Mythic Discourse Research Articles

Apocalyptic Actors and Historical Trajectories in Mythic Discourse of Conspiracism

Apocalyptic Actors and Historical Trajectories in Mythic Discourse of Conspiracism

Provocări hermeneutice ale originarității mitului în orizontul morfologiei culturii și al noologiei abisale

This paper aims to examine the relationship between mythological discourse and magical thinking within the context of abysmal noology and cultural morphology. Lucian Blaga distinguishes between myth and religion as cultural forms that affirm the nature of man through mystery and revelation. Therefore, the question arises regarding the original nature of myth. Furthermore, Blaga differentiates between mythical and magical thought, emphasising that they are not equivalent or interdependent. The work aims to reinscribe mythical discourse in a pre-Christian religious system, in which its performative dimension, through transmission, and also through gestures with a ritualistic magical substance constitutes, alongside imagistic representation, a religious configuration par excellence. First, this text will examine the use of myth as an analogy due to the influence of the Platonic school of thought and the triumph of the discourse of the Logos over the mythical discourse. Subsequently, the discussion will centre on the boundaries of abyssal noology and the expressions of cultural forms within it, with the aim of distinguishing between Blaga’s interpretations of religion and myth. Finally, this text will establish the original interdependence between myth and ritual in the archaic religious mind at a hermeneutical and phenomenal level, specifically addressing the relationship between mythical and magical thought.

Mediated mythical discourses: A critical analysis of the female docility and religious discourses in Indian TV soap operas

Media representations have the power to evoke and circulate meanings about a dominant favoured ideology. Like films, television soap operas too may become the sites of hetero-patriarchal representation. This article foregrounds the visual and textual tropes applied to coerce the audience into accepting patriarchal gender roles in the disguise of religious discourse. Using critical discourse analysis of three select Hindi soap operas Saath Nibhana Sathiya, Choti Bahu and Bade Achche Lagte Hai, this article flags the use of religious motifs as disciplining strategies of patriarchy. The resort-seeking behaviour of the female protagonists towards the male Hindu deity for the resolution of crisis becomes a marker of sexism. Furthermore, this one-dimensional representation of a multicultural and multireligious Indian society in these Hindi soap operas has evolved them into Hindu Socials with their dominant tropes of Hinduness within the storyline, rituals, melodrama and misogynism.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN AND NATURE AS AN ECOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION BEHIND THE SACRED MYTH OF BUMBUM

This study aims to reveal the relationship between humans and the nature as represented in the mythical narrative of a tree called the sacred of Bumbum. The background of this research is the importance of bringing back the local wisdom values of the community, especially in the old Malay villages in Riau Island, which are increasingly marginalized. As a form of folk narrative, myth is an integral part of the oral literary component. To bridge literature with people's behavior, researchers used a literary anthropological approach (Vayda, 1968). While the relationship between humans and nature could be studied with an ecological approach. This research is descriptive-qualitative in nature, namely the method used to explain the condition of a system of thought or events in the present and then make a description in a systematic, factual, and accurate manner regarding the factors, nature, and relationships between the phenomena being investigated. The ecological bond between humans and the environment is reflected through: 1) the prohibition of cutting down trees; 2) the prohibition of picking leaves and tree trunks; and 3) the prohibition of defecating around trees. These forms of prohibition reflect the ecological relations of mythical discourse, which imply existence, attachment, and concern that are not just silent but live and must be kept in harmony with one another.

Enseñanza de discursos míticos para el desarrollo de la comprensión lectora de los estudiantes universitarios

The objective of this research is to propose the teaching of mythical discourse as a strategy to develop reading comprehension in university students, considering that the culture reflected in myths contributes to cultural identity. 10 myths are presented. The work is pertinent given the need to develop the categories of reading competence in university students, who are dependent readers in basic informative, documentary and numerical texts and deficient in literary, humanistic and scientific texts.

Tragic blondes, Hollywood, and the “radical sixties” myth: Seberg and once upon a time in Hollywood as revisionist and reparative biopic

ABSTRACT In this essay I explore two recent ‘reparative biopics,’ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019) and Seberg (Benedict Andrews, 2019), which share features found in the resurgent cycle of 1960s-set ‘back studio’ films that have appeared in the wake of feminist criticism of mainstream Hollywood. Although positioned very differently in terms of genre (as biopic and counterfactual history respectively) and in their creative engagement with the cultural and political history of the late 1960s, both are notable for the way they deal with the real female stars at the centre of their stories, Sharon Tate and Jean Seberg. While each film seems to be seeking reparation for the past, their approach ultimately recuperates the women into a mythic discourse of the ‘radical sixties’ in which masculine agency and homosocial bonds are privileged. I argue that these films rehearse familiar biopic conventions to depict the blonde female star as tragic victim, not only of history but also of her own inherent frailty.

