POPULAR CULTURE AS A MEDIATOR: MECHANISMS OF RECODING AND SYMBOLIC CAPITAL EXCHANGE IN THE ERA OF METAMODERNISM

The article explores the dynamics of interaction between high (elite) and popular culture in the era of metamodernism. The author moves away from the traditional dichotomy and hierarchical opposition of these spheres, viewing them as a convergent system with a constant exchange of meanings. The methodological basis of the study relies on the distinction between "mass culture" (an industrial product) and "popular culture" (grassroots creativity, "textual poaching" according to M. de Certeau), which allows for an analysis of audience agency. The paper substantiates the thesis that popular culture performs a key mediating function: it acts as a "translator," recoding the complex aesthetic codes of high art into the language of everyday experience. Using examples from visual art (immersive exhibitions, the street art phenomenon, internet memes), the article illustrates processes of double appropriation: elite culture adopts the communicative strategies of popular culture to expand its audience, while popular culture appropriates the symbolic capital of high art for its own legitimation. It is concluded that such interaction ensures the actualization of cultural memory and the survival of classical heritage in the digital age.