COLLECTIVE FASCINATIONS (FADS) AND THE IDEA OF EPHEMERAL CULTURE

Analyses of contemporary societies stress the dynamics of cultural changes. 'Temporary collective fascinations' (such as hula-hoop, Rubik's cube) known in American sociology as 'fads', may be regarded as examples of a model of ephemeral culture. They emanate from such social values as: progress, change, 'being hip'. Their development is accompanied by the emergence of a specific system of values, norms, meanings, patterns of behavior and emotions. The axiological and semiotic consensus which develops around these fads is usually short-lived and a current object of fascination is abandoned once it becomes 'boring'. Collective fascinations should not be treated solely as creations of manufacturers or of the media as such phenomena were observed in remote history.