INTRODUCTION

Both writing and reading carry meanings, interpretations of the world and socialization experiences. In the dual perspective of the text and reader, this has a dynamic operation. From the perspective of the former, we know the look does not go through letters neutrally; instead, it brings “visibilities” about oneself and the others, about daily life and transformation, implicit or explicit in the reader based on his/her historical and cultural background. From the perspective of latter, complexity is not in anyway reduced: printed in ink (in hardcopy formats) or conveyed in pixels (on screens), a text communicates narrative plots in which the lives of several people are interlinked, from up close or remote times and spaces.

By addressing tragedy, imagination and knowledge, some narratives have become a benchmark for the culture and the identity of certain societies, for providing founding events, cosmovisions and senses to human beings found therein. This is the case of many tales and myths, whose historical and cultural matrixes (Greek, Roman, Celtic, German...) are presented with a wide range of characters, scenarios and achievements, full of lessons about the world, the men and the gods (see also ^{CAMPBELL, 2007}). With a symbolic and often universalist approach, ancient myths are considered to be “paradigmatic narratives” (^{ELIADE, 2004}, p. 164): they express the humanity that created them through emblems of millenary vitality, capable of transcending generations of recently initiated persons. In fact, narratives of this kind trigger the intelligence and imagination of the public, for which the letter (littera) - once pronounced, heard, participated - provides diversified forms of lesson (lectio): memory, surprise, nurturance, affinity, contrast, adventure, virtue, inspiration.

From scholars to popular readers, the letter and the lesson of tales link readers to their storylines, turning them not only into receivers, but also participants, in view of their interpretations, reactions and interactions with the narrative. Actually, in this interactive game, literature becomes committed to oral narration, of a figurative or ritualistic nature, in order to perpetuate. Because a in littera record (written text) loses its argument and message if its not known, appreciated and conveyed in lectione (declaimed lesson) from generation to generation, with its continuous versions. It has been like that for centuries, from the clay tablet to the board to the modern multifunctional tablet: without lessons, letters are mute and risk being lost.

Over the decades, each generation has readers and visibilities that correspond to their space/time, placing emphasis on different genres and literary styles. Since the seventies, classic and modern written works, novels and science fiction, documentaries and soap operas have come across one another in the large scenario of editorial production, with TV and big screen versions being more and more frequent. Most recently, after the nineties, this has been expanded with the growing mediatization of writing and reading, which are given new aids and formats, from e-books to online texts.

However, such mediatization is not limited to the technological development of writing and reading aids. As ^{França (2006}) and ^{Braga (2007}) once warned, mediatization is a cultural process of reference to the multiple connections among individuals, institutions and societies; this process is not fixed in the instrumental linearity of emission-medium-reception, but set in motion in the interactions occurred among the most diverse “communication players” (^{FRANÇA, 2006}, p. 76). These players have access to communication spaces provided by “media”, making contacts and exchanges, gaining visibility and opening up new routes in sociability. Driven by technological possibilities and by the participation of thousands of users, mediatization goes beyond the instrumental dimension of media, having become today a human and cultural fact that plays its role in subjectivity, in how the world is perceived and in the ways people use to communicate, with opportunities and risks, news and tensions¹ - as perceived among the innumerous young people who are connected at our homes, shopping malls and schools.

Thus, a new generation of readers is created, that is used to surfing these new waves of communication, using technologies that are increasingly interlinked: digital books and magazines accessed over the computer and cellphone; movies and TV series on cable channels, most of the times also available on the internet; thematic websites and digital encyclopedias; blogs and social media that gather individuals and different groups sharing the same interests. Motivated by the diverse, instant nature of the interactions available therein, players see and are seen, give their opinion, and react to, consume and prºduce content. This is an interactional communication, which is both intense (marked by the proximity and assiduity that is seen among interacting players) and extensive (marked by the broad accessibility and fluidity of contacts).

This intense and extensive communication, accelerated by new technologies, has redesigned not only the offer of information, but also the notion of time and space, cognition, sociability and also how people perceive themselves and their relationships, locally and globally. As observed by Alain ^{Renaud (1990}, p. 14): “the axiology of places and the functions of the cultural practices of memory, knowledge, imaginary and creation have been going through massive reconstruction”.

