Analysing Events as Cultural Objects. Application of the Cultural Diamond Model to the Imaginary of the Contemporary Celebrations

Abstract

The paper focuses on the event as a cultural object to analyse its social significance and features. The analysis of the characteristics of the event, its receivers and its creators, has been carried out applying the euristic model of the cultural diamond on three big international events. The aim is to offer an interpretation of the event as a genre of contemporary celebrations and as a cultural object that reflects both the imaginary of contemporary societies based on a relational dimension. The result showed how events are characterised by a temporal continuity disconnected which allows them to colonize the present time. Moreover events give meaning to spaces where the failure of some social institutions, like politics or economy, is visible, creating an utopia. Finally, the social significance and imaginary the event acquires resides in its ability to relate to the social world, celebrating its contradictions and its culture.