Representations of joy and norm in the documentary Higuita: The Way of the Scorpion (2023)
Abstract
The article analyses the representations of joy and norm in the football of goalkeeper René Higuita in the Netflix documentary Higuita: The Way of the Scorpion. Using a combination of cultural studies and political economy, supported by a literature review, the study explains the figure of Higuita as an icon of popular culture through his play based on jouissance that opposes the prevailing norm and ends up transforming it. In the power relationship between the game understood as a free, spontaneous and joyful practice (paidia) and as a formal, regulated and professionalised practice (ludus), the former prevails when it comes to understanding Higuita’s game as part of the tradition of Creole and plebeian football in Latin America.
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