Postmodernism
I found both of these articles extremely interested. Not only did they excite me for our next assignments in postmodernism, they brought up numerous questions regarding the movement. From the first article detailing an introduction to postmodernism, I was reminded of an excerpt I read this past spring prior to traveling to Rome. This introduction to postmodernism revealed to me that individuals across all areas of intellect can be considered postmodernists. The article that I read prior was written about Sigmund Freud on the history of Rome. I'm not sure exactly, but I believe this article written by Freud predated the postmodern yet illustrated similar views.
I've linked this article to the views of the postmodern movement because Freud discusses Rome's history as a mental entity. It is characteristic of postmodernism to use hyperbolic metaphors to describe phenomena. The way that the Introduction to postmodernism text described an arts brochure for a major university and New Age individuals shows the same way that individuals of the postmodern era combined all social strata into one unique entity. I think that Freud may have illustrated postmodern perspectives because he imagined a Rome in which all the layers of history coexisted continuously. Additionally, the way that Freud wants Rome to be a mental entity, keeping all memories present and easily retrievable, when in actuality this is clearly not functional for a city, is similar to Jean Baudrillard's Death of the Real, in describing mass media as a female vampire. Freud may say that this female vampire is appealing to Baudrillard just the way that the mind's capacity is attractive to Freud. This makes me wonder what other intellectuals and individuals other than artists held views resemblant of postmodernism.
I found it interesting that after I had already connected the introductory text to Freud's description about Rome, that the second reading also provided postmodern in the context of a city. While I enjoyed the reading, I think that it was a bit upsetting. I have never thought about Disneyland and the like as these alternative realities. Further, the author discussed Los Angeles itself as being a simulation of the real. I think about the Disneyland park of Epcot which has the goal of actually providing guests with an "around the world" experience, you can travel the world without even leaving the country. I am left with a somewhat conflicting and upsetting thought, what happens when there is a disaster in these simulated realities whether it be a system malfunction, natural disaster, or mass violence? How does this destroy the simulation? Would this be an illustration of postmodernism or the opposite? And lastly, what other examples do we see daily outside of what we consider "art" display values of the postmodernists?
Freud's Rome
I've linked this article to the views of the postmodern movement because Freud discusses Rome's history as a mental entity. It is characteristic of postmodernism to use hyperbolic metaphors to describe phenomena. The way that the Introduction to postmodernism text described an arts brochure for a major university and New Age individuals shows the same way that individuals of the postmodern era combined all social strata into one unique entity. I think that Freud may have illustrated postmodern perspectives because he imagined a Rome in which all the layers of history coexisted continuously. Additionally, the way that Freud wants Rome to be a mental entity, keeping all memories present and easily retrievable, when in actuality this is clearly not functional for a city, is similar to Jean Baudrillard's Death of the Real, in describing mass media as a female vampire. Freud may say that this female vampire is appealing to Baudrillard just the way that the mind's capacity is attractive to Freud. This makes me wonder what other intellectuals and individuals other than artists held views resemblant of postmodernism.
I found it interesting that after I had already connected the introductory text to Freud's description about Rome, that the second reading also provided postmodern in the context of a city. While I enjoyed the reading, I think that it was a bit upsetting. I have never thought about Disneyland and the like as these alternative realities. Further, the author discussed Los Angeles itself as being a simulation of the real. I think about the Disneyland park of Epcot which has the goal of actually providing guests with an "around the world" experience, you can travel the world without even leaving the country. I am left with a somewhat conflicting and upsetting thought, what happens when there is a disaster in these simulated realities whether it be a system malfunction, natural disaster, or mass violence? How does this destroy the simulation? Would this be an illustration of postmodernism or the opposite? And lastly, what other examples do we see daily outside of what we consider "art" display values of the postmodernists?
Freud's Rome
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