01 - Interdits. Tabous, transgressions, censures
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Arina Makarova
Dits et non-dits des nécrologies de la presse
Le Temps des médias n°1, automne 2003, p.108-118.The obituary column teaches us what we should say publicly about the death of a person, according to his social statute, his profession, sex and age. An evolution of the social stereotypes about the life values “after the death” is always evident in the obituary. The authors of obituary articles — the journalists or the members of the families — accomplish a kind of « self censorship » by making their choice of biography facts, merits of deceased persons, as well as the choice of the deceased persons to write about. The present article try to give an idea how the obituary column was formed as a literary genre of a daily press ; what was the influence of the socially admitted values on the appreciation of the persons mentioned in the newspapers, and conversely, what kind of influence can the obituary column exert on the world vision of the readers ?
