Les guerres culturelles américaines : un psychodrame médiatique

Abstract

This aim of this paper is to analyze the recent political and ideological conflicts, known as « culture wars », that have wracked but also entertained the United States. A short semantic analysis of the metaphor of war which has invaded public discourse is followed by a presentation of the various groups involved in these «wars». This piece deals with some of the major issues pitting the two camps against each other such as the fight over the canon, elitism the role of media and the debate over family values. The heterogeneity of the liberal as well as of the conservative camp and the ambiguity of some alliances and political stands are taken into account. The apparent ideological victory of the right is then questioned and a critique of identity politics and of the ideological volte-face of the left is offered. Finally the idea that the United States is facing fragmentation is challenged. The last section of the paper studies the emergence of a new ideological paradigm based on market values and anti-racism which gives the U. S a strong sense of unity in spite of all the so-called «culture wars».