Going into this class I wondered what exactly I was going to be getting myself into. All I had heard from friends is that this class consists of tough readings that will never really and completely make sense. I was a little intimidated, I'm not going to lie! I have never studied Postmodernism and everything that makes it up. I had only heard references to it relating to architecture in my AP art history class in high school. Already, I have learned so much in this class.
I cannot believe that Postmodernism is all around me and I never even knew about it. In fact, I was born into this "aura". Our first class taught me how naive I am. I knew that I lived in a dangerous world but I never really knew I was being manipulated into being scared of everything, and thinking everything could kill me. Even though there is no clear answer to when this "aura" began, it is clear to me that it started a long time ago when society started rebelling against authority, people started having a different outlook on life (GOD), and the explosion of media. For me, the most postmodern event that relates to my life is 9/11. At the time I was ten years old, and did not really understand the audacity of this attack made on my country. I didn't watch the news, read newspapers, listen to the radio, or any of that. All I knew was what my parents told me and what my friend heard from their parents. This event has forever changed the way I will see my world. It's sad, but it's the truth. I still don't even know all the truths behind the scandal, because there's so many rumors that keep coming out in the media.
I find it to be pretty scary living in this time period because after enrolling in this CMC major, I'm thinking, "who can I believe", you know? It's pretty unsettling to know that all media outlets manipulate its viewers in various ways and that our government does the same. I guess there is some truth to the things I hear and see, but I have learned to not fully trust my news channel because of biases, etc. This class is really exciting to me because I'm learning how to deal with the "aura" I'm living in, and things that are going on around me, that directly affect me. I can't wait to get deeper into this course to gain more knowledge on everything going on in today's world.
p.s. this site is awesome!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
CMCstudent 11/15
Postmodernism asks what is real, is there real, and can it be defined beyond what someone makes it. I think we constantly question this ourselves when watching television, especially reality TV shows. Reality TV shows us what society, or the hegemonic, want us to believe is real, thus making it real from a postmodernist standpoint. This is because we create what is real and they are only as real as we create them.
“Our notion of what is real has changed,” Roger said in class. This is true because times and society change what is real. In the 1950’s a “real” family was a white middle class family living in the suburbs. The wife would cook breakfast for her husband every morning who then would leave the house in his work suit carrying a briefcase. The two kids, one boy one girl, would come to eat their breakfast while the mom packed lunches and they would be off to school. The wife would spend the day doing things around the house for instance, dishes, laundry, vacuuming. She may even go grocery shopping, but she would make sure to be home when the kids returned from school. Most likely she would be in the kitchen beginning to prepare dinner. By the time the husband got home dinner would be set at the table, and the family would eat together and talk about their lovely day. I guess this eventually got boring and too predictable and now we can watch a “real” family like the Osborne’s.
In class Roger quoted that art is abstract, “why would we be interested in anything we can understand.” I feel like this is not only true to art but to our lives in general, especially entertainment. Once thinks become predictable they get boring, that is why there are so many reality TV shows popping up each new season. Since reality is what we make it, I guess it is not a lie to call it reality television.
“Our notion of what is real has changed,” Roger said in class. This is true because times and society change what is real. In the 1950’s a “real” family was a white middle class family living in the suburbs. The wife would cook breakfast for her husband every morning who then would leave the house in his work suit carrying a briefcase. The two kids, one boy one girl, would come to eat their breakfast while the mom packed lunches and they would be off to school. The wife would spend the day doing things around the house for instance, dishes, laundry, vacuuming. She may even go grocery shopping, but she would make sure to be home when the kids returned from school. Most likely she would be in the kitchen beginning to prepare dinner. By the time the husband got home dinner would be set at the table, and the family would eat together and talk about their lovely day. I guess this eventually got boring and too predictable and now we can watch a “real” family like the Osborne’s.
In class Roger quoted that art is abstract, “why would we be interested in anything we can understand.” I feel like this is not only true to art but to our lives in general, especially entertainment. Once thinks become predictable they get boring, that is why there are so many reality TV shows popping up each new season. Since reality is what we make it, I guess it is not a lie to call it reality television.
thestig, 1/15
A postmodern society: “here we are now, entertain us.”
I’ve been thinking about Kurt Cobain’s lyrics this past week, and how it applies to my life. I constantly want to have something going on, whether it be some form of entertainment or task. I almost always have more than one web browser page open to CNN, NYTimes, and Facebook; whenever I’m on the go, I’ve got my iPhone: “the world is in my pocket.” Or is it? Am I constantly passing by the world with the time I spend on the “my” everything’s (facebook, myspace, flikr, etc), and the “news?” Am I simply in the moment, looking to be entertained?
