THE SEMANTICS OF THE IMAGE OF A HERO: INTERCULTURAL DIFFERENCES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF RUSSIAN AND MACEDONIAN TEENAGERS)

Abstract

The article presents the results of the study of semantic evaluation of the image of a hero by Russian and Macedonian subjects. It is shown that the image of a hero is of great importance for the formation of personality, its mindset on the implementation of a particular model of behavior in difficult situations. The fundamental archetypical nature of the image of a hero is associated with two oppositely directed vectors of realization of the unconscious energy of overcoming: creative and destructive. The first vector is reflected in the mythology of a cultural hero; the second vector is in the mythology of a trickster. The formation and development of a national culture is associated with the formation of its heroic pantheon, the formation of traditions associated with the strengthening in the minds of people of the image of the cultural and creative hero. The study tested the hypothesis that the peculiarities of the interpretation of the image of a hero in the media space determine the transformation of the notions regarding the concept of 'heroic' in the minds of fellows contemporaries. The study involved 148 people: 98 teenagers (53 Russians and 45 Macedonians) and 50 adults (25 Russians and 25 Macedonians). Initially the survey revealed personalized perceptions of the concept of a hero. It was found that the Macedonian subjects associated heroic image with the real-life historical figures: revolutionaries and freedom fighters. The Russian list of heroes included Hollywood characters, the epic image of Ilya Muromets, and the non personalized 'heroes of the Great Patriotic War'. At the same time, not a single name of a real person as a hero of the Patriotic War was mentioned in the responses. This result in our opinion is associated with the processes of discrediting of heroes in the media space. At the second stage of the study, the image of a hero was evaluated with the use of the semantic differential method. The statistical data processing determined the factor structure of the image of a hero: it is evaluated according to the criteria of 'inexpressiveness', 'moral action', 'pragmatism', 'cheerfulness', 'social trends', and 'openness'. Comparison of semantic assessments of the adolescents and the adults in the group of Russian respondents revealed significant differences, which allow us to conclude that in the minds of adolescents the image of a cultural hero is transformed approaching the image of a trickster. Comparison of the group evaluations of Macedonians and Russians showed that for the Macedonian respondents to be a 'hero' is much more prestigious and attractive. The analysis of the activity of media processes associated with the transmission of heroic images and their interpretation shows that the orientation of the media to the establishment or devaluation of cultural perceptions of a hero is a determining factor of its transformation in the consciousness of an individual.