Assange vs Zuckerberg: Symbolic Construction of Contemporary Cultural Heroes

Abstract

Myth is a meta-language that shapes our cultures and the way we individually and collectively make sense of reality. This paper presents the methodologies of French anthropologist and sociologist Gilbert Durand as a way to unveil how ancient myths contribute to the symbolic construction of societal leaders in times of crisis. To do so, it analyses the controversy of the selection of Time magazine’s Person of the Year, which confronted the figures of Julien Assange and Mark Zuckerberg. The myth analysis of their Wikipedia biographies will show that despite the fact these two personalities are considered almost opposites, the structure of the collective shared narratives about each of them follow the structure of the myth of Hermes, one shaping the grand narrative of the postmodern era. Realizing why and how the myth of Hermes promotes our contemporary leaders, sometimes apparent antagonists, contributes to better understanding of the unconscious drives of their symbolic construction, and enabling critical engagement with the rationales of their emergence.

“Sometime in the future”—The technology entrepreneur as utopian market hero

“…One observation that guides our critical view of current heroism is that the spread of democratic values should, at least in principle, create distrust in heroes, since their charismatic leadership evokes anti-democratic authoritarianism and a cult of personality (Howell and Avolio, 1992; Schwartz, 2008). Despite claims that rationalism (Carlyle, 2001), institutional structures (Weber, 1978), or peace (Krauthammer, 1997) should make the hero figure obsolete, there is abundant empirical evidence that heroes continue to capture imagination (Bardon et al, 2021; Blanco-Gracia, 2020; Preece, 2015; Sobande et al, 2020). It may very well be that a fragmented society simply demands an array of idiosyncratic heroes and utopias to pick from (Maclaran and Brown, 2005).…”

“…This heroic view of entrepreneurship obscures self-interest and allows businesspeople to present their technological creations as miraculous acts of divine creation, akin to saving the world or bringing about utopia (Sørensen, 2008). Such ideological construction of entrepreneurs in society highlights that heroism is a narrative phenomenon (Frisk, 2019), and that stories of individualistic, superhuman entrepreneurs saving the day have held sway for a century (Blanco-Gracia, 2020; Schumpeter, 1934; Sørensen, 2008).…”

“…The preceding sociohistorical review of complementary market ideologies explains how contemporary market-driven societies come to rely heavily on individual heroes, and in particular on technology entrepreneurs with grand utopian visions. Technology entrepreneurship itself is a practice or institution coded as heroic (Blanco-Gracia, 2020; Frisk, 2019). However, not all technology entrepreneurs, not even all the successful ones, are held as heroic.…”

Romanticisation and monetisation of the digital nomad lifestyle: The role played by online narratives in shaping professional identity work

“…Discursive approaches to identity work are primarily interested in the intricate ways through which the self is enacted via narrative and/or dialogical practices (Brown, 2017). Narratives, discourses and storytelling practices materialize a wide array of practices, beliefs and actions in organisations (Blanco-Gracia, 2020; Boje, 2014; Gabriel, 2000; Palo et al, 2020). The use of certain terms as well as specific discourse techniques play a key role in the making and assembling of events and actions in organisational worlds (Cabantous et al, 2018; Kornberger and Clegg, 2011) and, paradoxically, in the set-up of organizational control through the regulation of professional identity (see Alvesson and Willmott, 2002).…”

Heroism and/as injurious speech: Recognition, precarity, and inequality in health and social care work

“…And in this sense Super Nurse ostensibly shifts the gender orientation of the hero from one very gendered form of essentialism to another. The “hero” is traditionally a hyper‐masculine figure in popular culture, and in management and leadership discourse (Binns, 2008; Muhr & Sullivan, 2013), particularly during times of crisis (Blanc‐Gracia, 2018). Perceptions of leaders and leadership have been dominated by the presumption that great men “have greatness in their genes” (Harding, 2021, p: 236).…”