Affective Instrumentalization of the Ugly in the Paradigm of Modern Mass Culture

The aim of this study is to demonstrate how the category of the ugly in modern art and mass culture has ceased to be an aesthetic antithesis of beauty and has become a key tool for manipulating people through emotion. The author proposes a new conceptual model – the “affective instrumentalization of the ugly” – which describes the latter’s functioning in modern culture not as a spontaneous phenomenon, but as a purposeful control technology. The article reconsiders the historical transformation of the category of the ugly, noting that it is used in modern mass media as a means of de-aestheticizing traditional art. The author defines the key paradigm shift “from image to affect” as a system-forming principle of modern culture, where the value of a work of art is determined not by its representation of reality, but by the power of its emotional impact on people. Specific institutional and media mechanisms for transforming the biologically repulsive into legitimate art are identified.