In view of mediatization and its extensive repercussions, this article will address the reading practices of young students, with a particular analysis of six cases of declared preference for epic and mythological narratives (please see data below). The data shown were taken from research on the relationship between young people and mediatization during the communication interactions of three High School classes, focused on how young people understand and grasp this relationship in their school lives. The approach, however, was not only quantitative, but also qualitative, perceiving players in their modern youth condition, marked by an heterogeneity of situations, by the state of being young overlapped with the state of being a student, by social hardships and pursuit of meaning, amid the tension between the present and the future. Field research included face-to-face and online observation, questionnaires, individual interviews and group discussions in two urban schools, being one private and the other public. The young people researched were 15 to 18 years old and were attending the second grade of High School. All of them were familiar with the mediatic culture and used recent technologies to read.² From the data gathered, the preference for mythological stories was expressively highlighted, pointing out to the importance of narratives of existential meaning and thus instigating a specific reflection, which is developed herein. For such, we used the structure of myths mapped out by ^{Campbell (2007}): myths are basically a lesson narrated in a three-step journey, with departure-initiation-return, to be completed by heroes (most of them young heroes) in a process of individualization and socialization. The pedagogical character of myths has been renewed over time, until it’s recent format, with creative mediatic versions, ranging from the big screen to online games.

Given the mediatization of reading and the preference for mythological narratives, we have presented four basic questions: What do young people say they read? What are the effects of mediatization on how youngsters read? Why do they prefer tales and myths? And, for final considerations: What do such practices mean to schools?

WHAT DO YOUNG PEOPLE SAY THEY READ?

The youngsters researched reflect the current transformation scenario, which is highly mediatized, when describing the influence of new communication sensitivities, with their aids, on their reading.³ Some of these youngsters are quite involved with reading; and others, not that much. But all of them, at some point, confirm to have their reading influenced by media devices.

In the research questionnaire, we present reading as a topic related to culture and leisure to cover both the readings proposed by the school and those chosen by students. Youngsters answered ‘no’ to the question “Is reading one of your cultural and leisure practices?”: from private schools, 84.1%; from public schools, 79.9%. The question “Do you have the habit of reading?” also had a negative answer: 83.5% of youngsters in private school said they don’t read regularly; followed by 91.3% of youngsters in public school. The results, however; change when the question is put that way: “What have you been reading recently?”. Result: 77.2% of youngsters in private school said they are reading some written work; followed by 78.5% of youngsters in public school.⁴

This clear contrast is eliminated when young people broaden their reading options (chosen based on taste and interest) in view of school reading (proposed as assignments). In fact, the relationship of young people with reading has reached new heights in terms of sense and interest, as youngsters add other aspects of this habit. Examples collected: readings responding to professional qualification perspectives: “I read newspapers and magazines because I want to study Social Communication”, said youngster Clara; readings related to entertainment; “I don’t like reading; but I really enjoy magazines about automobiles because I like cars”, said Jorge; readings of favorite authors: “I like reading texts by Guimarães Rosa on the page people created about him on the internet”, said Laís; reading of fragments of authors, thinkers and personalities, such as mottos and motivational sentences: youngsters Vítor, Mirtes, Rafael and Conrado mentioned fragments of Guimarães Rosa, Drummond de Andrade, Clarice Lispector, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela. Reading songs that entertain and provoke reflection was also mentioned: “I follow Legião Urbana; their songs talk about the universe of young people, I like to read them and think about the lyrics”, said Conrado; readings expressing the perceptions of juvenile identity in relation to their peers, followed by discussions in online groups: Mirtes mentioned The Lord of the Rings, Rafael mentioned The fault in our starts, Lorena mentioned Harry Potter; specific readings associated with genre, such as youngster Taís and women’s blogs: “I love reading texts written in women’s websites, I really do”, or related to religion, as evangelical Rafael: “I usually read verses and texts written by my pastor on the church website”, and catholic Maria: “I visit the {Chrism Catechism} Pastoral webpage everyday and I read my friends’ messages”.⁵

