Well having familarized myself with Blogger - I have yet to familiarize myself with Postmodernism! Before class, I always assumed that Postmodernism was a simple concept that referred to the period of time after modernism with an exact date and time when it occurred. After today's class I am completely thrown into a world of questions, confusion and unknowing of when everything changed from the typical 50's style family setting to iPhone's and Second Life.
The moving through history, from the date of the Atomic bomb to the 9/11 attacks, reflect the keystones of Cultural Revolution. Each moment in time has changed the direction in which out culture is heading. As stated in class, it is easy to recognize the affect 9/11 has had on one's mind-set, particularly travelling when people virtually strip down to their underwear just to make it through security. Not only did 9/11 affect our approach and undertanding of security, but it further contributed to the unity of the American people and their patriotism. The media was being fed with American ideals of independence and freedom while at the same time much of their freedom was being stripped away to feed the desire for higher security standards for fear of future attacks.
It is also difficult for a nation to come to terms with the knowing that freedom, liberty and independence - the founding ideologies on America and it's culture - could be infiltrated on so easily. As a result to the increase in fear as primary part of culture; there was a heavier relianve on television and other forms of media and entertainment to act as an analgesia and anesthetic to these fears. It is easier for the ideologies in media to be absorded by the people when media is being relied on to take away the pain from a crumbling society.
Today's class made me realize how historical events have shaped the diretion of culture and the way that people live their lives. Society and culture can only progress as far as the present will let it. What I mean by that is that there is no knowing what it going to happen from day to day, and therefore it is difficult to predict exactly how culture is going to change and progress in the future until it happens.
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2 comments:
Have the events themselves changed history...or has perception and reading of said events changed history?
Smiley Face. I found myself in a similar position to you when I first took the class and I also assumed that Postmodernism was a simple concept that one could easily grasp. Postmodernism cannot be easily defined as you have already discovered and some may find this frustrating but as we delve deeper into the class I think you will find that learning about postmodernism is almost like peeling an onion. There are so many layers to it and the more you learn and peel away the better you understand the whole of it. I think your thoughts on 911 and the increase of fear are very good ideas. You wrote that the media and entertainment act as analgesia or anesthetic to these fears. They help us forget the terrible things that happened but at the same time one thing that might be interesting to think about is how the media has the ability to make us fearful too.
-Starfish
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