Abstract
Recourse to magic is a universal strategy for trying to resolve intractable social problems. Within the context of white-water river rafting, the authors illustrate the conjunction of elements (condition of the performer, rite, and formula) that make magical experience possible in a constructed consumption setting. They show how "river magic," like all magic, concerns itself with the relationship between humans and the world, how it activates certain "latent virtues," and how it consists of ritualized acts directed toward concrete ends. River magic is practical but also performative and rhetorical. It serves to restructure and integrate the minds and emotions of the actors. The authors emphasize the spontaneous evocations of hope, optimism, and confidence common both to traditional magical systems and to river magic. In postmodernity, magic may reemerge from the margins of modern thought to ritualize hope and optimism and to reinscribe us in a meaningful cultural milieu.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 33-68 |
| Number of pages | 36 |
| Journal | Journal of Contemporary Ethnography |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
- Urban Studies
Cite this
Making magic ↖ consumption : A study of white-water river rafting. / Arnould, Eric J.; Price, Linda L; Otnes, Cele.
In: Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 28, No. 1, 1999, p. 33-68.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Making magic ↖ consumption
T2 - A study of white-water river rafting
AU - Arnould, Eric J.
AU - Price, Linda L
AU - Otnes, Cele
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - Recourse to magic is a universal strategy for trying to resolve intractable social problems. Within the context of white-water river rafting, the authors illustrate the conjunction of elements (condition of the performer, rite, and formula) that make magical experience possible in a constructed consumption setting. They show how "river magic," like all magic, concerns itself with the relationship between humans and the world, how it activates certain "latent virtues," and how it consists of ritualized acts directed toward concrete ends. River magic is practical but also performative and rhetorical. It serves to restructure and integrate the minds and emotions of the actors. The authors emphasize the spontaneous evocations of hope, optimism, and confidence common both to traditional magical systems and to river magic. In postmodernity, magic may reemerge from the margins of modern thought to ritualize hope and optimism and to reinscribe us in a meaningful cultural milieu.
AB - Recourse to magic is a universal strategy for trying to resolve intractable social problems. Within the context of white-water river rafting, the authors illustrate the conjunction of elements (condition of the performer, rite, and formula) that make magical experience possible in a constructed consumption setting. They show how "river magic," like all magic, concerns itself with the relationship between humans and the world, how it activates certain "latent virtues," and how it consists of ritualized acts directed toward concrete ends. River magic is practical but also performative and rhetorical. It serves to restructure and integrate the minds and emotions of the actors. The authors emphasize the spontaneous evocations of hope, optimism, and confidence common both to traditional magical systems and to river magic. In postmodernity, magic may reemerge from the margins of modern thought to ritualize hope and optimism and to reinscribe us in a meaningful cultural milieu.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=22644450115&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:22644450115
VL - 28
SP - 33
EP - 68
JO - Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
JF - Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
SN - 0891-2416
IS - 1
ER -