Moderne i suvremene predodžbe srednjovjekovlja – anakronija između bajke i horora

The paper reviews modern and contemporary images of the Middle Ages with emphasis on popular culture in the form of selected cases from literature, cinematography and video games in the context of the notion of historical anachronism. Erroneous statements that antedate or misplace events, objects or people basically constitute an “innocent” anachronistic transgression, which can be easily rectified using verifiable data. However, faulty projection of a set of features or characteristics to an age which did not know them represents a far more dangerous fallacy because it opens the question of interpretation – and interpretations vary. To understand past realities it is necessary to uncover how past people understood their own reality and why did they what they did. Projecting contemporary meanings onto the past, in this case the Middle Ages, is a genuinely perilous anachronism which is very difficult or even impossible to rectify. One example of such a historical “mistreatment” is the notion of the “Dark Ages”. Therefore, the paper traces the idea of the “Dark Ages” from the 14th century onward and considers the context in which it became quite widespread from the 18th and 19th centuries to the present day. However, the existence of a counter-myth in the form of the romantic idealization of the Middle Ages as a time of lost pre-modern innocence is also emphasized. The process of industrialization and modernization of (primarily English and Western) European societies in the 18th and 19th centuries and the enthronement of science and progress as leading social principles brought about an (only seemingly) unexpected consequence. Social change provoked nostalgia for an idealized and more simple pre-modern past which gave rise to the Gothic genre that introduced the (at that time socially subversive) element of “horror”. However, at the same time it engendered a romantic and nostalgic depiction of “olden times” which attracted a serious (mostly female) literary public. Even more important is the fact that the elements of the Gothic genre still exist in popular culture to this day through transmission into other popular culture venues, such as literature, cinematic and television content or video games. The extreme dual understanding of the Middle Ages between, metaphorically speaking, fairy tales and horror initially seems confusing, but in reality these images represent two opposite sides of the same coin. Finally, the paper seeks to answer the question of why the Middle Ages are imagined in the ways they are imagined, while notions about the Middle Ages are understood as an integral part of modern (secular) mythical discourse that legitimizes (post)modernity through the construction of extreme medieval otherness. Like it or not, the real or imagined medieval past is a recurrent and in some aspects even dominant feature of the (post)modern popular imagination. It would appear that it will remain so in the future, especially in the dynamic and newly developing post-COVID-19 world order.

Narratology and Myth in R. K. Narayan’s The Man Eater of Malgudi

In The Man Eater of Malgudi, R.K. Narayan makes use of the mythical technique, goes back to ancient myths and legends, juxtaposes them with the facts of modern life and this way brings out similarities and contrasts between the past and present. Narayan stated that “With the impact of modern literature we began to look at the gods, demons, sages and kings of our mythology and epics not as some remote concoctions but as types and symbols, possessing psychological validity even when viewed against the contemporary background. (1979: 21) The fictional space and slice- of- life reality mingle and assume a mythic dimension in his works. Anthropologist Claude –Levi – Strauss once suggested that much of the familiar classical repertoire has a mythological function in modern society. For R.K. Narayan, this familiar repertoire (of mythic, epical and scriptural narratives) serves a creative function. (Sarkar 217) In sharp contrast to his previous novels, Narayan switches over to the mythical discourse in the later part of his career.

Who is behind the Plandemic? Analysing the different ideological conspiracy theory endorsements on Turkish Twitter

ABSTRACT The Plandemic conspiracy theory, which advances that the Covid-19 pandemic was an orchestrated event, was propagated via digital platforms across various countries throughout the pandemic, including Turkey. In this article, I analyze the conspiratorial tweets about the Plandemic on Turkish Twitter through CDA to show dispositions of different ideologies to conspiracy theories in Turkey. Findings show that the users combine the conspiracy theories that originated in the West with those that originated in Turkey to fortify the conspiratorial narrative concerning the Plandemic. I also detect the ideologies of tweets and users by elaborating their lexica and discourses, and I categorize them as conservative/Islamist and oppositional. The analysis shows that the Islamist/conservative community is likelier to employ the general characteristic of conspiracy in their discourse, meaning that they utilize a more mythic discourse based on unquestionable, godly storytelling. Nonetheless, the secular/opposition community also promotes the Plandemic conspiracy to cursorily criticize social injustice.