When questioned about classic readings, in general, and readings assigned by the school, in particular, youngsters said they “don’t like reading”. In fact, this negative response expressly refers to classic literature proposed in the school curriculum, preserving space for other preferences. This finding was obtained in the research field, when we noted the same young people reading during breaks and at meal time, both in the private and in the public school: after all, what were they reading? In such cases, there is a predominant preference for mythological narratives and fictions with an epic appeal: 73% of the youngster in private school and 54% of youngster in public school said they like reading books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter - as shown in the chart:

As for Brazilian classic literature, the authors most cited were Machado de Assis, Mário Quintana and Guimarães Rosa. Reading these classic authors is a habit developed at school, with some exceptions from practice and encouragement at home. As for internet content, readings range from readings of interest and/or personal taste (sciences, history, cars, novels, sagas, celebrities, fashion, politics, economy, religion, blogs, online newspapers and magazines) to readings requested in school assignments (subject research, contents for cultural fairs, etc.).

EFFECTS OF MEDIATIZATION ON HOW YOUNGSTERS READ

Data collected show what Martín-Barbero and Rey (2001, p. 62) had found out: in young people ways of reading, the traditional way (hardcopy materials) is simply replaced with the new way (conveyed on screens); instead, there is “a complex articulation between them”, resulting in “reading being reconfigured as a set of different ways in which one can ‘browse through’ texts”. From a production perspective, editorial, TV and cinema projects are preferred, which articulate languages, codes and different narratives. From the reader/viewer perspective, a new sensitivity is manifested in view of the interaction, intensity and new communication settings (see also ^{Borelli, 2008}). In this sense, ^{Martín-Barbero (2014}, p. 79) argues:

The position of culture in society changes when communication, as mediated by technology, is no longer simply instrumental, and becomes something that is expressed and compacted, and is converted into structural. Today, technology is not about new apparatuses, but new ways of perception and language, new sensitivities and writings. (^{Martín-Barbero, 2014}, p. 79, text highlighted on our account).

This helps us understand why mediatization is attractive to young people, because it provides them with new forms of interaction among individuals, information and senses, with variety and instantaneity - rather than technological upgrades. The information accessed and the interpersonal connections made are found in youngsters’ cultural perceptions and ways of being, thus shaping their readings and writings.

YOUNG READERS IN MEDIATIZATION

In fact, among the youngsters researched, this new sensitivity was manifested in relation to interactions, information heterogeneity and mediatized cultural practices (relationship, reading, entertainment, learning, etc.). In the specific case of reading, youngsters have been accessing texts available on the internet: articles in blogs, online essays of classic written works, authors’ pages, fragments of poems, debates in virtual reading communities, electronic periodicals and articles on thematic websites about fashion, celebrities, dating, healthcare, healthy eating habits, mythology, scientific and technological curiosities. Following interest in thematic websites, youngsters read teen books of massive circulation, which are little absorbed by schools, but intensively publicized and available in the media (books, TV, cinema and internet).

These indicators clearly show the students researched have a readers in mediatization identity: while expressing different reading frequencies, all of them read with the mediation of new technologies, especially online. Some youngsters have moved from the condition of occasional readers of general information and/or topics of interest to the condition of frequent readers of more complex written works. These works include classic authors (Machado de Assis, José de Alencar, Fernando Pessoa, Mário Quintana etc., suggested or not by the school), as well as modern fiction books, especially Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hunger Games, and The Twilight Saga.

In this sense, we reinforce herein the warning by Schwertner and Fischer, who explain the fact youngsters are interacting with or looking for online readings and studies does not mean readings and hardcopy materials have been replaced with the TV and the internet. On the contrary, what happens is that these youngsters have been using new ways of entertainment, leisure and studying, directly connected to multiple forms of communication and reading (see also ^{SCHWERTNER; FISCHER, 2012}). We believe such perception should be given more serious consideration in the analyses of reading habits of modern youth. In this context, ^{Setton (2005}) points out that sociability of modern students is built from a process of interdependence among hybrid systems of reference (traditional stances of education, knowledge and information disseminated by the media). In this universe of reference, the written culture, as a established cultural practice, has been followed by other practices that have emerged in the lives of these youngsters: this is the case of the media culture. The same author also observes, in a research study conduced with youngsters on their consuming habits, that their written culture was not restricted to letters and schools; instead, it had been massified and distributed in the great media (see also ^{SETTON, 2005}).

