Marie89, 2/05

During class, one point really struck me about Lyotard and his views on humanity and the ways in which the world works. The aspect of totalizing metanarratives was discussed as being the comprehensive views of the world with stories that allow people to make meaning of the world. Then, someone asked the question “is a war waged on totality even a possibility when we are based on metanarratives? If we don’t believe in anything, would we be in chaos or do metanarratives work to divide us anyway?” This was a very interesting question to think about as the world in which we live has forever been based on ideas that we believe help to make sense of the world. We continuously turn to ideologies and organized belief systems to categorize our opinions and thoughts. What if we all turned away from these ideologies and began to fight this sytem? This is when I thought of the song, Imagine, by John Lennon:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Before studying Lyotard, I never even thought of the technicalities behind these lyrics, when in reality, there is much to be said about them. This song describes a world without metanarratives and, to Lennon, this world would be peaceful. It seems all too easy and as we listen to the lyrics, we all hope that this song will one day be a possibility. It’s no wonder that it has not, however. If we all waged war on totality and stopped being passive consumers of ideology, would the world be peaceful, or would it be complete chaos? It is evitable that human beings have a need to understand the world in which they live as much as possible, and without comprehensive views of the world, it is difficult to be satisfied. This, in turn would lead to chaos. All human beings, to an extent, have ideas, values, beliefs, and understandings of the world and are programmed to unite with those who share common ideas. In order for metanarratives to diminish, a process must be put in place as an abrupt change would not be satisfactory. Maybe one day we will join Lennon and the world will be as one, but not anytime soon.