Penny Lane-9/9/09

Upon reflecting on our most recent class discussion, I began contemplating the notion of perception vs. reality. Our daily lives are marked by cues of popular culture which in turn define our constructed outlook. However, the modern point of view is just that, meticulously and unconsciously constructed. The following excerpt from Walter Benjamin’s writings describe this type of historical shift in human thought: “During long periods of history, the mode of human sense of perception changes with humanity’s entire mode of existence. The manner in which human sense perception is organized, the medium in which it is accomplished, is determined not only by nature but by historical circumstances as well. The fifth century with its great shifts of population, saw the birth of the late Roman art industry and the Vienna Genesis, and there developed not only an art different from that of antiquity but also a new kind of perception.” Unlike the time period described in the passage above, the post-post-modern world evolves at a rapid and unparalleled rate. Yet the natural progression of society has taken a strange and contrasting turn away from the pattern of enlightenment toward a mode of disengaged conscious. Our thoughts are routinely determined before they have begun. Ideas are recycled instead of created, which is clearly evident in film, music, and fashion. Outlets of creatively have become commercialized and monotonous to the extent that new ideas are far and few between. The most influential source in the advent of emotional detachment is the Internet. People now live vicariously through cyber lives, but the individual can never be truly encompassed through this medium. The idea of original and artificial can now be applied to a person, not just commodities. Our socialization process and forms of communication have also been altered to an extent that diminishes personal contact to a severe degree (texting, e-mail, ect). While all stages of human development are dependent upon one another, the question remains whether advancement in technologies of the last decade are promoting our disenchantment with reality. If so, will the virtual escape only grow in future to change what we have always defined as “culture”?