Dubet also, based on his research studies in Reading Sociology, has confirmed this diversity of records in the experience of young readers, specifically in the case of students. The author mentions three big motivations for youngster to read. The first one is related to reading as a result of cultural and social learning, revealed by the social hierarchy of readers and their tastes: in this case, youngsters who read are those that come from a background where reading is a habit or a duty. The second motivation is related to the social and scholar utility of reading: materials that are useful to the studies and to a certain social distinction of individuals are chosen for reading. The third one, seen as “text pleasure”, is related, in fact, to the process of personal identity in a self relation aimed by the text (see also ^{DUBET, 1994}). Particularly in this case, data collected in the field show that the students researched have their own mark: an identity of young readers in mediatization.

Through different reading registers (fiction books, online articles, youth novels, cinematographic stories, lyrics, poems, motivational messages), the students researched have been experiencing multiple interactions with other young readers, at different levels of complexity: from simple posts of catchphrases to group discussions about literary works (novels, poems, fictions). In this dynamics, incremented by the relationship between youngsters and the media, there are interesting cases of virtual communities dedicated to favorite authors and also the collective production of stories and poems, taking the form of challenges and entertainment.

READING LIKES AND DISLIKES

We have also observed a dual relationship between young readers and the editorial and cinematographic market: on one side, these products have become popular among youngsters and their mediatic environments, growing in sales and advertisement; on the other, youngsters make their own choices, new interpretations and productions at their own ways, with elements of their condition and identity, which are combined with the marketing character of such productions. Through text, music and fiction readings, youngsters have expressed their condition and made their sociability dynamic: exchange among peers, affinity groups, shared discussions, face-to-face meetings focused on friendship and entertainment. Social media, especially Facebook, have been used to operationalize these activities, including to invite for and publicize face-to-face meetings. Young students feel a great distance from the reading genre requested by the school. They prefer fiction books like the ones mentioned earlier: Harry Potter ⁶ , The Twilight Saga ⁷ , The Hunger Games ⁸ , The Lord of the Rings ⁹ and The Chronicles of Narnia ¹⁰ . This is what the researched students have told us:

a) Mirtes: For this young girl studying in a private school, the positive aspect of shared readings in Facebook communities is, above anything else, the possibility that each reader has to access different points of view about the same written work. Another positive aspect is that most of the participants in these spaces are young: they post their critics and comments about the books, make comparisons between books and movies. Among the books discussed, she mentions The Lord of the Rings, The Future of the Universe Trilogy. The young girl believes it is important to read Brazilian literature modern classics and is aware of their historical and literary value; she criticizes some students who don’t read the books and copy essays from the internet; however, at the same time, she pointed out that ancient times (settings, characters and especially old vocabulary) impair reading and make people lose interest. Mirtes questioned the purpose of such readings at school, considering there are other good examples of recent Brazilian literature that could be explored. The young girl also complained about the fact that literature exams are only about modern classics, with titles being repeated year after year. Still according to her, literature teachers do not appreciate current fictional literature, which is preferred among the youngsters: “Teachers treat the literature appreciated by young readers as trash; terrible. They never mix their literary choices with what students like to read.” To Mirtes, this makes students lose interest: “Students end up getting angry at school reading. Those who are not used to read Machado de Assis will suffer.” (Interview, 2012).

b) Pietro: Studies in a private school, quite interested in Ancient or Classic History narratives or narratives that take place around such times. Has books at home and his mother is a reader and encourages a reading habit. Combining fiction and historical settings, Pietro shares his taste for historical-mythological literature and corresponding movies (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hunger Games) with other youngsters of their recent generation, in addition to epical biographies, such as Ulysses and Napoleon. The young boy likes to follow interviews with authors, broadcasted on TV.

