THE USE OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL RITUALS IN CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATION

This article identifies the main characteristics and trends inthe development of media power in the context of increasing its connection with the otherpowers in the society, especially with the political and ecclesiastic power. The developmentof communication technologies, especially during the last half of a century, has led to theimprovement and increase of the efficiency of communication functions at all levels,regardless of the distances between those who manage communication and the targetpublic. The sacerdotal and political powers of our days have taken over the results ofmass–media development in order to use them intensively in the attainment of their ownmission and strategies, seeking to be as successful as possible. An essential way forfulfilling the goals of political and ecclesiastic power is the intentional use of specificceremonies and rituals in the communication exchanges with the public. The “directors”and “screenwriters” involved in the organization of such spectacles and their mediacoverage all over the planet have so perfected this art that the powers receiving extensivemedia coverage have become seductive celebrities, increasingly capable of manipulation, foran increasingly wider public. The author taps into a comprehensive historical,philosophical, sociological and practical documentation in order to demonstrate theincrease in the functions of audiovisual, verbal and nonverbal communication in our days,and some perverse effects of this evolution.