The Gnostic Trope in Contemporary Media Culture

Abstract

The article applies the Gnostic trope as the most suitable tool for analyzing religious components of contemporary mass culture. Christopher Partridge’s theory of occulture serves as a methodological framework. The Gnostic trope includes the following elements: the idea that our world is a prison created for the torment of man; that it is controlled by the evil Creator of this world — the demiurge; that some exceptional persons, the Gnostics, are able to unravel the deceptive nature of reality and offer gnosis — a kind of extra‑rational experience. The way this trope functions is illustrated by examples of the writers such as L. Darell, F. Dick, and V. Pelevin; a rapper Oxymiron; the movies such as “The Matrix” or “The Truman Show”. The article offers an explanation of the popularity of the Gnostic trope. Сurrent global trends and the spread of digital culture led to general uncertainty and disorientation, and people feel imprisoned in a sort of panopticon, as described by Michel Foucault. The Gnostic trope means an attempt to personalize this impersonal power by identifying it with the demiurge.