Event as a Postmodernist Form of Participation in Social Life

Abstract

The article is devoted to the social-cultural phenomenon of eventization. Events, also called “great mass events”, gain ever greater significance in various domains of social life. The author tries to answer the questions about what in fact an event is, what characteristics distinguish it from other social situations, and what function it performs in the postmodernist society. She also analyzes developmental tendencies that have led to the great and ever increasing popularity of this phenomenon. Events are new forms of socialization, different from both traditional communities and modern associations. Their popularity results from the fact that they fit the expectations of the modern man better than other forms do. It is true that the modern man misses community, but at the same time he would like to avoid the effort and risk that are connected with building close inter-human relations.