EXPRESSIONS OF MAGIC IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
EXPRESSIONS OF MAGIC IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
Author(s): Nicu GavriluţăSubject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Anthropology, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Metaphysics, Social Philosophy, Sociology, Theology and Religion, Religion and science , Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure , Sociology of Culture, Globalization, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Ediktura Beladi
Keywords: magic; fantasies; persuasion; manipulation; perverse effects; politics; technology;
Summary/Abstract: This text starts from Ioan Petru Culianu's theses on the survival of magic, understood as a pre-modern spiritual discipline, in today's society. The emphasis is placed on magical (as described by Giordano Bruno) fantasies that can be found nowadays in public relations and communication, on the political scene, in the new media and in the cutting-edge technologies of today. The originality of the text consists in the interpretation of the Romanian presidential elections of 2014 as being, among other things, the perverse effect of a manipulation scenario that used fantasies of the "magical" kind. Another original element is the identification within state-of-the-art automotive technologies of certain human dreams and nostalgias that used to belong to the fabulous world of magic. The reference is to the GINA concept from the German group BMW and to two concepts (one from Mercedes and one from BMW) that allow "seeing" into the future and operation using only the owner's vocal commands. These are present-day "magical" actions: voice-based remote control, changing the appearance of the car and enhancing human sight by using automotive technology.
Journal: Revista Universitară de Sociologie
- Issue Year: XIII/2017
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 11-17
- Page Count: 6
- Language: English