Mass media communications and their impact on young people

The article discusses theoretical approaches to the definition of the concept of “media communication”, presents the characteristics of the generalized classification of theories of mass communication. It is established that in the course of historical development, specific signs of media communications were formed in certain socio-economic and political conditions. According to the results of a study conducted in 2021, in order to influence social networks on young people, positive and negative effects of social networks as the most popular modern mass media have been established. The author substantiates the effectiveness of gatekeeping as the main method of reducing the influence of social networks on young people, which consists in the development of a message filtering system in media communications.

Staging Work in the Corporatist State. Visual Propaganda in Fascist Italy and Peronist Argentina (1922-1955)

Starting in 1922, Benito Mussolini (1922-1943) reformed Italian labour relations by adopting corporatism. As such, he served as a model for many other heads of state in search of ways out of economic crisis. When the corporatist model spread throughout Latin America in the 1930s and 1940s, the Argentine president Juan Domingo Perón (1946-1955) drew significantly on the Italian precedent. Adhering to an aestheticised concept of politics and making use of modern mass media, both regimes advertised corporatism in their respective visual propaganda, in which the worker came to play a prominent role. The article analyses parallels and differences in the formation of political identities in fascist and Peronist visual media that under both corporatist regimes centred around work. Comparing different role models as they were designed for different members of society, I argue that – apart from gender roles where Peronism resorted to similarly traditional images – Peronist propaganda messages were more future-oriented and inclusive. Racist exclusions of parts of the population from the central worker identity that increasingly characterised fascist propaganda over the course of the 1930s were not adopted in Argentina after 1945. Instead, in state visual media the category of work in its inclusionary dimension served as a promise of belonging to the Peronist community.

The Zombie as a Mirror of Modern Mass Culture

Zombies were and still are one of the most important symbols of modern mass culture. The zombie discourse originated among African slaves brought to the sugar plantations in the Caribbean. In many ways, the narratives of the “living dead” were a reaction to the crisis phenomena of plantation life. This is evidenced by the rich comparative material presented on many peoples of the world. Such notions of invulnerability after formal death proved to be an important tool of resistance to new conditions caused by external threats. Termed “revitalization,” they were an important element of the Millennialist movements. While initially the sorcerers who could bring themselves back to life were central to these beliefs, in the following period the focus shifted to the victims of various manipulations, transformed into soulless beings. Leaving the environment of their original “habitat,” zombies took on a new life, occupying a firm place in modern mass culture. Having become a symbol of ruthless exploitation of man, relegated to the level of a machine appendage, zombies proved to be one of the most “productive” symbols. They reflected the main trends in the development of society and even began to function as instruments of philosophical reflection. All this allows us to consider zombies as an indicator of altered society, producing new “walking dead”. The metaphors associated with zombies allows us to conclude that the comprehension of zombies makes modern man begin to perceive them constructively, creating a new image, demonstrating the movement towards humanization.

Socio-Philosophical Analysis of Mass Media as a Factor in the Formation of Public Opinion

Computer and telecommunication technologies have led to the development of modern mass media and have made significant competition with the print edition (newspapers, magazines, and books), the dominance of telecracy, etc. The media have gone a significant path of development from a channel of information and entertainment to a political institution, significantly increasing their capabilities as an in- strument of influencing public consciousness. The study?s main purpose is to conduct a socio-philoso- phical analysis of mass media as a factor in the formation of public consciousness. In this article, the pro- cess of cognition of mass media and socio-philosophical analysis of its impact on society were used: gen- eral scientific methods; logical methods of theoretical analysis; technical analysis, clarification.

„Hiszpania! Jakież czarodziejskie słowo, jakże uroczo brzmi ten wyraz!" Obraz Hiszpanii na przełomie XIX i XX wieku w polskich listach z podróży

Modern Polish ideas about the Iberian Peninsula can often be summarised in slogans: azure sky, beautiful women, bullfighting, Don Quixote from La Mancha. Has this image of Spain been with us for centuries, or has it been “produced” by modern mass tourism? The aim of this article is to analyse travel texts from the 19th and 20th centuries describing journeys around the Iberian Peninsula and an attempt to answer the question of what Spain looks like in the eyes of Poles deprived of their own statehood. Is it terra incognita, an exotic country with a rich history, in which travellers find a reflection in architecture and customs, fascinated by Madrid, Barcelona, and Salamanca? Or maybe it evokes disappointment? The article compares travel letters by four Polish travellers and historians: Aleksander Hirschberg, Adolf Pawiński, Józef Wawel-Louis, and Stanisław Starża. The analysis of the letters was divided into thematic blocks: historical Polish-Spanish relations, perceptions and impressions, opinions about Spaniards and Spanish women, and cultural controversies (corrida, cockfighting).