c) Lurdes: This young girl studies in a private school and has also shown interest in fiction books. She said she doesn’t read classics like Machado de Assis or modern books by Jorge Amado that much, as requested by the school, because these books have essays, reviews and documentaries readily available on the internet. In this sense, Lurdes said the internet does not make her lose interest in reading, but it adds to the lack of interest already shown in class because classes do not broaden nor diversify reading options. She commented: “I don’t understand why the school does not encourage books like Harry Potter”. The perception that the readings proposed by the school have little application to the present and to future projects makes books not interesting or, at least, distant from the daily lives of youngsters. According to Lurdes, from the student’s point of view, the lack of interest in certain reading leads them to access short and direct contents only to complete the assignment, without worrying about quality. From the school point of view, the young girl said that exams are focused on basic information, summaries and essays, and do not spark students’ interest in researching and reflecting about the readings. Nevertheless, Lurdes recognized the value of reading and said the school should find another way, a more pedagogical way, to encourage student reading.

d) Conrado: This young man studies in a public school and says he likes fiction and action, with readings that follow online access. He said he has watched and read Harry Potter and books like Ahmnat: os amores da morte, scientific-religious fictions with plots, characters and settings that have a high impact on reader’s imagination. He also likes the novel Profecia celestina, based on a doctrine of universal predestination. The themes of these fictional books design worldviews and narratives of meaning, addressing life, death and destiny, battles between the good and the evil, power and free will, Nordic mythology and/or medieval settings. Questioned about reading at school, Conrado said he makes the effort to read what is assigned to him because reading triggers imagination about what is being written and described. But he doesn’t like the reading assignments proposed by the school because some readings are mandatory (students are not allowed to include their readings of interest, as already mentioned by the other youngsters) and they are only asked to make an essay of the text (no discussions about the plot, the settings and worldviews). According to the young man, the teacher has only recently accepted the reading suggestions of students.

e) Lorena:

{...} I really like reading; I read a lot of novels, crime novels, news books. I loved The Hunger Games, for example. The school doesn’t see those books as literature. In literature, you have to learn something... And The Hunger Games, what will students learn from it, you know? The books youngsters read, I think teachers see them as little important. They assign Machado de Assis books, with a difficult vocabulary; then you are forced to look up the book review on the internet... They will never, never {assign} The Lord of the Rings. If the school told us to read Harry Potter, I would love it! Wouldn’t it be great? Making a seminar at school about Harry Potter?! Now, some students don’t like reading at all. They really don’t appreciate it. We have some students like that here. (Interview, 2012).

The opinions of Lorena, from a private school, confirm some of the aspects shown by other youngsters, including: the readings assigned by the school are criticized, they involve foreign contexts with difficult plots and vocabulary; the interest in epic and mythical narratives with young characters and a dynamic pace; confession, by some of the students, that they use the internet to look up essays and summaries of the books assigned; the link between reading and the condition of being young, with a special highlight to books offering narratives with a meaning for their daily lives that are full of risks on one side and dreams on the other.

f) Rafael: This young man studies in a public school and says he is “addicted to books”; he is greatly interested in mythology, especially Greek mythology. In this sense, he usually reads texts on the internet, notes and narratives about it, including both History and Literature contents and contents from games and fictions available online (encyclopedias, thematic websites, articles posted). Rafael also likes the books mentioned earlier. He said: “I’m tired of reading Machado de Assis at school. That’s all we read”. To diversify his reading options he decided that: “Every time a movie or series about Brazilian literature is launched, I take the chance and read the corresponding book”. He has been practicing writing and reading mythological stories: “I love myths and I’ve been practicing these readings on the internet because on the internet I can find several websites and communities that discuss Greek and medieval myths“.

TALES AND MYTHS: WHY DO THEY HAVE SUCH PREFERENCE?

The favorite readings of these students confirm the successful nature of the books mentioned by modern youngsters, with their adaptations to the screens and their online extensions. In addition to the fact that accesses and ways of reading have been clearly mediatized, we must also point out some observations on the reasons for such preference.

