MYTHOLOGICAL MEANING OF TV SERIES AS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FUNCTIONALITY OF MODERN MEDIA

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of ambiguity in the assessment of the mythological characteristics of the TV series. The purpose of the article is to establish functions inherent in the TV series, which reveal its mythological potential. Methodological approach of post-structuralism was applied to various cultural forms as texts to be interpreted, therefore, TV series were considered as signifiers representing mythological significance. The audience usually perceives TV series as the traditional myth, emotionally experiencing it as a holistic semantic system in which meaning is inextricably linked to the form, therefore it is perceived as a reality. It is established that the regular repetition of the series in the broadcast TV networks demonstrates its paradigmatic level of signification and gives it a normative function. The novelty of the study is to identify the functional strength of the mythology of TV series, which consists not only in creating an atmosphere of aesthetic exchange of values in the communicative process but also in the norming of living space (symbolic-normative function), creating a virtual space for fantasy experience of unconscious meanings and desires (social-compensatory function) and socialization of individuals (integration function). We can conclude that the mythology of the series can be enhanced in two ways – due to the normative-ritual function of series, which is achieved by regular repetition, and, in turn, affects the integrative function and due to the fantasy content of the TV series. This feature largely reveals the socio-compensatory function of the TV series, which is most realized in fantasy series, and given that the spectator is experiencing their own desires, we can talk about the experience of individualized myth.