MASS CULTURE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL SPACE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the cultural analysis of the phenomenon of mass culture in the context of the processes of creativization of contemporary cultural space.Purpose. The aim of the article is to investigate the phenomenon of mass culture within the context of creativization of contemporary cultural space and to outline the cultural consequences of this process.Methodology. The main propositions of the article are based on theoretical approaches to the definition of mass culture and the culture industry by T. Adorno, M. Horkheimer, J. Ortega y Gasset, and J. Baudrillard, as well as on the concepts of creativity, the creative class, and creative industries developed by R. Florida and A. Reckwitz.Scientific novelty. The article analyzes the relationship between mass culture and the creative class: on the one hand, mass culture provides tools for realizing creative potential; on the other, it subordinates creativity to market logic. It is proposed to consider the creative city as a space of “bricolage” that generates new meanings through the reinterpretation of existing cultural elements. The examples of Kamianets-Podilskyi and Barcelona are presented as models of combining mass culture and creative strategies, while the risks of gentrification and commercialization are also identified.Conclusions. It is stated that the key characteristics of mass culture, which developed throughout the previous century, are significantly and rapidly changing under the influence of digitalization processes. The article demonstrates that mass culture serves simultaneously as a platform for innovation and as a space for commercial standardization of cultural products. Particular attention is paid to creative industries as a factor of cultural transformation capable of combining economic development with the preservation of local identity. In the Ukrainian context, the role of mass culture in counteracting propaganda, supporting national identity, and fostering cultural resistance under wartime conditions is emphasized. The article concludes on the necessity of balancing economic, sociocultural, and ethical values to ensure the sustainable development of the creative class, as well as the preservation of authenticity and inclusiveness of the cultural environment.