Popular cultures as critical theories in the face of ultra-conservative tendencies in the current ideological-political context

Abstract

A critical theory with an emancipatory orientation can find a new breath in our days in popular cultures, which it would be better to call ordinary cultures (detective novels, songs, cinema, TV series ...), following in the footsteps of the works of Stanley Cavell . This means going through a cross-border dialogue between “language games” (Wittgenstein). We will deal with three cases: a French folk song (Envole-moi), an American TV series (American Crime) and a British-American-Irish film (Disobedience). The resources extracted from these cultural products can help us to confront the current wave of identity ultra-conservatism in France, Europe, the United States and Brazil… thanks to its affinity with a policy of “openness of being” inspired by Emmanuel Levinas .