In this article I address the concrete implications and consequences of hope and hoping for those individuals who are variously labeled as “abnormals”. I suggest to define hope as a social institution, that is to say as the set of expectations concerning the range of better future conditions to be considered “reasonable” given one’s own current position in the environment. Such range is intersubjectively (i.e. socially, culturally and politically) (co)constructed and overlaps with the range of possibilities presumably open to a given individual on the basis of hir current situation. Then, I introduce three possible meanings of the expression “hoping for the best” with reference to the notions of conformity, dissent and transgression. Finally, I clarify and discuss such different meanings by means of analyzing three films whose protagonists are to be labeled as “abnormals” in the light of dominant models of the human being.

Hoping for the Best: Figures of Difference in Contemporary Films

MONCERI, Flavia
2013-01-01

Abstract

In this article I address the concrete implications and consequences of hope and hoping for those individuals who are variously labeled as “abnormals”. I suggest to define hope as a social institution, that is to say as the set of expectations concerning the range of better future conditions to be considered “reasonable” given one’s own current position in the environment. Such range is intersubjectively (i.e. socially, culturally and politically) (co)constructed and overlaps with the range of possibilities presumably open to a given individual on the basis of hir current situation. Then, I introduce three possible meanings of the expression “hoping for the best” with reference to the notions of conformity, dissent and transgression. Finally, I clarify and discuss such different meanings by means of analyzing three films whose protagonists are to be labeled as “abnormals” in the light of dominant models of the human being.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11695/881
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