Abstract:
Every epoch is associated with defining events as well as
concrete figures. Their significance particularly increases in the
period of transition: their images are constructed under conditions
of rapid political and socio-cultural changes; they influence
ongoing processes; these figures form the foundation for the
memory of different groups and have unifying or dividing function.
Applying the hero-antihero discourse for the analysis of the
meanings assigned to them enables us to observe the process
of formation of collective memory, which affects many other
processes of the period. Out of the key figures of the 1990s, I have
selected Merab Kostava who significantly influenced construction
of the image of the modern hero as well as the perception
and representation of events of the 1980s-1990s. His
grave in Mtatsminda Pantheon - the most important symbolic
area for the modern Georgian collective identity - was a step towards
the formation of a new collective memory. The study aims
to answer the following questions: How the image of Merab Kostava
as a hero was constructed on the basis of cultural patterns
preserved in the Georgian culture? Who were the antiheroes visÀ-
vis his image? How do the mechanisms of remembering and
forgetting work in this process? The research is based on the
study of diverse narratives and employs the methods of content
analysis and discourse analysis to explore the specific meanings
that individuals/groups attach to social reality. The empirical
material is comprehended within the framework of the theory of
collective memory.
