Questioning culture, striking a chord: Discourse on the legitimacy of opera and high culture on social media
(2026) MKVM13 20261Media and Communication Studies
Department of Communication and Media
- Abstract
- Opera and highbrow culture have traditionally occupied a position of high prestige, but over the course of the last few decades, that foundation has seemingly weakened. Traditionally in-person mediums such as opera are more bound to physical spaces and therefore more lim-ited in reach and exclusive than most mass media products, especially with increasing digi-talization. Previous research has mainly focused on institutional contributors to hierarchy and in-person audiences, and how opera can be translated into digital formats. Building on this, this project addresses how audiences on social media discursively construct cultural hierarchy through a case study. In particular, on the basis of Instagram comments responding to a controversial... (More)
- Opera and highbrow culture have traditionally occupied a position of high prestige, but over the course of the last few decades, that foundation has seemingly weakened. Traditionally in-person mediums such as opera are more bound to physical spaces and therefore more lim-ited in reach and exclusive than most mass media products, especially with increasing digi-talization. Previous research has mainly focused on institutional contributors to hierarchy and in-person audiences, and how opera can be translated into digital formats. Building on this, this project addresses how audiences on social media discursively construct cultural hierarchy through a case study. In particular, on the basis of Instagram comments responding to a controversial incident that brought into question the position of opera in the contempo-rary cultural landscape, this thesis conducts discourse analysis to find out how users negoti-ate the legitimacy of high art, their own affinity or dislike towards it, as well as how system-ic barriers to accessibility are discussed and how social media may impact these discussions.
While discourse around opera under regular circumstances is rather sensible in tone and manages to address barriers to accessibility in a respectful manner, it becomes more agitated in times where the status and legitimacy of opera is questioned: The legitimacy of popular culture and its affiliates is continuously questioned, while high culture is elevated and per-sonal dedication to it is highlighted and used to signal legitimate enjoyment of opera. In reference to the theoretical framework by Bourdieu, a destabilizing of the field of opera can be noted, specifically in regard to the concept of illusio that is facing external threat. Audi-ence members attempt to make explicit the symbolic capital that they derive from their alignment with the field, sometimes in contradiction with the very principles of such capital. Discourse around opera on social media is therefore characterized by a struggle to combine traditional ways of performing cultural authority with the logics of digital media. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9228867
- author
- Schumann, Hannah Elisabeth LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MKVM13 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- opera, highbrow culture, social media, symbolic capital, discourse analysis
- language
- English
- id
- 9228867
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-05 15:57:17
- date last changed
- 2026-06-05 15:57:17
@misc{9228867,
abstract = {{Opera and highbrow culture have traditionally occupied a position of high prestige, but over the course of the last few decades, that foundation has seemingly weakened. Traditionally in-person mediums such as opera are more bound to physical spaces and therefore more lim-ited in reach and exclusive than most mass media products, especially with increasing digi-talization. Previous research has mainly focused on institutional contributors to hierarchy and in-person audiences, and how opera can be translated into digital formats. Building on this, this project addresses how audiences on social media discursively construct cultural hierarchy through a case study. In particular, on the basis of Instagram comments responding to a controversial incident that brought into question the position of opera in the contempo-rary cultural landscape, this thesis conducts discourse analysis to find out how users negoti-ate the legitimacy of high art, their own affinity or dislike towards it, as well as how system-ic barriers to accessibility are discussed and how social media may impact these discussions.
While discourse around opera under regular circumstances is rather sensible in tone and manages to address barriers to accessibility in a respectful manner, it becomes more agitated in times where the status and legitimacy of opera is questioned: The legitimacy of popular culture and its affiliates is continuously questioned, while high culture is elevated and per-sonal dedication to it is highlighted and used to signal legitimate enjoyment of opera. In reference to the theoretical framework by Bourdieu, a destabilizing of the field of opera can be noted, specifically in regard to the concept of illusio that is facing external threat. Audi-ence members attempt to make explicit the symbolic capital that they derive from their alignment with the field, sometimes in contradiction with the very principles of such capital. Discourse around opera on social media is therefore characterized by a struggle to combine traditional ways of performing cultural authority with the logics of digital media.}},
author = {{Schumann, Hannah Elisabeth}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Questioning culture, striking a chord: Discourse on the legitimacy of opera and high culture on social media}},
year = {{2026}},
}