Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies, 21 (2022) 184−199
Abstract. The article shows the way must-see film lists hosted by financial publications positivize, after the 2008 crisis, the message of feature and documentary films representing finance. Here positivization refers to the detouring or softening of the critical edge of the message of a film in the interests of the hosting website and the profession of finance in general. Emphasis falls on financial literacy and on a film’s artistic prestige and entertainment potential. The author argues that positivization is a semantic strategy indicative of a neoliberal business ontology that informs the interpretation of cultural artifacts. It instrumentalizes signification processes in order to foreground exchange value and present film reception as an investment in human capital.
Keywords: must-see film lists, finance films, financial blogs, positivization, film reception
SAPIENTIA HUNGARIAN UNIVERSITY OF TRANSYLVANIA
The Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania is the independent university of the Hungarian community in Romania, which aims at providing education to the members of our community and performing scientific research on a high professional level.
Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania,
Scientia Publishing House
Acta Universitatis Sapientiae
RO 400112 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Str. Matei Corvin nr. 4.
Email: acta @ acta.sapientia.ro