I don’t see myself as a passive consumer of media. I do my research if I am making a purchase, and especially since I got involved with this major, I do not see the ordinary as normal, but as a cash crop. The Alcatraz National State Park is a perfect example of a company mastering “here we are now, entertain us.”
Two summers ago I visited Alcatraz for the first time with my family. In order to get to Alcatraz, you meet at San Francisco’s Pier 33. You’re greeted by the ticket booth, a gift shop, a fast food snack bar, and a long line to get onto the ferry. So far, not too bad – the usual corporate spending opportunities. We waited on line for about 45 minutes before we got to the front, when we realized why the line had taken so long. Before boarding the ship, each visitor is asked to stand in front of a picture of Alcatraz for a photo op. The Park services takes the photo of you and your family (like they do in Disney), then charges you $15 for a small, lousy print (like they do in Disney, but for half the cost). My family was in awe: why would people want the park rangers to take their picture in front of a picture of the incredible monument they were about to actually be in front of? My dad took a picture of this, and I’ll share it with you once I get a hold of him – he is in London/Berlin right now. I sent him an e-mail requesting the photo; I’ll post it as soon as I hear back from him.
Dr. Rog, you’re student is right in the case of Alcatraz State Park: “Reality ain’t what it used to be.” Many people enjoyed taking their photo in front of the photo, and will be sharing that photo with family and friends upon their return home. Is that how we want people sharing information about what parts of the world are like? It certainly isn’t “real.” I can re-create the photo they take on Pier 33 right here in my bedroom – it’s sad.
I’ve been thinking about Kurt Cobain’s lyrics this past week, and how it applies to my life. I constantly want to have something going on, whether it be some form of entertainment or task. I almost always have more than one web browser page open to CNN, NYTimes, and Facebook; whenever I’m on the go, I’ve got my iPhone: “the world is in my pocket.” Or is it? Am I constantly passing by the world with the time I spend on the “my” everything’s (facebook, myspace, flikr, etc), and the “news?” Am I simply in the moment, looking to be entertained?
I don’t see myself as a passive consumer of media. I do my research if I am making a purchase, and especially since I got involved with this major, I do not see the ordinary as normal, but as a cash crop. The Alcatraz National State Park is a perfect example of a company mastering “here we are now, entertain us.”
Two summers ago I visited Alcatraz for the first time with my family. In order to get to Alcatraz, you meet at San Francisco’s Pier 33. You’re greeted by the ticket booth, a gift shop, a fast food snack bar, and a long line to get onto the ferry. So far, not too bad – the usual corporate spending opportunities. We waited on line for about 45 minutes before we got to the front, when we realized why the line had taken so long. Before boarding the ship, each visitor is asked to stand in front of a picture of Alcatraz for a photo op. The Park services takes the photo of you and your family (like they do in Disney), then charges you $15 for a small, lousy print (like they do in Disney, but for half the cost). My family was in awe: why would people want the park rangers to take their picture in front of a picture of the incredible monument they were about to actually be in front of? My dad took a picture of this, and I’ll share it with you once I get a hold of him – he is in London/Berlin right now. I sent him an e-mail requesting the photo; I’ll post it as soon as I hear back from him.
Dr. Rog, you’re student is right in the case of Alcatraz State Park: “Reality ain’t what it used to be.” Many people enjoyed taking their photo in front of the photo, and will be sharing that photo with family and friends upon their return home. Is that how we want people sharing information about what parts of the world are like? It certainly isn’t “real.” I can re-create the photo they take on Pier 33 right here in my bedroom – it’s sad.
Marie89, 1/17
This week, in my American Dream and Pop Culture class, I read a quote that I found to be extremely relevant to CMC 300 and our continued discussion on postmodernism: “From the moment of birth, we are trained to see things a certain way, and that way seems natural and inevitable, not worth questioning. We look at the world and we think we see the truth, but what we see is what we are supposed to see…”
As individuals in the society in which we live, we are shaped by ideology everyday. We are subconsciously exposed to postmodernist thought, which is why it is so difficult to define it and how it came to be. Our generation has been spoiled in that we get what we want, when we want it. This has affected our psyche in that looming threats pose little concern to us as we have the tools to forget them and to take away any pain. (Anesthesia and Analgesia) Our perspective of the world and of Truth has been skewed as threats seem to be empty and the focus has turned to the individual. It is now more difficult to grasp the concerns of the world as a whole.
