Understanding Cultural Myths and Media Influence

Cultural Myths: Their Meaning and Impact on Society

Myth: According to Gatti, a myth is a collective construction. It is society at large that gives this account a place of value and provokes its preeminence. We see an effect of approximation and belonging among those who recognize it as such. The man and the myth provide the processing unit that comprehends reality around them. That is, no man can know only things that relate directly to him, but they may contain, as added value, the comprehension of beings, and so humans understand reality in their lives.

Two Definitions of Myth According to Sullivan

According to Sullivan, there are two definitions:

1. A myth is a chain of concepts that enjoy high acceptance. A cultural framework allows members of that society to conceptualize and understand a particular topic. This is why myths, from the reality of the culture that creates them, are accepted as natural. Someone looks at the world around them just as appropriate.
2. A myth is the mode that a culture has of conceptualizing its abstract themes. In this sense, a myth reassures society by becoming a symbol of themes, a construct created by man to communicate something.

Example: Martin Fierro

For example, Hernandez chose the gaucho as his protagonist in Martin Fierro to represent our country. Behind that choice, several things can be seen:

1. Those who elected Martin Fierro as a symbol were the most different from the gaucho. Their look elected the gaucho, but one who had challenged authority and had come to be an outlaw, then redeemed and accepted, subject to the system.
2. Others decided on Juan Moreira de Gutierrez, who was combative and unruly. You can see the differences between both and the intentionality of the time, and this was never elected as a representative.

Myths as Cultural Products

Myths are cultural products that then speak of the community, which refer to certain cultural processes.

The Role of Media in Shaping Cultural Myths

The media have favored cultural myths. They are embedded in cultures and provoke societal changes in which they are inserted. For example, the ideal of the Greeks penetrated the Roman world by giving its people the origin of farmer and warrior through the project of expansion, and it had never developed without it. Many of these myths are created in the current culture as a product of media culture, and the only way to counteract these proposals is through critical thinking and reasoning ability of social reality.