The value of “egocard” affectivity and symbolic violence in “Off-Axis network”

Abstract

The Off-Axis network, made up of groups of cultural producers and activists who are active on the Brazilian alternative scene, has become widely known since 2013 through the use of Ninja Media – experience made within the network. How can the imaginary of brotherhood, union and complicity between the groups hide the use of symbolic violence to forge the image of cohesion and enhance the dynamics of organisation and mobilisation? To analyse the tensions and contradictions in the collaborative practices among members, research in the interdisciplinary field between Communication and Cultural History uses the method of documentary analysis on data obtained from interviews, participant observation and monitoring email lists and social networks. We conclude that, in an environment where working conditions are informal, based on pacts of honour and debts of gratitude, the imaginary fable from which they are establishing a historic and revolutionary movement, similar to modernism and tropicalism, represents the central motivation that legitimises symbolic violence in the name of an idealised cause.