engleski

Radioactivity and nuclear themes in Croatian popular culture

Popular culture refers to the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, behaviours, ways of communication, cultural and artistic products, (visual, auditory, written, etc.) as well as other phenomena in the real or virtual world within mainstream culture. Heavily influenced by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of society. In the so-called atomic age, which corresponds to the cold war period, stylistic coloration and application of the concepts of radiation that have persisted in everyday life to this day can be classified into four main groups of radiological-nuclear themes: monsters and mutants associated with radiation, nuclear accidents, nuclear terrorism and nuclear optimism. This paper discusses some examples relating to radioactivity, radiation and nuclear topics in Croatian popular culture, with special reference to the mass media, including some Internet portals. In Croatian mass media, like in other cultures, radiation and nuclear metaphors symbolize something scary and completely incomprehensible. However, further systematic research would be needed to analyse and explain all of the stereotypes in more detail. Results would be useful in creating a more effective way for informing the general public about the effects and use of radiation and nuclear technology, which is expected to play a far greater role in solving numerous problems dealing with energy supply, medicine, etc. in the near future. It should be noted that nowadays the collective public fears shift from radiation to other global threats such as climate change, genetically modified organisms, global terrorism and others.

nuclear themes; popular culture

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