Cosmopolitan orientation & creative resistance in contemporary Athenian culture

Abstract

Abstract

This article investigates ways in which the global and the local coexist and converse in contemporary Greek culture. The study draws on pragmatic aspects of everyday life as presented in the pages of the popular magazine Lifo, which is distributed for free in the streets of Athens on a weekly basis. Both the editing style and features of Lifo reveal a wealth of cross-cultural influences in matters of artistic production and lifestyle. They also reveal a sophisticated local discourse mostly deployed in sociopolitical commentary and satire feature pieces How far are these characteristics coloured by the sweeping influence of immigration, European integration and the current digital reality in the country? Further, the article examines aspects of Americanization in everyday life and the impact of the current financial crisis.