Mediatization, polarization, and intolerance (between environments, media, and circulation)

Mediatization of collective emotions 107 Having overcome both previous stages, in which I elab- orated on the revolutionary role of technologies and reflected on the concept of mediatization, I now wish, in this third level of my presentation, to exemplify what is said with the topic of the mediatization of emotions, a theme that I consider central in this exhibition. I take as an example the case of the monarchy. This political system is one of the regimes that most integrated the values of the media into its routine and practice. It is because without winning the devotion of the masses, the court’s survival is threatened. In 2011, 87% of people supported the monarchy in England. In the Netherlands, this percentage reached 78% in 2014. In Sweden, this support was 70% in 2013. The weddings of princes Harry and William are exam- ples of this. They were conceived as a TV show, as are births, di- vorces, and monarchical deaths. Even in republics and in show- biz some burials of famous personalities recall the apotheosis ceremonies of ancient Rome. One such case was the funeral of Michael Jackson. Three billion people watched his burial on TV around the world. In cases like this, the media plays the role of regulator of collective worship, something that was also seen in the coffin of John Kennedy, Margareth Thatcher, Nikita Kruschev, and Ayrton Senna. In the case of royal weddings, television emphasizes the subjects’ contagious joy. They participate as actors in the worship service. Parades of decorated troops, songs and choirs, carriages, dresses, and unusual hats from the guests give these events a chic and carnivalesque tone that appeals not only to na- tives but also foreigners who watch the rituals ecstatically on TV. Monarchists use the heavy symbolism of the royal courts to produce a high degree of collective fascination in the population. This effect explains why, discreetly, the end of Elisa- beth II’s reign is already being studied. The authorities want to speed up the transition so that, when the time comes, the Repub- lican discourse does not take advantage of the power vacuum. The pomp of the courts and the deification of the monarchs are capable of mobilizing reverence for the sacred in people. The sacred environment surrounding the royal court is something invented to protect specific meanings. It is also true of several para-religious rituals. The divine and mystical appear-