In a world where gratification is instant, everything and anything is readily available, and the success of individuals is praised, it is hard to believe that postmodernism is a relatively new phenomenon. No wonder it is so difficult to define. How can we imagine what life was like before when we can not imagine a world without the quickness of technology, the existence of personal music devices, the integration of race, and the explosion of media? To us, global warming has become normal. So has the existence of birth control, etc. How can we imagine it any differently when this is what we have grown up knowing?
It was said in class that “reality ain’t what it used to be,” but how can we define reality when we don’t even know what is true? Our perspective of the world has changed from generation to generation as we come to accept new ideas as our own reality.
000ooo000ooo 1/17
Though we have not yet delved into the full meaning of postmodernism, our current culture of fear is clearly a part of it. I always find it interesting to view the things we take for granted critically and question why we take them for granted and what effect this might have on us. Day to day, I don't think of myself as living in a constant state of fear; I rarely think about the dangers of what I'm doing, I never think that perhaps I should be doing something else right now because the world could end, and I have never given a second thought to a newspaper article or TV program about the Avian flu. However, all of these threats and fears must have some impact on the psyche of my generation, even if we can't identify on a daily basis.
Intuitively, one would think that, being surrounded by apocalyptic threats and dangers around every corner, people today would be scared of just about everything. However, I would argue that, at least from my own observation, the reverse effect has taken place. People are less scared and take threats less seriously than ever before. For almost forty years now we have had nuclear missiles pointed at us, flues have threatened us that are capable of wiping out entire populations, global warming and ozone depletion have been turning our once lush environment into an inhospitable wasteland, etc. Yet, through it all, we're still here - at least in America. We have been told time and time again that we're going to die, yet we're still alive. Perhaps for earlier generations who didn't live with these constant threats, there is reason to fear and think twice. For our generation though, these constant fears and annoying threats are just something our parents do and we can't take seriously. We have become so used to being told things could kill us, yet they never seem to, that even serious threats just seem like another obnoxious news story.
A sort of "boy who cried wolf" effect has taken place for our generation. The problem here is not that we live in a constant state of fear like past generations, it is that we have very little fear, even for things that we should take very seriously. It is hard to take any particular threat very seriously when we have heard all of those things before.
Intuitively, one would think that, being surrounded by apocalyptic threats and dangers around every corner, people today would be scared of just about everything. However, I would argue that, at least from my own observation, the reverse effect has taken place. People are less scared and take threats less seriously than ever before. For almost forty years now we have had nuclear missiles pointed at us, flues have threatened us that are capable of wiping out entire populations, global warming and ozone depletion have been turning our once lush environment into an inhospitable wasteland, etc. Yet, through it all, we're still here - at least in America. We have been told time and time again that we're going to die, yet we're still alive. Perhaps for earlier generations who didn't live with these constant threats, there is reason to fear and think twice. For our generation though, these constant fears and annoying threats are just something our parents do and we can't take seriously. We have become so used to being told things could kill us, yet they never seem to, that even serious threats just seem like another obnoxious news story.
A sort of "boy who cried wolf" effect has taken place for our generation. The problem here is not that we live in a constant state of fear like past generations, it is that we have very little fear, even for things that we should take very seriously. It is hard to take any particular threat very seriously when we have heard all of those things before.
coolbeans, 1/17
Our discussion on postmodernism in class on Thursday was very helpful for me. Before this discussion I did not really understand what postmodernism was. From our discussions it seems to me that postmodernism is highly dependent on society. It is as if postmodernism depicts hyper-modernity. For example, something modern such as cellular phones and text messaging can be taken to the next level of modernity as people create a new language in which people can communicate with each other (i.e. omg ttyl). It seems that postmodernism correlates with the way society chooses to react to the modern. Cultural revolutions arise because of the way people react to modern ideas. The increase in technological advances is modern and the way that people use technology to speed everything up is postmodern. While some themes of postmodernism, such as cultural revolutions, are good and provide the entryway for changes to be made in a society, others, such as the aesthetic of speed and the distrust of failed systems, can have a negative impact on society with consequences of these examples being a decrease in people’s interactions with each other. It is interesting to me that all these years I have experienced many examples of postmodernism without even realizing it. For example, this summer, I did an internship in New York. While I was there my friends asked me if I had seen any celebrities while I was there. I realized that I hadn’t because everytime I was walking to and from places running errands, I was focused on getting where I had to go, and doing it as fast as I could, rather than looking around and soaking in my surroundings. I found that with the exception of the tourist crowds in Times Square, much of the rest of the people in New York were doing the same as me; walking briskly, face forward, no distractions, or maybe a cell phone attached to the ear.