El discurso mítico a partir del testimonio: comparación en dos contextos de enunciación

This work proposes an analysis between the mythical discourses presented from the indigenous testimony in the colonial stage that is presented in the book Testimonies, letters and indigenous manifestos, compiled by Martín Lienhard, and the testimonial account that appears in the text From the corner of the dead of Juan Ansión. To do this, critical discourse analysis and literary historiography will be used. This analysis will allow us to recognize and compare the representation of the mythical discourse in the testimonies of the indigenous communities,

Mythologizing Madiba: Myth, Resistance, and the Globalized Post-Presidency in Barack Obama’s Nelson Mandela Lecture Series Address

In his first major post-presidential public address, President Barack Obama spoke at the 2018 Nelson Mandela Lecture Series in Johannesburg, South Africa. In this address, Obama lent the weight of the rhetorical post-presidency to further mythologize the late South African leader, helping to transform him into the mythic “Madiba,” the embodiment of resistance, progress, and perseverance for all of humankind. Set against the backdrop of a resurgent, globalized, and racist right-wing populist movement, this essay explores how Obama helped magnify this mythic version of Mandela to inspire resistance through the three basic elements that structure mythic rhetoric: the universe, the protagonist, and the narrative lesson. This essay also reinvigorates the study of post-presidential public address through an emphasis on the institutional and rhetorical power of the modern post-presidency and its evolving global reach. Finally, this essay contemplates the role mythic rhetoric can play in advancing and solidifying anti-racist practices, beliefs, and structures, and ultimately positions modern mythic discourse as a helpful catalyst for the continuation of resistance through rhetoric.

Constructing Paul: The Canonical Paul

Constructing Paul: The Canonical Paul

The Nationalist Turn in Youth Culture

This paper points to an important turn in youth culture which underpins increasing radical-right political sympathies and a propensity to national belonging and dignity-seeking among the youth. Qualitative analysis of 14 focus group interviews conducted in Hungary proves that the desire for political engagement of a significant segment of youth who have positioned themselves in opposition to a globalized youth culture and the apolitical stance of their generation. Inspired by cultural theories in political sociology that are also applied in the study of youth, and working with qualitative methods, this paper investigates the cultural dimension of radical-right politics and youth culture. The paper states that new forms of nationalism play a major role in the radical right turn among the youth by emphasizing the role of a general sense of disempowerment and disillusionment and claims for collective dignity which are framed in a hierarchical and mythical discourse about the nation. The major claim of this paper in this regard is that the renewal of nationalism and the commitment to the far-right in Hungary are closely connected.

Knocking sovereign customers off their pedestals? When contact staff educate, amateurize, and penalize deviant customers

Promoted by marketing discourses, customer sovereignty is characterized by the cult of the customer and the belief that contact staff have to serve the customer. However, research shows that customers adopt improper conduct, such as fraudulent or aggressive behaviors. While largely tolerated, these behaviors prove damaging for contact staff and could eventually lead them to react. How do frontline actors react to such behaviors, which prevent them from developing customer relations in accordance with the mythical discourse? This is the question our article explores. To do so, we use Becker’s interactionism approach to deviance, and investigate how frontline actors in five organizations deal with customer complaints they consider as ‘deviant’. Our results show that when faced with behaviors that they no longer wish to tolerate, contact staff educate, amateurize, or penalize the customer. This research contributes by conceptualizing three alternative forms of relations to customer sovereignty, which contact staff attempt to legitimize through internal and external resources.

Shifting the Mythic Discourse: Ambiguity and Destabilization in Joanne Kyger’s The Tapestry and the Web

The Homeric Penelope, long hailed as a feminist icon just as much as an example of submissive wife, has been the focus of numerous revisions and interpretations ranging from the reactionary to the most subversive. This article analyzes Joanne Kyger’s revision of the mythic discourse in The Tapestry and the Web (1965) by studying two of the main strategies used by the poet: subtle shifts of focus and the use of alternative sources. Building from Joseph Campbell’s concept of the monomyth, which gave the poet the aesthetic freedom to move within Homer’s text, the article examines Kyger’s use of the mythic discourse to undermine the prevalence of patriarchal narratives and question their position as established categories. Operating inside and outside the Homeric construct, Kyger’s collection perpetuates and subverts the classical myth in a move that anticipates contemporary – feminist – revisions and adaptations.

Racialization and discourses of “privileges” in the Middle Ages: Jews, “Gypsies”, and Kawaramono

ABSTRACT The dominant contention in the sociology of racialization asserts race as a modern Western construction. However, we lack studies that juxtapose the experiences in the Trans-Atlantic with the Trans-Pacific. This article, by examining the social conditions experienced by Jews in Spain, the “Gypsies” in Romania, and the Kawaramono in Japan in the Middle Ages, claims that the racialization had already begun before European colonization. It points out a variety of parallel patterns of marginalization and racialization, including but not limited to, “monopolization” of economic activities, an ambiguous relationship with the ruling class, and the discourses of “privileges.” My examination can contribute to understanding global trends of racism and the backlash against minoritized groups associated with the mythical discourses of “privileges” facing us all in the twenty-first century.

