The Myth As A “Work In Movement” In The Dynamics Of Communications

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of the functions of the traditional myth in modern social communications. The authors of the article state that the myth today exists as a sign structure and as a mechanism ensuring the reproduction of information in the dynamics of social communications. The authors analyse two planes of the existence of the myth in modern communications: in diachrony and synchrony based on the communication models proposed by Y. Lotman and his understanding of the semiosphere as a space, which is a condition and a prerequisite for communication. It is argued that the mythological image (as a role of the message) and ritual (as a code) create a significant reality simultaneously with other elements of the structure of social communications, existing in the diachronic aspect from the point of view of the communicative approach. It is concluded that the myth exists in the structure of social communications through a few interrelated functions: reflection, designation, dialogue and conflict. The myth in social communications is a real semiotic process; reality realized in the semiosphere of modern culture. We see the myth as a symbolic form with a new content. The problem of the existence of a mythological image in the modern communication space should be considered as identifying the specific features of semiotic mechanisms, allowing them to be the best means of transmitting the mythological image and the associated ritual.