Media and the sacralization of history

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the process of sacralization of history in the media discourse. Certain events and figures from the past are incorporated into the sphere of sacrum which excludes any discussion and maintains the domination of one narration of history. The process of sacralization may take places directly or indirectly. The first relies on direct inclusion to the discourse of certain words, which are associated with religion. The indirect sacralization takes place when episodes from the past are changed into universal stories of fight between the good and the evil. The analysis is performed on printed media discourses concerning three events from Poland’s contemporary history: the 1920 Warsaw Battle of Warsaw, the 1944 Warsaw Uprising and the postwar armed underground.