Serial nature of crime fiction in the culture of modernity

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It is common knowledge that repetitions, cycles and, in particular, series are especially typical of the culture of Modernity (as well as Postmodernity), since it is this period that brought out industrial and post-industrial society. This is the society of mass culture, which encourages overall globalization including averaged characteristics, given to any products, designed for public use. Consequently, this way the culture of Modernity neutralizes and averages human individual features, in other words, it depersonalizes people. Background specifics have been studied by numerous researchers since the mid-nineteenth century. Philosophical and sociological aspects of the Modernity mass culture have been discussed in the works by Т. Adorno, N. Kirillova, H.M. McLuhan, G. Marcuse, F. Nietzsche, J. Ortega y Gasset, D. Hesmondhalgh, М. Horkheimer, У. Eco etc. The role and functions of cycles, repetitions, and art self-development have been under analysis by G. Hegel, P. Sorokin, A. Riegl, N. Khrenov and others (see also [1]).

The aim of the research is to consider the serial nature of the crime fiction genre in the culture of Modernity from the philosophical and anthropological viewpoint.

The industrial society was characterized by the emergence and boom of mass production, embracing both material and non-material (mental and spiritual) consumption. This entailed dramatic changes in social- economic and political systems. On the one hand, the culture of Modernity featured individualism, on the other, an individual became a statistical unit with somewhat vague cultural and national identity. This mass society seeks to meet its needs at any cost sometimes violating and trespassing well- established norms and rules.

More and more people gained access to various sources of information: in the nineteenth century - to literature as it was the time of mass literary magazine development (e.g., The Strand Magazine, where detective stories about Sherlock Holmes were published). These periodicals probably triggered the emergence of crime fiction text series, since it was important for them to have concise stories with repeating elements (the same characters - usually the same detective and his/her assistant), which would make them recognizable for the readers. We are pleased seeing something we expect to see, nonetheless, we will not readily perceive the evidence of the narrative structure and subject it to our prognostic settings. According to U. Eco, we do not think that the author built his or her text so that we can guess its end, but rather we are intelligent and smart enough to guess the end of the story despite the author's efforts to make us confused and puzzled. [2] The issue of the quality, validity and artistry of serial texts is settled by Henri Bergson using one single criterion - the criterion of novelty. The scientist understood novelty as something unforeseen and non-existent. The novelty is determined by chance (something found accidentally). This is where the philosopher seeks the cultural and artistic value of the text. [3, p. 169]

Gradually culture and economy grew closer and eventually merged into the culture industry. The works of art were commodified, meaning that cultural objects could be bought or sold. [4, p. 423] In order to appeal to consumers it was necessary to form a need. A series is one of the ways to maintain the need, provided that the addressee was satisfied by the first part of the text and would like to experience this feeling again by purchasing, watching or listening to another part of the series. Detective texts offer intellectual skills training and it is in many ways more comfortable for recipients to deal with the same repeating and widely varied formula.

Culture commodification success was also determined by the fact that in the industrial society people had more free time (including commuting), which implied specifics activities and pastime. Therefore, a modern person needed regular entertainment. The cultural-economic system responded to the demand and supplied correspondent products, the texts, which could be reproduced, easily comprehended, serial, formulaic, commercialized and practical. These texts not only met the addressees' needs but also maintained them. Crime fiction stories are frequently seen as those promoting material values, encouraging people to seek success and its symbols, including the symbols of prestige and prosperity. Therefore, this genre has been quite popular for product placement and even political ideology promotion.

The culture of late Modernity is also characterized by the phenomenon of globalization, which makes serial crime fiction stories culturally homogenized, deprived of many national specific features and traditions (e.g., post-Soviet detective texts are proactive in introducing western values, lifestyle and many other social and philosophical phenomena, not inherent in the Slavic culture). This consumption society generates new cultural hybrids, lacking ethnical and historical individuality and uniqueness. Globalization inevitably and steadily destroys national cultures. This is the cost of progress. [5, p. 119] Text series may be viewed as a method of mass production, where cloning prevails, while the rest is used in the late modern and postmodern cultural eclectics as the juxtaposition of the incompatible [6, p. 216] Eclectic manifestations may be seen in various mass media text products where even cartoon series include mysterious and detective episodes (e.g., “Masha and the Bear”, “Smeshariki” etc.).

However, any crime fiction series is designed for more or less qualified and educated recipient, thus stratifying the cultural products into the mass and elite segments. D. Hesmondhalgh analyzes American television series and indicates that the working class stratum may have access to the high quality products designed for the middle and upper class, providing they can afford it (the researcher compares high-quality serial products including “The Sopranos”, “Six Feet Under” and “Deadwood” with a lower level “The Street” shown on ВВС). [4, p. 394]

Discussion. The philosophical and anthropological research into the serial nature of crime fiction in the culture of Modernity showed that being a part of the mass culture, a series can be found in different areas of human life, including art, which generates standardized, commercialized and formulaic products. The crime fiction genre tends to repeat and vary its formula numerous parts of the series. It was stated that the serial structure facilitates addressee's comprehension of the message and provides novelty, which makes the text culturally valuable.

References

detective seriality artistic

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2. А.Р. Усманова Инновация и повторение. Между эстетикой модерна и постмодерна -- статья Эко (Innovation et repetition: entre esthetique moderne et postmoderne // Reseaux, n. 68 CNET -- 1994 pour la version francaise // В книге Грицанов А., Можейко М. Постмодернизм. Энциклопедия [Electronic resource]. - Access path: http://www.gumer.info/bogoslov Buks/Philos/PostModern/ 31.php

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