Bella 2/12 Post Class

“Eclecticism is the degree zero of contemporary general culture” (Lyotard 42). Before class, I was extremely confused as to what eclecticism looked like. I understood what it meant, but could not grasp the cultural references. When Dr. Rog played the Gorillaz and Kanye’s Stronger video, I realized what eclecticism looks like. The music video seen on Al Jazeera seems like the perfect example of “globalization”. The women in the video are, as Dr. Rog said, are like the United Colors of Benetton ladies…white, Asian, blonde, black, etc. They are a drastically different representation of women than I would have expected coming from a middle-eastern music video. Mute the sound, and it appears identical to any other hip-hop music video in America. To top it all off, another dude pops in there and starts rapping…in English! I found myself bobbing my head and tapping my foot under the desk by the end of the song–it was catchy. It is the perfect example of eclecticism, and how cultures can fuse together to create a text. The song can be played in the Middle East as well as in other western cultures. How much more eclectic could a culture get? I find it absolutely fascinating that two drastically different cultures can come together to create something as beautiful as a song (even if it is a cheesy rap song that exploits women). The idea of Bricolage–the blending of several images and texts of various styles–may lead to a “disharmonious harmony” which is exactly what we saw in that music video. The images were shocking and provoking, especially with the women of different races and the English speaking rapper, and definitely could be considered disharmonious, but in some bizarre way, it actually works. It creates a beautiful, eclectic harmony that perfectly represents the blending of cultures we are seeing more and more often as an effect of globalization.