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Arts & Communication Bakhtin and Groys: Pop culture and hieratic senses

of the ecstatic atmosphere, propagating in Russia by Facebook create digital communities with concrete and
Communism and the Revolution through “the single, often violent effects on social order. This interpretation
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ambivalent Dionysian impulse – as destructive as it is aligns with current phenomena such as cancel culture,
creative.” 14. p. 180 where celebrities or publicly notable individuals face
This provides another perspective on the ephemeral massive, organized boycotts through social networks. This
loss of individuality that characterizes both political revolt mass withdrawal of public support reflects a form of radical
and collective celebration, even in religions that find a vigilantism in the virtual realm: a social punishment that,
form of realization in collective ecstasy. In this regard, in the discourse of social media, serves as a sanction for
Groys suggests that Bakhtin’s carnival may be influenced ethical, moral, or cultural transgressions that traditional
by a Nietzschean framework: a profoundly transgressive legal systems may not address promptly. It is interesting
celebration that functions through role inversion and the to examine the relationship between the discourse of
subversion of dogmas. This interpretation may constitute “political correctness” and pop culture, particularly
a veiled critique by Bakhtin of the hierarchical and considering that many celebrities have experienced rapid
monological cultural life of the 1930s, a reading supported declines, underscoring how these public figures exemplify
by some prominent scholars of his work. In opposition the values of their era.
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to this official culture, Bakhtin positions that everything, Or consider, for example, the concept of “armies:” A
ultimately, belongs to the folk (narodnost’), but as a military term used to describe organized, decentralized,
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creative disorder of collectivity: each individual may lose but often large groups of fandoms that also engage in
their individuality, but every voice is heard in unison, like social media and pop culture. This term, popularized by
“a chorus of the laughing people.” 1, p. 474 the K-pop band BTS (ARMY, an acronym for “adorable

While Groys’ interpretation – and even Bakhtin’s representative MC for Youth”), can also characterize the
premises – do not provide concrete explanations, both behavior of devoted fans of musicians such as Taylor
suggest that the contradiction between the individual Swift (the so-called “Swifties”) or Beyoncé (referred to as
and the collective reflects a popular culture that tends the “Beyhive” in homage to “Queen B”). These so-called
to dissolve subjectivity in favor of communal excess “armies” exhibit a contemporary form of the semiotic
and abandonment. This can be spontaneous (as seen in phenomenon described by Lotman, 20, p. 75 as herd mentality
phenomena such as herd behavior and certain practices at –social behavior in which “the individual is permitted
musical concerts, festivals, or football matches) or driven to enter only the realm of the irrelevant” – because the
by market forces or media influence. collective prevails as a homogeneous unit (a concept
Although this dialectic is not directly concerned with our evident in brotherhoods, sports teams, etc.). It is crucial
definition of pop culture, certain passages allow us to further to note that these pop culture “armies” also demonstrate
characterize it, especially in recent practices. For example, strong activism (they condemn violence, racial
social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and discrimination, right-wing politics, and abuses related
to gender differences), reflecting their close correlation
1 It is worth noting that the conception of collective action and with other collective movements such as #MeToo
revolt is more thoroughly explained through the traditional and #BlackLivesMatter. However, their responses can
Marxist concept of class consciousness. Philosophers such sometimes escalate into high levels of discursive violence
as Eduardo Grüner identify class consciousness as a form and viral attacks. While further evidence is needed,
of subjectivity that is not individual, but collective, and, studying these collective phenomena may provide insight
moreover, active and critical, as it is intended to be functional into the value systems prevailing in pop culture.
for the praxis of social and historical transformation. For
Gruner, this concept, which pertains to the human collective Returning to Groys’ interpretation, the acceptance of
of the organized proletariat, represents Marx’s departure the collective variable in Bakhtin’s carnival has led to a
from the strictly “individualist” perspective that views the recurring interpretation of Bakhtin as a “mouthpiece of
subject as a monad. This interpretation is discussed in: the democratic.” 12, p. 3 One must remember that Bakhtin
Grüner, E. Lecturas culpables. Marx(ismos) y la praxis del perceives culture as a sphere of competing voices and
conocimiento. In: Boron, A.; Amadeo, J.; González, S. La ideologies, with the novel serving as a stage for their
teoría marxista hoy: problemas y perspectivas. Buenos Aires:
CLACSO; 2006. p. 105-147 [Text in Spanish]. Additionally, democratic contention. Thus, it is not possible to search
a more in-depth explanation of class consciousness for truth in this Soviet philosopher (an “anti-philosopher,”
can be found in the seminal study by Rogers, A. Class as Groys described him), an excessively idealistic goal
Consciousness. International Journal of Ethics. 1917; 27(3); for someone who believes that “the struggle of ideologies
334-349. never ends with the final historical victory or defeat of one

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 4 doi: 10.36922/ac.3978