The construction of the group “Nosotros” in José Guardiola Plubins’ radio drama “La angustia de vivir” (1959)

Abstract

The concept of "us" is fundamental in studies of identity and social construction. Manuel Tufró (2017) argues that this "us" is configured through the creation of symbolic boundaries that delineate who belongs to a group and, at the same time, who is excluded. Thus, the process of identity construction becomes inseparable from the identification of an "other," whose existence is necessary to grant consistency to the group. Furthermore, the author maintains that discourses on urban security reinforce these boundaries, consolidating a "us" defined both by the values it enunciates and by the exclusions it perpetuates. In line with these ideas, the present work aims to analyze the construction of "us" in the radio drama La angustia de vivir (1959) by the Bahía Blanca writer José Guardiola Plubins, highlighting how these symbolic boundaries manifest and what exclusions arise from his writing. To this end, a sociological study (Elías, 1993) will be employed based on the analysis of the concept of "us and the others" (Tufró, 2015), taking into account both the socio-historical context of production and the discursive strategies used to construct the collective identity of the characters. This study seeks to provide a deeper understanding of how radio theater contributed to the formation of collective identities and the reproduction of dynamics of social inclusion and exclusion.