“SIGNS OF THEMSELVES” IN LIKE EXPRESSIONS

The taste of these youngsters for mythological stories is quite clear from the data collected during the research: reading of the respective books, TV audience, going to the movies, participation in online thematic groups, and posting on social media. Although it is possible to note the effects of marketing, young readers are subjectively and collectively engaged in such narratives, reacting to their plots, identifying themselves with the characters, assimilating and interpreting arguments.

This leads us to believe that such taste indicates the communication of elements of identity and meaning to youngsters, that can be perceived in the similarities and/or connections between the plots and the students’ condition of being young. Books, films and TV series target the young audience intentionally, transposing ancient tales and myths to their horizons. Therefore, the narratives are intelligible and interesting to urban and rural youngsters, from different social backgrounds, who have resisted learning the Latin Language, but repeat Harry Potter enchantments in Latin; or who are unfamiliar with the Celtic cosmovision, but eagerly follow the adventures of elves and wizards next to Ann, Martin, Rose and Peter (children who play central roles in The Chronicles of Narnia).

This narrative and imaginary arrangement, inspired by ancestral sources, is read by new generations, who are symbolically and subjectively immersed in the drama, finding not only entertainment, but a meaningful message there. When youngsters are involved in these readings, elements of their identity, temporality, relationship and ways of experiencing the world are at stake, and these elements are performed and led by them in their daily lives and represented (with technique and art) by the characters of the narrative. That is why youngsters become individually and collectively involved with these books, which are read with enthusiasm and shared in online or face-to-face meetings with their peers.

As noted by ^{Pasquier (2005}), the tastes of youngsters show “signs of themselves” when they express themselves with signs of authenticity and individualization. Reactions of appreciation or rejection, likes or dislikes point out to forms of communication and belonging, of findings and interests, expressed for and with the other (see also ^{PASQUIER 2005}, p. 67-72). When interacting with the saga of their heroes, youngsters show something about their own conditions.

DRAMATIZATION OF THE YOUTH CONDITION

The books most cited have young characters playing central roles who must face a series of challenges, including risks and overcoming of limitations, with fabulous (full of magic and enchanted beings) and at the same time cruel scenes (full of violence and destruction). Thus, these narratives amuse and entertain, but remit to the dark aspects of reality when pointing out the evil, which is always threatening, while cherishing dreams of the future in a fragile present. Also, the magic world and epic heroism break up close temporalities, bringing the past and the future together in the intense present of daily adventures. Youngsters are at the center of the narrative, facing memories and fears at every episode. Magic helps, but does not take the leading role away from them: Harry Potter is threatened by the Dark Lord and his servants; Bella and Edward (the couple playing the central role inThe Twilight Saga) go beyond their identities to become love partners, facing risks with their friends; the Pevensie siblings overcome their age differences and also a treason to fight the White Witch, sharing risks and victories with their allies (The Chronicles of Narnia); hobbits face adversities to control the evil power of a magic ring and to fight for freedom (The Lord of the Rings).

Therefore, the narrative dramatizes several elements of the daily condition of young people: being involved in a plot of emotions and risks; vulnerability despite the joy of living; relationship crises and breaking up with childhood; different temporalities between memories of the past and possibilities for the future; the challenge posed by adversities; telling good from evil; the simultaneous state of being friends with your allies and being alone as a hero; going through different psycho-emotional states and a catharsis of your own fears; daily pursuit of a motivational meaning for your life in order not to perish.

AID AND MEANING TO A JOURNEY OF HARDSHIPS

Recent magic tales are different from the science fiction literature of the seventies and eighties. From the eighties onwards, mythological narratives are easily found on books and screens. As very well described by Campbell, both the characters and the enthusiastic readers of these narratives are young heroes setting out on a journey of hardships and meaning to their lives. This journey was systematized in three steps by the author: 1) breaking up with childhood, with primary ties and the departure of the hero; 2) hardships of initiation that mature and transform oneself; 3) the return, after learning the lessons, being integrated again to the group/society (see also ^{CAMPBELL, 2007}, p. 40-43).

