Before going over the Modernism and Postmodernism chart in class, I payed no attention to those two words; to be honest, I didn't really know what those words meant. Then, we went through a very organized chart that differentiates between Modernism and Postmodernism. I took an interest in the Postmodernism side, because it's from 1945 to the present, the time period in which I lived in and am living in now.
In "The Individual" part of the chart under Postmodernism, two ideas spoke to me. The first, "space is corporate" (Allen) was something I didn't think about before. I didn't look around and notice all the ads that were plastered in every open space or the arenas, buildings and other places named after companies. When I watch the Blackhawks play, the rink is covered in advertisements from all their sponsors and there isn't a space left untouched by corporations. By talking about this, it helped me realized that space is corporate, companies own almost everything we use and the places we walk into everyday. The second, "mediation of experience: what is distant can be close and what is close can be distant" (Allen). Another idea that I also did not think about before discussing it in class. I admit that I'm the person that is always on their phone, but then again, so are my friends. We all have iPhone's now, so we get anything instantly and we can access anything when we want to, it's all in the palm of our hands, literally. But, I guess that's the problem isn't it? We distance ourselves from the people close to us who are there then and there, by using our phones to connect with people who aren't there.
The section, "Worldview" changed the way I see the world today. Two more ideas, changed my mind on my worldview. I learned a new word: Pastiche, it is the coexistence of the past and present (Allen). We examined how the people from the past influenced the way we built, created, and mastered things in today's society. How architecture from ancient Greece can be seen on modern buildings, how we took old inventions and made them better and more efficient. The little things from the past are sprinkled here and there and now I know that they're there. Then, there is the idea that "the distinction between economic and cultural breaks down" (Allen). Commercials are supposed to help sell a product, but nowadays they seem more like a public service announcement and they use like 3/4 of the commercial to talk about something other than the product... like the Chrysler Superbowl commercial... was that supposed to be about the car or a farmer?
Lastly, the section "Truth" and the fact that it is "impossible to have historical authenticity" (Allen) changed my mind as well. I always thought as a kid and even now, that places like Disneyworld and places where we can go on cool safaris were really fun! but apparently places like that destroys historical authenticity, because instead of visiting the actual place we can get the fake version right here close to home. I understand that they're trying to make it convenient so we don't have to travel to those far away lands, but I would actually much rather see the real, true thing in person where it's naturally supposed to be.
So, by going through the Postmodernism side of the chart and seeing all the examples, my mind has been changed and I look at the world in a different perspective.
I really like how you took Mr. Allen's teachings and internalized them with your own life. I, too, hadn't realized the world I was living in until we went through this work sheet. I was able to see how we had progressed to this point of pure corporate life. We live in a world where our very culture is owned my the media. We live only by what the companies wants us to live and there is little or no escape. It is an interesting way to see how we have become apart of this world and even though we are owned it doesn't always mean that it's bad. However, when you said " I understand that they're trying to make it convenient so we don't have to travel to those far away lands, but I would actually much rather see the real, true thing in person where it's naturally supposed to be" (Gennah) I totally agree with you. We need to go out and experience the world instead of being stuck behind a computer or television screen and trying to touch and feel the real world. I really like the way you structured this and I agree with your feelings.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this I really agreed with what you were saying, like how you never thought about the postmodernism/modernism things. When we really got down to it during class everything we talked about started making more sense, like you mentioned all of the ads and such. Also, the superbowl commercials we watched...those had nothing to do with any of the products( hardly anyway). It so funny because the majority of our time is spent thinking about something else, I know that doesn't make much sense but I think thats the point.
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