New stage of scientific understanding of homeopathic phenomenon

Statements that homeopathy failed scientific testing and that it is a mock-science based on placebo effect are frequent in modern mass media. Their authors disregard not only results of many studies but also the effect of homeopathy in coma patients, infants, animals, germs and plants. Homeopathy is criticised due to lack of statistically acceptable studies and an accepted effect mechanism laid out in principles of modern science. However, homeopathy not only stood the time test but also showed potential for further implementation. Scientific studies, active use of homeopathy in medical practice help to resolve crisis in modern therapy by of treatment and prevention cost efficiency

Style evolution of Sting’s creativity

The purpose of this article is to outline the evolutionary vector of the style evolution of G. M. T. Sumner’s (Sting) creativity. The methodology. The study is based on the comprehensive use of systematic, historical and cultural approaches, as well as methods of periodization and genre-style analysis. The results. The article analyzes the work of one of the recognized masters of world popular music — English musician G. M. T. Sumner, better known by the stage name Sting. The topicality of the chosen topic is due to the artistic and socio-cultural significance and genre and stylistic diversity of Sting’s creative work, which in the research space of modern musicology still remain poorly understood. The article considers the preconditions for the formation of Sting’s authorial style, reveals the key stylistic trends that shaped his individual authorial style, and highlights the personal and professional-artistic criteria of his creative activity. Embodying in one person the guise of a composer, poet, singer, guitarist and actor, G. M. T. Sumner (Sting) is a shining example of a modern universal artist. He illustrates by his own example typical genre-style metamorphoses of mass music of the late XX — early XXI century, revealing new paradigms of modern world music art. The stylistic evolution of Sting’s creativity is substantiated in accordance with the proposed concept of periodization of his creative activity. The main periods of the artist’s creative activity are outlined: 1) early (1977–1990); 2) mature (1991–2012) and 3) late (since 2013). The stylistic priorities inherent in each of these periods are described. The uniqueness and originality of Sting’s authorial artistic style lies in the peculiarity of his artistic thinking, which to some extent is based on the concept of stylistic pluralism. The stylistic evolution of Sting’s works represents his appeal to various stylistic models of modern mass music (rock, jazz, pop, reggae). At the same time, the artist’s stylistic search goes far beyond popular music, extending to the spheres of academic and ethnic musical traditions. The scientific novelty of this article is that this study for the first time reveals the stylistic evolution of Sting’s works, its periodization and identifies the main stages, identifies the leading genre and style features of the artist’s works and the characteristics of his artistic thinking. The practical significance of the article lies in the possibility of using its materials and conclusions in further research on this issue, in performing and pedagogical practice (in the courses “Music of the XX century”, “History and theory of modern music”, “History of rock music”, etc.).

News Reporting: Substitution of Functions

The issue of journalistic functions fulfillment by the modern mass media is considered. The authors examined a number of news reports in socio-political online media and found some cases where the classic functions of journalism such as informing and controlling were substituted by PR functions. The content analysis revealed an alarmingly large number of pseudo journalistic reports, which mainly aimed to create and maintain a positive image. The reason why journalism is losing its value is the lack of professionals representing the public interest. The analysis shown a high number of publications, based on (practically unchanged) press releases, that is common to a number of media and clearly illustrates the unprofessionalism of the authors of pseudo news. The regional media have to monetize its activity, so the matter of finance wins over the matter of beliefs. However, the media and, in particular, journalism is quickly losing public credibility. In general, we are witnessing the undermining of classical journalistic creativity and the merging of this concept with other wider categories of public relations.

Diachronic model of the word “official” in the Russian language: semantic features and vectors of development

The relevance of this article is determined by the demand for the stereotype of a civil servant in Russian public communication and the need for its regular research in order to form an objective public opinion and determine the dynamics of social processes. The purpose of the research was to identify and describe the changes in terms of the content of the language sign official in the Russian language in Pre-Soviet, Soviet and modern periods. The methods of synchronous, diachronic, component, lexicographic and contextual analysis are used in the paper. The study was carried out on the material of lexicographic sources and modern mass media discourse on government administration. For the first time, the main vectors for developing semantics of the key lexical unit of the administrative language in the modern period were identified and described. The changes were caused by the destruction of ideologized subject-conceptual semes of the Soviet era; by the expansion of paradigmatic and syntagmatic ties, reflecting the disappearance of geo-conditioned characteristics and consolidating the features of the hierarchy of the modern management, as well as by the actualization and unification of the verbal sign. It is concluded that, in terms of the semantics of the studied verbal signs, there is a traditionally stable pejorative-evaluative emotiveness due to the sociocultural context which is reflected in associative characteristics - stimuli indicating human weaknesses associated primarily with violated moral and ethical norms. The prospects of the research are seen in continuing the synchronous-diachronic study of the most important for the modern Russian language verbal signs official, manager, bureaucrat, functionary in the lexical-semantic field bureaucracy, which is actively developing, and in using the proposed methods of analysis to study other subsystems of the Russian language.