Mongoose, 9/10

This week in class we discussed Lyotard’s view of the world and the “postmodern” era which he thought us to currently be in. We discussed many of the things which he felt related to the postmodern era with realism seeming to be the main topic of his writing. Lyotard felt that the ‘avant-garde’ approach ( going against the grain; we used the example of hanging a toilet in the art museum and calling it art) had destroyed realism because it did not present a ‘real’ view of society as a whole. According to Lyotard ‘realism’ was a vital part in the world of the arts, by art we mean: paintings, sculptures film etc.; he felt that the artists held the duty of restoring or healing a sick community as well as introducing to us a new tern called ‘verisimilitude’. Lyotard tells us that verisimilitude is the act of making an artistic production as lifelike as possible, whether that be in television or a painting or whatever, it was meant to appear realistic, which is why verisimilitude is used to create realism. One particular quote from Lyotard that I want to focus on on the topic of realism is that: Realism “stands somewhere between academicism and kitsch” it provides “correct” images, narratives, and forms designed as “the appropriate remedy for the anxiety and depression for the public experiences” 41. I think that this quote is very relevant in our society today; many people use television as an escape from their own personal problems. Whenver someone has a bad day or problems in their life they can turn on a lighthearted TV show and escape from these problems; this is why many sitcoms focus on making people feel good at the end of the show and allow the viewer to relate to many of the issues shown in each episode. Reality TV is another area where the viewer can relate to such realism to escape from their own world. The show Big Brother comes to mind as an example; in this show there are people of all races, religions or belief systems all put together in one house and they are constantly talking or arguing about their differences, because of the wide differences shown it allows the viewer to relate to particulars members of the house and understand their struggles in the house.