Detectivization as a part of modern everyday human life

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Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University

Detectivization as a part of modern everyday human life

G.O. Krapivnyk, post-doctoral fellow, Department of Philosophy

Annotation

Detectivization process is two-fold: firstly, it refers to the crime fiction genre spread throughout literary and other media genres, creating hybrids and fusions; secondly, it penetrates into the contemporary everyday life and routines. It involves different age and social groups, addressing their specific needs and preferences. Unlike a classical detective novel, which is characterized by catharsis for the addressee, the person experiencing detectivization in everyday life is striving for it, but most frequently does not receive the desired emotional relief. The ongoing active transition of the crime fiction genre from printed detective stories and films into the everyday realities, television news and everyday communications has not been fully deployed yet and, consequently, needs further and more thorough analysis and research.

Key words: detective, crime fiction genre, modern, mass culture, media text, violence, aggression, investigation, logic.

Introduction

The term detectivization is used in contemporary interdisciplinary studies, involving culturology, philosophy, sociology, literary science and philology (e.g. [1]). The phenomenon this term refers to shows deep transformations, taking place in the late modernity information society, and also it is related to globalization. In this case, on the one hand, they are associated with the fact that, the crime fiction genre is characterized by higher and higher degree of hybridization and penetrates into various other fiction genres [2]; the diffusion of genres is becoming more intensive, which might further lead to their fusion into a unified genre of popular literature [3]. On the other hand, traditionally fiction genres go beyond the limits of actual fiction and gain significance in bother creative non-fiction genres and everyday human practices and routines. Moreover, fiction texts themselves more and more resemble a mechanism, a technology. They are highly pragmatic, consumer- and profit-oriented, rather than spirit, mentality and their development (see more details in the book by Martha Nussbaum “Not For Profit. Why Democracy Needs the Humanities” [4]). There is also the phenomenon, opposite to the conventional understanding that specific elements of reality are reflected in fiction texts. For example, some patterns (not specific plots, but their sense and structure), making up the formula of any crime fiction story, become a part of the everyday life of a contemporary person. These crime fiction patterns may serve a decision-making algorithm.

Background. The issue of various transformations in the modern everyday lifestyles and their cultural implications has been studied by a number contemporary western philosophers, including Alfred Schutz [5], R. Barthe [6], M. Nussbaum, Abrahamson V., Meehan V., Samuel L. [7], David Hesmondhalgh [8], modern culture and literary studies were in the focus of attention of such scientists as U. Eco, V.V. Ivanov etc.

Consideration of the detectivization in the everyday life of a modern person requires dwelling on a number of related issues. In particular, attitude to violence in a variety of media texts is a burning and ambiguous problem. Some researchers tend to think that the perception of this wide and varied negative phenomenon does not have (at least directly) adverse implications. Instead, it encourages compensation of negative feelings, transfer, or, in other words, overcoming aggression and violence inside the human consciousness. Nevertheless, many scientists believe that violence, displayed on the screen or the monitor of any advanced gadget, or depicted in a book is very powerful, affecting the person's mind and leading to the manifestation of aggression and violence in daily routines later on. Apparently, both approaches are complementary and they can hardly be found separately in their pure form. For example, sometimes crime fiction media texts may promote transferring and liberating from aggression (numerous cases of the kind are given in the works on psychology, psychiatry as well as in the texts of the crime fiction genre). However, the events described or shown to the recipient may have the effect of delay. Therewith, the person who watched or read a detective story or a thriller may show no signs of aggression tomorrow, but under certain circumstances, the life situation may turn out to be very similar to the events depicted in the above detective story/thriller, and then the person will easily break the law and act in violation of legal and/or moral norms of the society he or she lives in. This reaction may be also encouraged by the fact that gradually disappears the border between the imaginary television, cinema or literary sight of murder (or another crime) and its actual realization, detected and documented [9, p. 546]. According to V.V. Ivanov, detectivization goes hand-in-hand with the criminalization of society on the whole [ibid].

In addition, recent achievements in medicine and genetics show the existence of the gene of aggression or fury, which may be inherited (see more information on that issue in [10], [11], [12]). It is also the factor, which may trigger aggressive behavior and attitude (previously supported with crime fiction texts) towards the others. detectivization genre cinema

The growing similarity between diverse publicist and detective texts has been justified. The crime fiction genre is of the serial repetitive nature; it may be served portionwise, keeping the recipient's attention. In the same way, publicist texts come out in periodicals, television or radio programmes, devoted to the urgent sociopolitical and other contemporary problems interesting for the public. In terms of language these genres are also close. Both crime fiction and publicist texts are cliched and trite, including respective specific style-forming vocabulary and syntax. The advantage of the book is in the fact that the lifespan of its senses is much longer, or timeless (the phenomenon of sense preservation) unlike newspapers, magazines, online resources and television, where the sense remains topical and update for a short period only [13, p. 10]. A true publicist seeks to enhance his or her language mastery in order to be able to express themselves in mass media in the most consistent, vivid and emotional way. Logic, images and emotions are what the crime fiction text author aspires to reach [14, p. 81-82].

The recipient's interest, his or her willingness to search after the truth and reveal secrets (social, political, economic or criminal) are continuously maintained and supported by consuming the above texts, as well as by daily communications between people (including gossiping). Therefore, a contemporary person is constantly stressed not only due to the work and household, but the person also feels suspense, arising from repeating social, political and economic news. At times the person receives the answer, meaning some relief, but at the same time this situation is followed by the news, which is a new challenge that grabs the recipient and keeps his or her mind alert similarly to a quality crime fiction book that is absorbing for its reader.

