The concept of “spectacularity” in the context of cultural concepts

In our imagination the concept of “spectacularity” is associated with images of a fair, a bright, exciting, cheerful carnival with laughter, joy, bright colors, and mirror refl ections. Certainly, “spectacularity” is not only about positive impressions: it can also be shocking or frightening, as evidenced by the Latin word “specter” (from the Latin “spectrum” — “vision”), meaning “apparition”, “ghost”, which again is one of the synonyms of Russian “spectacularity”. The phenomena of spectacle and spectacularity can be considered as phenomena of society and culture. The article shows approaches to the analysis of the concept of “spectacularity”, which are presented in the cultural and philosophical works of Russian and foreign scientists: M.M. Bakhtin, J. Ortega y Gasset, A.I. Mazaev, N.A. Khrenov, E.V. Salnikova and others. It is revealed that in developing these concepts, the authors rely on an analysis of traditions and rituals associated with festive culture. Often, through the holiday/ mundanity dichotomy, the authors identify the essential characteristics of concepts. Elite and profane, “low” and “high” — these are the characteristics that are used when talking about mass and elite culture. The materials of the article can be used within the disciplines “History of Culture”, “History of Art” and “Aesthetics”