These steps can be perceived in the trajectory of the referred to leading characters: Harry Potter loses his parents, sets out to Hogwarts (School of Witchcraft) and beats Voldemort in a series of battles and challenges; Frodo leaves his quiet village to carry the enchanted ring through a very dangerous path, until he beats Sauron; Bella is turned into a vampire to stay with Edward, leaves her father’s house and fights with her loved one until the end; Katniss Everdeen leaves her family and becomes a symbol of resistance and freedom after a sequence of deadly games, from which she returns victorious. Courage and fear, friendship and treason, ties and disruptions form the plots, in a message that motivates one to cope with his/her own fears, motivates the courage of lovers, the recognition of friendship and the daily battles in view of a risky future. And just like in real life where youngsters have meaningful persons as reference, the leading characters expose their youth condition when interacting with their masters (Dumbledore, Gandalf, Aslam) and friends (Hermione, Sam, Caspian), where they find wisdom and safety, support and understanding.

We can also note some differences between science fiction (fiction) and recent mythical productions (fantasy), each one of its own setting: science fiction from the seventies and the eighties place emphasis on the control and use of technologies for the good of humanity and the planet, with plots containing futuristic appeals, using laser rays and telepathy to overcome the tacit fear of a nuclear war. On the other hand, the reedited mythological narratives of today place emphasis on a hero that matures after facing hardships, with daily dramas, resorting to the experience of a wise person and to the powers of magic to face the evil that threatens the present days. The laser swords and extraterrestrial beings of science fiction are replaced with the magic wands and magic entities of tales. However, the leading role of young heroes continues to be highly valued.

From the perspective of the experience, the daily lives of modern youngsters are more closely related to the former setting (of a mythical inspiration) than to the latter (of a scientific inspiration): after decades of scientific and technological advancement, of atomic and genetic achievements, juvenile subjectivity is under construction, surrounded by new family arrangements, seeking to establish ties, afraid of environmental catastrophes, moving from one quick and simultaneous connection to the other, with time and space getting smaller and smaller in a present time that is so accelerated. From the perspective of young people, time is concentrated into an extended day: the possibilities of choice are diversified, the risks are added and time runs by.

In his research study about the individual and modernity, sociologist ^{Martuccelli (2010)} had already noticed “the historical challenges individuals are forced to face, which are produced socially, represented culturally, and distributed unfairly” (^{ARAÚJO; MARTUCCELLI, 2010}, p. 83). Among such challenges, one can name, in the social daily lives of youngsters, family, school and labor hardships, whose present and future possibilities pose risks which are equally present and future. To overcome this journey of hardships, youngsters resort to aids, both material and symbolic aids, such as signs of belonging, codes of language and narratives of meaning (see also ^{MARTUCCELLI, 2007}). If the crisis of traditional values and the reductionisms of instrumental rationality are added to daily hardships, we can more clearly understand the potential aid offered by myths, reedited in a mediatic way: “The primary function of mythology and ritual acts has always been to provide symbols that cause the human spirit to progress, in opposition to that other constant human fantasies that tend to take them back”. (^{CAMPBELL, 2007}, p. 21)

In fact, modern scientific rationality is a recent datum is Western history (starting in the 16^th century) when compared to mythological collections, whose symbols and narratives have been used by us to understand and populate Earth over the centuries. The functions of aid and meaning that tales have today count on an extensive pre-edition process in our minds, rites and sacred texts, being active not only in Religion, but also in Literature and Arts, in general and above all, in the architecture of our psyche:

Despite having limited language and reality interpretation, mythologies have shaped human history over the centuries and give access to obscure elements of our psyche that still motivate poetry, arts, human sciences and technology. (^{MAÇANEIRO, 2011}, p. 39)

Childhood and adolescence are particular sensitive to mythologies, which follow our growth and contribute to a paideia of existence: good leading us through ties and disruptions, in an initiation to new psychological and cognitive heights, until reaching maturity in adulthood. Then we experience another enchantment, purified by our living experiences, and begin telling tales to the youngsters, having the feeling we are - finally! their authors.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: IMPLICATIONS TO THE SCHOOL

We have pointed out some demands and opportunities that young students propose to the school, from their readings and their mediatized cultural context: