Manipulation of human consciousness in the information and communication space in V. Pelevin's novel “Helmet of horror: Creatifff about Theseus and the Minotaur”

Abstract

In the domestic culture of the beginning of the 21st century, the crisis of value attitudes of a modern person, whose consciousness is subject to manipulation, has aggravated. The phenomenon of manipulation of consciousness has its own history, but it gained particular strength in the 20th century, when the media, art, and advertising became the main conductors of power. And by the beginning of the 21st century, the information and communication space becomes the main tool for manipulating human consciousness. The flourishing of technologies and forms of manipulation of consciousness in the virtual space becomes the leading theme of V. Pelevin's novel The Helmet of Horror: Creatiff about Theseus and the Minotaur (hereinafter: The Helmet of Horror). In this article, the novel is interpreted through a comparison with the technology of manipulation. Such an approach to interpreting the author's intention of the novel helps to reveal the features of the phenomenon of manipulation of consciousness in the history and national culture of the early 21st century, to trace the reflection of manipulation technology in the text of the novel, to analyze the signs and methods of manipulation that the author describes. V. Pelevin exposes the technology of manipulation of human consciousness, which encourages him to make a choice that is beneficial for the authorities. The manipulative technologies described in the novel displace traditional human values. The author not only reflects this socio-cultural problem of the early 21st century, but also poses the moral problem of preserving a person's own identity and freedom of choice in the context of the total impact of information and communication technologies on an individual and society as a whole. The novel by V. Pelevin The Helmet of Horror is relevant, it causes endless debate: is there a future for the generation that is trying to find a way out of the Labyrinth of the modern crisis era.