Doublespeaking, masking, substitution of notions are becoming more and more of the commonplace in relation to the modern human rights and freedoms, accepted by the western civilization, which seeks tolerance, but always feels ressentiment. Furthermore, substitution to a certain extent may be observed in shifting the duties and powers of law enforcement bodies (e.g. fight against corruption) to other persons, influential for the public, in entering and accessing the mass media sources and meeting the interests of the currently ruling elites. This category includes, inter alia, temporary депутатські parliamentary committees, going mainly into political, and not purely criminal cases, or make a show out of truly criminal cases, which meets the existing artificial forced ideological needs, but not solve any vital social problems.

In addition, it should be said that mass media are undergoing detectivization, too, since they cannot stay aside the appealing investigatory (detective) process. They do research into crimes, gossips, actions, phenomena, events etc. Therefore, journalists are engaged in the so-called “investigative journalism”, which results in creating programme products: television, radio, printed and electronic resources, which demonstrate the process, hypotheses and conclusions (frequently opinionated and insufficiently justified, biased, and not impartial) as to the objects of their investigation. Manifestations of this trend may be found in quite popular media projects, including those on national channels, which may be considered lynch law (though formally they only show investigation of specific events, verbally these programmes may accuse a person of committing crimes without being tried (violating the presumption of innocence), which would make this wording justified and lawful.

Informing has unfortunately been an integral part of the investigatory and quasi- investigatory activities in the law enforcement systems of many countries, especially authoritarian ones (e.g. Stalin's repressions). In this case, replacement of actual evidence with gossip and defamation. If publicist texts are mainly consumed by adult audience, the children are normally interested in learning about the world, since this process is a key to their knowledge of themselves and their environment. Thus, the leading vehicle here is the research reflexivity, which encourages the child to continuously search (e.g., М. Nussbaum points out that art and the humanities teach children to think critically, prepare them to independent lives, are often presented as games, which deal with children's curiosity and strive for a miracle, but not adverse worries [4, p. 9-11]), learn to think logically (even in the primary secondary schools logic is a subject of the curriculum). This way any person feels and acts as a “detective” of the life itself, applying, similarly to a true detective in crime fiction, all means and achievements of science and technology. Beginning with cartoons for the youngest viewers - short TV 2-3-minute sketches, authors develop child's logical thinking (e.g., serial “Tulli”, where each part is a simple, but still existing investigation of a certain phenomenon or object via examining and hypothesizing).

Detectivization may be also identified in the situation below. Keeping in mind that the detective text provides an opportunity to create an illusion of a victorious war against the enemy, and also Nietzsche's idea that people cannot refuse from the war, since it serves the trigger for cultural progress and development on the whole [15], it should be noted that the contemporary war, including information war, is oriented on searching for the foe and certain romanticization of the “good guys”. Thus, modern myths emerge - they are threatening the culture and collective consciousness. For example,

M. Nussbaum considers that the “myths of the innocence are evidently false and harmful. No society may be called homogeneous <...> anyway, in any society there are people, ready to live jointly with the others on the terms of mutual respect and assistance; but there are also those who seek domination. <...> False understanding that our home society is flawless may only cherish aggression towards those who are not included into it, and dazzle those who are within it, regarding aggression to themselves” [4, p. 47].

Conclusion

The detectivization process is two-fold: firstly, it refers to the crime fiction spread throughout literary and other media genres, creating hybrids and fusions; secondly, it penetrates into the contemporary everyday life and routines. It involves different age and social groups, addressing their specific needs and preferences. Unlike a classical detective novel, which is characterized by catharsis for the addressee, the person experiencing detectivization in everyday life is striving for it, but most frequently does not receive the desired emotional relief. The ongoing active transition of the crime fiction genre from printed detective stories and films into the everyday realities, television news and everyday communications has not been fully deployed yet and still needs further and more thorough attention and research.

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Детективизация как часть повседневной жизни современного человека

А.А. Крапивник

Процесс детективизации рассматривается в двух аспектах: во- первых, он относится к проникновению текстов детективного жанра в литературные и другие медиа жанры, создавая разнообразные гибриды; во-вторых, он проникает в повседневную жизнь современного человека. Он охватывает как разные возрастные, так и разные социальные группы, рассматривает их потребности и предпочтения. В отличие от классического детективного романа, который характеризуется наличием катарсиса для адресата, человек, испытывающий на себе действие детективизации в повседневной деятельности стремится к этому чувству, но чаще всего не получает желаемой эмоциональной разгрузки. Продолжающийся активный переход детективного жанра из печатной формы и кинематографа в реалии повседневности, телевизионных новостей и коммуникации еще не завершен и, соответственно, требует дальнейшего более тщательного анализа и исследования.

Ключевые слова: детектив, детективный жанр, современный, массовая культура, насилие, агрессия, расследование, логика

Детективізація як частина повсякденного життя сучасної людини

Г.О. Крапівник

Процес детективізаціі розглядається у двох аспектах: по-перше, він відноситься до проникнення текстів детективного жанру в літературні та інші медіа жанри, створюючи різноманітні гібриди; по-друге, він проникає в повсякденне життя сучасної людини. Він охоплює як різні вікові, так і різні соціальні групи, розглядає їх потреби і переваги. На відміну від класичного детективного роману, який характеризується наявністю катарсису для адресата, людина, що зазнає на собі дію детективізаціі в повсякденній діяльності прагне до цього почуття, але найчастіше не отримує бажаного емоційного розвантаження. Триваючий активний перехід детектив - ного жанру з друкарської форми і кінематографа в реалії повсякденності, телевізійних новин та комунікації ще не завершений і, відповідно, вимагає подальшого більш ретельного аналізу і дослідження.

Ключеві слова: детектив, детективний жанр, сучасний, масова культура, насилля, агресія, розслідування, логіка.

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