La felicidad como ideología. Análisis comparado de En busca de la felicidad y Soul

Ingrid Zacipa-Infante; Victoria Tur-Viñes

doi:10.24310/fotocinema.31.2025.21862

Authors

Ingrid Zacipa-Infante Universidad de Alicante Colombia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0077-5311
Victoria Tur-Viñes Universidad de Alicante Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8442-8068

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/fotocinema.31.2025.21862

Keywords:

Animation films, Happiness, Identity, Characters, Emotional Self-Management, Symbolic Representation

Abstract

This article aims to comparatively analyze how the concept of happiness is represented in the films The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) and Soul (2020), based on the theoretical model by Cabanas and Illouz (2019), which frames happiness as an ideological construct aligned with neoliberal personality traits. The study focuses on three aspects: (1) character representation of the protagonists; (2) symbolic depictions of happiness within narrative spaces; and (3) the construction of subjectivities under consumer capitalism. The methodology employs Grueso’s (2020) semiotic model of film analysis and Atlas.ti software to code expressions of emotional self-management, authenticity, and personal growth. The findings reveal that both films reinforce an individualistic and meritocratic view of happiness, although Soul introduces a critique of insatiability at its conclusion. The analysis concludes that these cinematic narratives legitimize a neoliberal model of well-being while silencing collective or structural dimensions of success.

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33%

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Publisher: Universidad de Málaga

Author Biographies

Ingrid Zacipa-Infante, Universidad de Alicante

PhD in Human and Social Sciences, National University of Colombia.
Distinguished Researcher, Beatriz Galindo Grant.
Department of Communication and Social Psychology, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Alicante, Spain.

Victoria Tur-Viñes, Universidad de Alicante

Dr. Victoria Tur-Viñes is a Full Professor in the Department of Communication and Social Psychology at the University of Alicante (Spain). Her research focuses on communication and specific audiences, advertising creativity, and responsible communication. She is the founder of the research group “Communication and Specific Audiences” (established in 2003) and editor of the Mediterranean Journal of Communication. She currently serves as Vice President of the International Association for Communication and Childhood (Kids&Com) and is a founding member of the Communication Journals Platform (PlatCom). She has participated in various international research projects. In 2017, she received the 14th Hermes Award in recognition of her teaching and research career in support of responsible communication.

References

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