Super!Geek 1/17
We are the generation following Gen X. I think this is really crucial in observing how and why we believe and practice many of the things we do. Gen X was notably known for a deep sense of cynicism and even apathy about the world around them. They were raised post-Nixon and in the MTV Generation. We are the generation following the media boom, the rise of the internet, and after MTV stopped playing music. In many ways we are still trapped in their shadow, but as we come into our own, there are some serious questions about what we will become. We were indoctrinated into the culture of fear at our births, constantly told not to take candy from strangers, to not walk in the dark alone, and to watch after your drinks at parties. It is so ingrained into our psyche that the concepts almost seem benign to us. We've watched planes crash into towers and people stranded on rooftops of houses, with the words "the water is rising, please" chalked on the roofs.
We are both cynically paranoid and carelessly optimistic, almost to the point of being mistaken as apathetic. We have reached a point in history where the term surreal is almost obsolete, living under the credo of ‘if you can dream it, you can create it.’ So what does all this mean for our generation, one that has came under the title of ‘millennials’? I have no clue, and I don’t think anyone really does, but I have a feeling that this class will at least offer a foundation for inquiry into that question. Post-modern culture is kind of confusing though, because it seems to be defined by a lack of definition. It’s a paradox in the truest sense of the word. How you study that, I’m not really sure, but I’m pretty emphatic in my trust that Dr. Rog will navigate us best as anyone can.
Images Courtesy of Google Images: Sydney Miami Herald and ScholarsandRogues.com
Friday, January 16, 2009
weezy27, 9/15
Dr. Rog,
I really enjoyed this weeks class on the beginning of post-modernism. I thought it was interesting to go through the many significant events of history and learn that there is no specific beginning date of postmoderism. I also liked how we viewed many different ads of shows and how they were RE-made as time went on, for example That 70's Show. This idea could also be related to the privation of history because when looking at shows like these we do not know where they came from and we assume they are original. However, with show like Lost there is usually another origin related to the idea of the show.
Rubber Soul, 1/15
Why is faster better? Our discussion in class included this question that left me pondering. I just visited New York City for the first time and I noticed that the city people were on a much faster pace than I was used to. Everyone seemed to have to be somewhere in a hurry. Our taxi drivers didn't seem to mind nearly scraping another car as long as he didn't have to put on his breaks. It didn't take very long to get caught up in the quicker pace lifestyle though. You could get a hotdog or slice of pizza within 2 minutes of walking up to a food stand and be on your way and grab a cab with a wave of a finger. It's instantaneous gratification. But then once you get used to having things happening in a blink of an eye, frustration seems to outweigh patience. I read about a study that tested children and their level of patience. The researcher sat children down at a table with a marshmallow in front of them and told them that they could have 2 marshmallows if they could wait to eat it in 20 minutes when he gets back. The researchers then followed the progress of both groups of children--the ones that waited and the ones that didn't. The results showed that the children who waited were better adjusted, dependable, and scored higher on the SATs. The results about the SAT scores didn't really impress me, I know plenty of impatient people that are extremely intelligent, but I thought the characteristics for being a well adjusted and dependable person were significant findings. Getting what you want the second you ask for it all the time, doesn't leave much space for learning and appreciating some of the seemingly mundane things in between. And aren't the things that happen in between some of the most memorable anyway? Jack Johnson sings a song called, "What You Thought You Need," and my favorite part goes, "talk about the road behind how getting lost is not a waste of time."
Dot, 1/16
Postmodernism… As I have recently discovered, this simple word makes up much more than its twelve letters ever could and therefore giving it a strict definition seems nearly impossible to me at this point. This idea of postmodernism can be seen throughout all aspects of our lives and like a vicious circle actually characterizes our culture and behaviors. So what is it exactly? I would like to know the same thing…
It is hard to know exactly what something is or how to talk about when its birth cannot strictly be determined. And, so it goes with postmodernism. With knowledge of linguistics, one can assume that it occurred after modernism, but what is that really and who decided it was over? As we discussed in class, there a many events that mark the presence and give instances of postmodernism, such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the September 11th terrorist attacks, but one cannot rightly say when postmodernism actually began. Why is this? As Roger said in class, postmodernism is “an aura, not an era”. Meaning it is a feeling or way of life, not a period of time.
