La construcción de la imagen heroica a través del discurso periodístico. El caso de la activista peruana María Elena Moyano

Abstract

This work tries to demonstrate that the social construction of the national hero/heroine as a symbol of courage and resistance generally arises within a period of social, political, and economic crisis. The national hero is a construction that is created in a moment characterized by the loss of public trust and the failure of government leaders to act. The creation of the heroic image functions as a socio-political tool. The article suggests that there is a close relationship between the history and the construction of heroic figures. Using the death of Peruvian activist María Elena Moyano as a concrete example, it demonstrates that journalistic discourse has the ability to create an heroic image around a person who has been given the traditional role that the hero has played in society since Antiquity.