Roland Barthes e la funzione sociale dello sport

The paper deals with Roland Barthes’ interpretation of sports as a contemporary myth, turned into a semiological and comunicative medium by the advent of the consumption society. In particular, the paper dwells on the transformation of sports in collective myths, bound to be constructed and consumed by worldwide audiences. In this sense, the texts arranged by Barthes for the documentary directed by Aubert Aquin (Les sport et les homes, 1960-1961) allow an analysis of the diffusion of sports as real collective business, bolstered by private and collective interests. Therefore, the paper revolves around Barthes capability of interlacing semiology and sociology, so as to elaborate a theoretical framework suitable for the study of contemporary myths. Cycling, motor racing, ice hockey are some of the sports covered by Barthes. He provides an understanding of why games can gain mass resonance, in accordance with the symbolic and experiential patterns of mainstream society. The transformation of sports into a cinematic, television and journalistic myth confirms how strong the relationship between society, images, body and entertainment can be in times of connecting images.