Nostalgia in Brazilian Mass Media Advertising: A Semiotic Perspective

This article seeks to (a) identify and problematize how the themes of history and nostalgia are used in the advertising discourse used—by the Brazilian mass media; and (b) explore the meanings awakened in consumers by the discourse in question. The data used was based on more than four hundred Brazilian magazine advertisements, from 2008 to 2016, and on the testimonials taken from consumers in 2016 using focus groups. The analyses identified five categories utilizing the theme of history: history as a signature; history as a commemoration; history as an opportunity; history as a focus; and history as a support. In the case of the consumers’ discourse, their comments were more focused on a consideration of the credibility of the advertisements and the longevity of the organizations in question that on any traces of nostalgia. It was also noted that the convergence between tradition and innovation (usually dichotomic concepts) was considered not problematic by the subjects. Finally, the theoretical perspective of French semiotics indicated how the body of advertisements and consumer testimonials could support a view of nostalgia as being a mythical discourse that constructs meaning based on the juxtaposition of tradition/innovation.

Dos estructuras simbólicas del mito de la Quintrala: la bruja y la femme fatale


 Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, best known as Quintrala, is a historical figure of the Chilean Colonial period. Within Chilean culture, she became a myth that developed into a literary character variously portraited as a witch, a murderer, and a parricide. To this day, these remain the portraits that have been reproduced in the literary narrative about the character.
 In this work I will analyse the symbolic structures of the witch and the femme fatale, which are essential and reiterative in the construction of the narrative discourse about this literary character. For this purpose, I have chosen the figurative structuralism that views a literary text as a sermo mythicus, that is to say, as a myth in which symbolic structures are a part of the mythical discourse advocated by this theory; this kind of discourse is likewise a fundamental and inherent component of the myth of Quintrala that has not been studied as such.
 This work aims to examine these symbolic structures embedded in the myth of La Quintrala by analysing and comparing Gustavo Frías’ latest novels, Tres nombres para Catalina: Catrala (2001) and Tres nombres para Catalina: la doña de Campofrío (2003), the work of Magdalena Petit, La Quintrala (2009), that of Mercedes Valdivieso, Maldita yo entre las mujeres (1991), as well as the historical essay Los Lisperguer y la Quintrala by Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna ([1877] 1944) in order to establish the existence through time of a rewriting and a transfiguration of the symbolic structures in these literary works.

Myths of the Veiled Kingdom: Representation and Counter-Representation of the Middle East in Selected Contemporary Bestsellers

The present research stems from an interest in contemporary Western cultural stereotypes of the Middle East and the counter-discourse, which seeks to dismantle such images. One can argue that a monolithic approach to the East still exists, which is based on an opinionated mythic discourse. In his Mythologies, Roland Barthes notes that, in such a discourse, myth “distorts”. It is “an inflexion” (1972, 129). Many bestsellers, which depict images of the Middle East, cater to a long-borne stereotype of a secluded “veiled” realm that conjures up sketches from The Arabian Nights. For example, in her bestselling book, Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women (1995), Geraldine Brooks delineates her experience of travelling in several Islamic countries and her perspective of what she depicts as an exotic world, very much alien to Western culture, yet satisfying Western curiosity. The paper, thus, raises the question of whether, at the turn of the twenty-first century, bestsellers from the Western world still represent and interpellate the Middle East by means of a mythic discourse, or, whether they have shifted to a more impartial vantage point. Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh (2007), among others, is an example of a bestseller from this pivotal region of the world, proposing a counter-discourse as it attempts to dismantle the myth and tell a different story. The paper will shed light on selected bestsellers from the Middle East, which interpolate cultural misrepresentation.

Approaching mythology in the history curriculum of compulsory education in Greece

Myth can be a first step in historicizing the past and at the same time in appreciating ancient cultures and developing the essential skill of empathy. A main objective of the history curriculum for the third grade of primary school in Greece is for children at 8 and 9 years old to familiarize themselves with the basic cultural elements of the origins of Greek, European and global civilization. Ancient Greek myths are taught using references and links to the myths of other peoples and cultures, and by identifying similarities and differences in the interpretation of the world within the framework of a multi-perspective, intercultural approach. Myths also depict the relationship between man and nature. They constitute man's attempt to interpret the physical and social environment. In addition, myths present the relationship between man and the divine in the early stages of cultural evolution, and at the same time provide evidence of the culture of a historical period. Pupils become aware of the fact that myths used to have a symbolic and ritualistic function, which aimed to initiate younger members into the acceptable practices and values of their community. Myths provided meaningful models of action (exempla) through their allegorical nature. Moreover, myths facilitate the analysis of human behaviour by introducing the schema of cause and effect. Mythical thought seeks to understand causality, which is also the primary aim of science. In this sense, mythical discourse is connected to scientific discourse. Within the framework of a methodological approach based on these theoretical assumptions, this paper also includes a presentation of educational activities and pupils' perceptions as part of a survey conducted in a third-grade primary school class in Greece.