Representações sociais da cultura em Belo Horizonte

Abstract

Theorizing about culture may always lead us to unreasonable generalizations, hence the need to think through cultures – in plural form. Thus, this article shows how the concept of ‘culture’ is homogenized to the point that a single type of it is regarded as representative of the whole. In search of a better understanding of these processes, this is a qualitative research that uses discourse analysis (DA) of mainstream media content on social media networks to address the construction of a social representation of ‘culture’ having two objects as a basis: the Cultural Circuit ‘Praça da Liberdade’ and the Common Space ‘Luiz Estrela,’ both in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. There is a tendency to qualify the Cultural Circuit ‘Praça da Liberdade’ as an ‘official’ and noble space, while other cultural spaces tend to be marginalized. However, popular initiative emerges as a possibility for new representations of culture, contrasting its hegemonic representation.