Same Urban Legends, Different Bad Hombres: The Risk of Narratives across Borders about Deviant Others
Gonzalo Soltero
Chapter from the book: Jonsson, H et al. 2021. Narratives Crossing Borders: The Dynamics of Cultural Interaction.
Part of
Chapter from the book: Jonsson, H et al. 2021. Narratives Crossing Borders: The Dynamics of Cultural Interaction.
Some narratives, such as urban legends and rumors, address the mistrust that social communities have about those outside their bounds, and thus help to define their collective identity (Us) in opposition to others (Them). Globalization has increased human transit across the planet, along with the flow of these narratives that seep through all kind of borders. This chapter will examine two different crime legends, “Lights Out!” and “Burundanga”, that transited between south and north of the American continent, especially between 2005 and 2007, looking at the differences in the reception of the same texts according to the groups that shared them.
Soltero, G. 2021. Same Urban Legends, Different Bad Hombres: The Risk of Narratives across Borders about Deviant Others. In: Jonsson, H et al (eds.), Narratives Crossing Borders. Stockholm: Stockholm University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/bbj.q
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Published on June 15, 2021