Soldato
- Joined
- 29 Dec 2004
- Posts
- 17,109
- Location
- Shepley
I've just finished reading Roland Barthes' Mythologies, which is a collection of short essays on myths in modern societies and is actually a very entertaining read. It is important to note that his modern myths aren't quite the same as a traditional myth: according to Barthes a myth is something in popular culture that comes to mean something beyond what that thing is itself. That sounds confusing but is really quite straightforward and is best explained by one of his examples, such as washing powder: he writes about how bleach-based washing powder comes to mean burning away dirt whereas detergent is equated with 'deep' cleansing of fabrics when both do exactly the same thing- clean clothes. It's a demonstration of the power of adverts that we are led to believe things that have little basis in fact and then agonise over a choice between them, with Barthes keen to point out that choice is often an illusion: in the case of washing powder, the two opposing brands he mentions are both Unilever products.
This got me thinking, since Mythologies is now just over 50 years old, what our contemporary myths are. Many of Barthes' originals are now outdated: for example, he writes about Greta Garbo as a modern goddess in the media, yet now we are more focused on debunking celebrity myths than creating them, with the rich and famous shown as more flawed than any of us. Myth is still very much alive today though in different forms: I would suggest Gordon Brown, who cultivates the myth that he is 'a safe pair of hands' in contrast to Blair's earlier myth of 'Cool Britannia'. Probably my favourite myth at the moment is the green movement- recycling does not just save the planet but you as a person, giving you a much higher horse than a non-recycler. Even sport has myths- in football, for example, a stocky defender is always a hard-man, whereas a skilful forward is seen as effeminate.
So, thoughts? What myths do you see in modern society?
This got me thinking, since Mythologies is now just over 50 years old, what our contemporary myths are. Many of Barthes' originals are now outdated: for example, he writes about Greta Garbo as a modern goddess in the media, yet now we are more focused on debunking celebrity myths than creating them, with the rich and famous shown as more flawed than any of us. Myth is still very much alive today though in different forms: I would suggest Gordon Brown, who cultivates the myth that he is 'a safe pair of hands' in contrast to Blair's earlier myth of 'Cool Britannia'. Probably my favourite myth at the moment is the green movement- recycling does not just save the planet but you as a person, giving you a much higher horse than a non-recycler. Even sport has myths- in football, for example, a stocky defender is always a hard-man, whereas a skilful forward is seen as effeminate.
So, thoughts? What myths do you see in modern society?
