Semiotics of the contemporary antihero: actantial models and axiologies underlying the paradigmatic shift of the heroic

This article approaches the figure of the antihero from a sociocultural semiotic perspective of a discursive and narrative matrix. Specifically, we draw on the actantial model developed by Algirdas J. Greimas, which is a reworking of Vladimir Propp's spheres of action. We argue that, in our day...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Moreno, Sebastián
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:Uruguay
Institución:Universidad de Montevideo
Repositorio:REDUM
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:redum.um.edu.uy:20.500.12806/2775
Acceso en línea:http://revistas.um.edu.uy/index.php/revistahumanidades/article/view/1675
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Héroe
Antihéroe
Semiótica
Discurso
Narratividad
Actantes
Hero
Antihero
Semiotics
Discourse
Narrativity
Actants
Herói
Anti-herói
Narratividade
Atantes
Descripción
Sumario:This article approaches the figure of the antihero from a sociocultural semiotic perspective of a discursive and narrative matrix. Specifically, we draw on the actantial model developed by Algirdas J. Greimas, which is a reworking of Vladimir Propp's spheres of action. We argue that, in our day and age, the figure of the antihero not only gives sense to characters in fictional texts but also functions as a sociocultural construct that serves to give sense to events of social life. We argue that, in recent decades, there has been a shift from the «classical-modern» heroic model, linked to virtuous ethical values considered an expression of the Good, towards more ambiguous, contradictory and ethically problematic figures. We show how the figure of the anti-hero, far from modifying the classical narrative structure (the canonical Greimasian scheme), reformulates it. We conclude that the figure of the antihero allows us to reread the contemporary social narrative as a space of dispute for sense, morality and identity, and hence functions as a paradigmatic shift with regards to the classic-modern model.