Sensationalism and modernity: how can a relationship intrinsically ambiguos have become a cultural distinction strategy

Abstract

This article brings an approach to the relationship between the historical consolidation context of occidental modernity, specially in the XIXth century, and the birth of a dual perspective relating areas that are usually given as separated or even excluding: popular culture and erudite culture, serious press x sensationalist press, rationality and feelings, among others. Our goal is to show that much of such divisions result from a cultural construction process in which privileged classes – specially medium and high classes – produce, using different resources, strategies for distinguishing. Thus they refuse the cultural circularity and flow.