So what is this feeling per say, and what causes it? The events I listed before are all crucial and life changing events in our country’s history that have shaped people’s thoughts about the world around them. Such events affect our psyche and therefore the way we think. As we look back in history, it is easy to see how such events have affected our lives and especially our ways of thinking. Take the September 11th attacks for instance, before this day in 2001 most people would not think twice about being around a “middle easterner”, but today feelings towards these people are very different. Sadly the attacks produced a culture of fear in America and taught Americans to be scared of anyone that has the slightest resemblance of someone from Iraq or Afghanistan. So how does this have anything to do with postmodernism? Our feelings changed.
Although I do not believe that at this point I have a full understanding of what postmodernism really is or how to talk about it, I hope to gain one soon and be able to discuss it further in the future.
Trapnest, 1/15
I found myself yesterday doing some reading at the kitchen table in my apartment. My roommate, let’s call her Hatchi, was on the couch, watching TV and mindlessly surfing the internet. I paid little attention to what she was doing; I like to think I’m pretty good at multi-tasking as well toning-out distractions. Eventually, she had to go to class so she got up, gathered her things, and left, the TV was still on. One of those talk shows came on, everyone knows the type, the Jerry Springer spin-off. This one in particular was Maury. Where people of, interesting, backgrounds are thrown together on a stage and everyone seems to be hoping someone gets punched in the face before the hour is up. The title of the episode caught my eye, “My 16 year old Boyfriend beats me.” Now, this is not to indicate that I am interested in 16 year-olds, or domestic violence, but the format of this show intrigued me. 
Thee girls of various ages, 18 was the oldest, came onto the stage and talked about how their boyfriends would abuse them in various sexual, physical, and mental ways. Then the boyfriends walked arrogantly onto the stage, the audience boo’ed, they said a number of derogatory comments and Maury “interviewed” them, but simply fed into the audiences desires for more comments from these boys. In the end of the show the girls went off to work with a woman who had been abused, the boys spent a day in jail with a coach, and in the end everyone was “rehabilitated.”
Perhaps this was a long explanation, but this show bothered me for a number of reasons, all of which seemed to link back to the discussions in class this week. Firstly there is the issue of reinvention, where nothing is new. As I mentioned before, there are numerous shows like this, all following the same format of the shows that came before them. Nothing about them is original or new.
I also saw the concepts of Analgesia and Anesthesia. This may not make sense, since the topic was both a painful one and a disturbing one. But, I believe that it still relates, simply because the viewers are watching people that are much worse off than them (we hope at least). It makes your problems seem trivial when you see a girl discussing how her boyfriend puts his cigarettes out on her. Your life seems much better and much simpler.
The third thing I noticed, and personally concerned me the most out of everything was the fact that the answer was to do this “day of rehabilitation.” While I am not a clinical psychologist I don’t think someone who believes that all women are “Bitches” and that he “owns” his girlfriend can be “cured” in one day. It’s like cutting a leg off and trying to fix it with band-aids. There’s also the concern that these people turned to a reality-TV show as the way to fix their problems than the police, or authorities. When did reality become a place in which we turn to pop-culture to fix our problems over the institutions that have been designed, trained, and put in place to handle such problems? Furthermore, I think TV shows like this, ultimately make light of the issues, turning them into something that can be fixed with one day of work. They neglect to show the years of work that goes into becoming a person who can have a healthy relationship. As well as cutting off the future that these people have so that the show can have a “Happy Ending.”
Thee girls of various ages, 18 was the oldest, came onto the stage and talked about how their boyfriends would abuse them in various sexual, physical, and mental ways. Then the boyfriends walked arrogantly onto the stage, the audience boo’ed, they said a number of derogatory comments and Maury “interviewed” them, but simply fed into the audiences desires for more comments from these boys. In the end of the show the girls went off to work with a woman who had been abused, the boys spent a day in jail with a coach, and in the end everyone was “rehabilitated.”
Perhaps this was a long explanation, but this show bothered me for a number of reasons, all of which seemed to link back to the discussions in class this week. Firstly there is the issue of reinvention, where nothing is new. As I mentioned before, there are numerous shows like this, all following the same format of the shows that came before them. Nothing about them is original or new.
I also saw the concepts of Analgesia and Anesthesia. This may not make sense, since the topic was both a painful one and a disturbing one. But, I believe that it still relates, simply because the viewers are watching people that are much worse off than them (we hope at least). It makes your problems seem trivial when you see a girl discussing how her boyfriend puts his cigarettes out on her. Your life seems much better and much simpler.
