewish society.

Social myth-making in the space of mass culture

Studying the characteristic features of the modern socio-cultural space, which are largely determined by archaic phenomena, we can identify the following signs of the modern stage of its development associated with the mythological space: anonymization of culture, derationalization of consciousness and centrist socio-cultural orientations. The materials of the article may be of interest as a scientific and methodological material in the fields of Advertising and Public Relations.

Social system in the context of media typification of information

The article is devoted to the study of the mechanisms of transformation of modern society in the context of media domination and the reproduction of chronologically determined mythologies. The main current approaches to the analysis of mythologies are considered. The significance of the temporal organization of a social myth in social differentiation and dynamics is revealed.