Cancel Culture and Symbolic Capital: Theorical Contributions from Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of the Artistic Field
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17561/rtc.27.8911Keywords:
Cancel culture, Morality, Symbolic Capital, Artistic field, Rules of art, ArtistsAbstract
This study provides a theoretical approach to the phenomenon of cancel culture within the context of art and artists, using Pierre Bourdieu's structural-constructivist conceptual framework regarding symbolic capital, the rules of the artistic field, and some relevant agents within it. It examines how cancellation affects artists' perception of symbolic capital, whose legitimacy and recognition depend heavily on interactions with other agents in the field, and how the relationship between the public and creators can be influenced and determined by this practice.
Firstly, a brief characterization of cancel culture is sought, both as a criterion for personal parameter verification and as a tool for action for marginalized groups, followed by the identification of some concepts from Bourdieu's theoretical section, such as habitus, symbolic capital, artistic field, and rules of art, in addition to the characterization the author provides of artists and creators. Furthermore, it explores how cancellation can redefine the rules and agency boundaries of participants in the artistic field, especially regarding certain moral expectations imposed on artists by those who engage in cancellation, within a field that assumes operating with relative autonomy and differing expectations from the public. Thus, the tension between moral presuppositions - by the public identifying with cancellation - attributed to major holders of symbolic capital - artists and cultural producers - and the autonomous logic governing the art field based on ethical neutrality and internal operational criteria is highlighted.
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