SACRED OBJECTS TIME

The sacred for youngsters RSS

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Cosa è il Sacro?The concept of sacre already existed before religions. Sacer, in latin, means “what belongs to the world of divine”, not affected by normal timeflow, because considered “extra-human”. This explains its fundamental value: the sacre “saves”, because to be in contact with it, keeps away from pure temporality. Since Prehistoric time, man has sacralized certain objects (like fire) places and people, considering them important tools for survival, attributing them a religious value. Thus, the beat generation considered drugs, alcohol and ‘getting high’ as sacre, as opposed to the dominant production model and middle-class culture. Nowadays, among young people, the smartphone is considered the object that makes you “get high” , but non only…

LO SMARTPHONEThe smartphone can be considered the most widespread techological instrument in the world. Its sacralization among teenagers derives from the fact that they consider it the hub of social interaction, and from the disappearance of some traditional forms of aggregation (such as family).So young people feel the obsessive need to check for messages or notifications from social networks like Facebook.In a reportage of the TV show “Le Iene“a group of teenagers were asked to renounce their own smartphones and to the web, for two weeks. The doctor who had the supervision of the experiment noticed how, when they got back their mobiles, the 7 guys who accepted the experiment were definitely less stressed than the rest of the group, they had started to go out again and to follow other activities.

Teen IdolsTeen IdolsSince the society doesn’t respect the traditional structures designed to administer the sacred anymore (Churches), especially young people are starting to sacralise famous people.So especially singers, actors and footballers are seen as if they were gods. This is because they are rich, good looking and famous, which today, are the most important things to be succesful in our society.They are considered universal and unquestionable role models. So people say that they are doing the right thing even if they are doing the worst thing ever. In this way they become negative idols.What we know is always the celebrity built by the record company, the football club or the film company, but we never know the person behind it.In this system, it’s always the product to be built around the celebrity, whether it is a song or a film, when it should be exactly the opposite.So actors, singers and footballers are the first unconscious victims of this system because they are only used to make money.

The obsessive care of our body and the achievement of perfection

We don’t believe anymore in the virtues on which we should base our society (honesty, fairness and humility), so especially young people are really influenced by the role models that the medias and the business show give them.To be succesful you have to be good looking.Young people ( males too) are driven to do extreme acts to have a ‘perfect’ body, like sacralizing some eating disorders. Anorexia is personified by the name of Ana and it is idolized like a goddess.There are pro-ana websites, they are managed by people who promote this eating disorder and that encourage people to become always skinnier.In these sites you can find crazy things like “the 10 commandments pro-Ana”.Now, this is a very estreme case, but how many people do we know who spend their days in a gym, who are obsessed by the calories and who are always on a diet?

Il denaroSecondly, the social prestige is tied to fame (actors, footballers, singers) and money. It is establishing a bi-univocal relationship of cause and effect: the more famous I am, the richer I become; the richer I am, the more famous I become.A clear example is the new successful boy band which came out from the TV show Xfactor, and which has hit the big time all over the world: the One direction.To make them even more famous, in these last 4 years their managers have been producing and selling gadgets with their faces on. If many items with their image are purchased, they increase their personal gain and corporate (the record company), they increase their reputation and as a consequence the ability to produce new gadgets, in a potentially infinite circle..

Domande

• There are items from which you don’t ever separate or do you know people who never separate from some objects?

• To which sphere do these objects belong: personal, familiar, religious, educational, athletic?

• For how long has this or these objects have been preserved?• Could you reconstruct the history of at least one of these objects? For example,

who or where you bought them from or who has given them to you?• Which importance do you attribute or is attributed to these items: affective,

memorial, religious, protective?

Federica

• si, ho un anello per me molto importante, che non levo mai. si ho molte persone a me vicine che hanno molti oggetti, tra cui il telefono, da cui non si separano mai.

• -questi oggetti appartengono alle sfere: personale e familiare.• -il mio anello lo tengo al foto per più di 1 anno e mezzo.• -allora l'ex fidanzata di mio fratello circa un anno e mezzo fa

mi ha regalato questo anello (che ora non levo più), che a sua volta lo aveva comprato in un negozio al centro.

• -affettivo e memoriale.• -no non ho mai prestato questo anello a nessuno e no non mi

piace prestare le mie cose.

Alessia• Un oggetto da cui non mi separo quasi mai è un anello.• Questo oggetto appartiene alla sfera personale.• Non lo conservo da molto, in realtá, ma ci sono tanto affezionata.• Non ha nessuna storia particolare e non è neanche

particolarmente bello o di valore, ma è importante per me perché me lo ha regalato mia mamma per Natale.

• Gli attribuisco un valore affettivo.• Non ho mai prestato questo oggetto a nessuno. In generale non

mi piace prestare nessuna cosa a cui sono particolarmente affezionata o che ritengo significativa. Questo perché questa cosa non starebbe sotto il mio 'controllo', quindi non potrei sapere cosa gli succede e questo mi darebbe fastidio.

Mary• Si, un braccialetto.• Appartiene alla sfera personale e familiare.• Dalla mia prima comunione.• Me lo ha regalato una mia zia acquisita come regalo per la mia

prima comunione.• Ha un valore affettivo e memoriale.• No non lo ho prestato a nessuno e per paura di perderlo o romperlo

dato che sono molto distratta lo tengo a casa.

Elena

• Non in questo periodo ma quando ero più piccola si. Avevo una copertina di lana e senza di quella non potevo andare a dormire.

• Appartiene alla sfera familiare e personale.• Sin da quando ero appena nata e la conservo ancora oggi.• L’ha cucita all’uncinetto mia nonna per me quando ero ancora nella

carrozzina.• Per me aveva un valore protettivo.• Non l’ho mai prestata a nessuno e sinceramente non ho problemi a

prestare le mie cose (a persone di cui mi fido) ma forse non presterei a nessuno qualcosa che ritengo particolarmente significativo per me.