This article has been subjected to double blind peer review

This article has been published in: Ocula 31, Semiotics and the representation of holiness: methodological reflections and case studies

author: Simona Stano (Università degli Studi di Torino, IT)

The Mirror, the Self(ie) and the New Sacred. Bodies, Objects, and Figures of the Contemporary “Cult of the Self”

language: english

abstract: This paper investigates the “cult of the Self” pervading contemporary mediatised cultures, adopting a semiotic approach. More specifically, it draws on the analysis of the fictional case of Ionismo, ironically represented by director Alessandro Aronadio in the movie Just Believe (orig. IO C’È, 2018), to shed new light on the figure of the “influencer”, which has become fundamental in contemporary mediascapes. Thus it problematises the bodies, as well as the sacred objects, and more generally the figures, of today’s cult of the Self, with specific reference to the “generative model” suggested by Just Believe, as well as to the understanding of the sacred in the “postsecular” era.

citation information: Simona Stano, The Mirror, the Self(ie) and the New Sacred. Bodies, Objects, and Figures of the Contemporary “Cult of the Self”, "Ocula", vol.25, n.31, pp.88-104, December 2024. DOI: 10.57576/ocula2024-31

Ocula.it publishes articles and essays in semiotic research, with a particular eye on communication and culture; it is open to dialogue with other research fields and welcomes contributions from all the areas of the social and human sciences. See the Editorial Board and the Editorial Committee.