The third thing I noticed, and personally concerned me the most out of everything was the fact that the answer was to do this “day of rehabilitation.” While I am not a clinical psychologist I don’t think someone who believes that all women are “Bitches” and that he “owns” his girlfriend can be “cured” in one day. It’s like cutting a leg off and trying to fix it with band-aids. There’s also the concern that these people turned to a reality-TV show as the way to fix their problems than the police, or authorities. When did reality become a place in which we turn to pop-culture to fix our problems over the institutions that have been designed, trained, and put in place to handle such problems? Furthermore, I think TV shows like this, ultimately make light of the issues, turning them into something that can be fixed with one day of work. They neglect to show the years of work that goes into becoming a person who can have a healthy relationship. As well as cutting off the future that these people have so that the show can have a “Happy Ending.”
Thursday, January 15, 2009
ginger griffin 1/15
What is postmodernism? When did postmodernism occur? Why did it occur? These are only a very small sample of questions that I had before entering into the classroom this morning. And now after class I have many more questions as to what it is and how it came about but with much more detail. I had figured that postmodernism was simply a time period given a certain day, maybe even time, after modernism. I learned today that postmodernism has happened many times throughout history, mainly when catastrophic events happened to the world.
I was so ignorant to the fact that such dramatic events around the world would change the way we see it. For example, the Holocaust and the Atomic bomb and since then has taught America to live a life of fear. And to take that a step farther, we now enjoy to be in this state of fear. It is almost like we want to be scared.
My generation has been taught sense they were young not to trust anything or anyone. An example we talked about in class was when the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, told the nation that he did not have "sexual relations with that woman." Our first instinct was to believe that what he said was a lie. And this was our President! My generation is vastly different from the ones before us and the ones following us. You can not really understand these generations without understanding what happened in the ones prior. Postmodernism is almost the same way, you can not understand it without understanding what happened in the years before.
I think the best way to understand postmodernism is the way Casey said it, "It's an aura, not an era." It is not so much a certain time period but rather it is something that we can feel.
I was so ignorant to the fact that such dramatic events around the world would change the way we see it. For example, the Holocaust and the Atomic bomb and since then has taught America to live a life of fear. And to take that a step farther, we now enjoy to be in this state of fear. It is almost like we want to be scared.
My generation has been taught sense they were young not to trust anything or anyone. An example we talked about in class was when the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, told the nation that he did not have "sexual relations with that woman." Our first instinct was to believe that what he said was a lie. And this was our President! My generation is vastly different from the ones before us and the ones following us. You can not really understand these generations without understanding what happened in the ones prior. Postmodernism is almost the same way, you can not understand it without understanding what happened in the years before.
I think the best way to understand postmodernism is the way Casey said it, "It's an aura, not an era." It is not so much a certain time period but rather it is something that we can feel.
Smiley Face - 1/15
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.
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.
post-it note, 1/15
Blogger is pretty sweet!
Anyway, from what I understand POSTMODERNISM to be is a movement that is being driven by technology. With technology and the answers it has helped to discover, the human population can manipulate life, cause death and watch as the world changes. Technology even seems to erase boundaries. Travel no longer is the only way to see the world. The internet and televisions have became a window, an open door.
If the human population is attempting to utilize the resources that are available on earth in order to make life better, it is best to understand what better is. But being better in one aspect of something, say being more efficient in correspondence through an e-mail, creates a sterile environment free of the complications of waiting in line at the post office or even conversing with a person in real life. Human interaction has become an inconvenient annoyance. The improvements that have been made and the concepts that have been scientifically determined have highlighted the laziness of humans, as well. There are too many fat people for as much as is known about diet and genetics. There is too much pollution for all that is known about global warming, or even just the preservation of the earth. Being better at these things is a personal perception. Partaking in the useful information available to anyone in the world is a choice. But we all have different ideas of better. And the postmodern movement is telling me to do what I believe is best based upon any information that I would like to believe. What should I believe to be true…
And so the POSTMODERN movement also creates confusion. While defining a time period, the things and events and ideas that will come about during that time are indefinable. Chaos might explain it best. Everyone is doing his or her own thing. Being an individual is fashionable. Making a scene is artistic. The internet and television continue to provide the familiar window into others lives without actually interacting with anyone, however eccentric they might have become with inspiration provided by the postmodern aura.
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