Postmodernism for Beginners 086316188X, 9780863161889

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(USA only) 1 888.263.7591 Gallto orderForBeginnerfbooksandto receiveyourfreecatalog Uisitourwebsite at www.writersandreaders.com!

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1 888.263.7591 (USAonly) Callto orderFor Beginnerf booksand to receiveyour free catalog Uisitour websiteat www.writersandreaders.com!

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people notsure , Yotr're whot Postmodernism is.And if this,,erelike subiecf, it probobly wouldn't tellyou. fewgrumpy dernism isnot intellectuol trory, itis ffi ofound /, !d I crises ( ofthe [' Enlightenment. JimPowell tokes theposition thotPostmodernism isoseries ,u.i(

Erlfl 'f,r)t a

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of"mops" thothelp peopfe find their woythrough ochonging world. Postmodernism for Beginners@

feotures thethoughts ofFo.ucouft oripo*rrono knowfedge, Jomeson onmopping thepostmod Boudrillord onthemedio,jrrvev r1r,1;!ri9compresion, Derrido ondeconsrruction ond ir,,

oniro,r such os il:l::::*9,:Tl::llf:mr,,i:il,il;,;;;;ffi'i,,n

Pt/ /|4odonno, cyberpunk scFfi, Buddhist ecology *d teledild'nics.

BYJlfrt P0wELL II.I.USTRATED BYJOE I.ET A /h6{a,tt

PHILOSO-PW us $11.95 uK t7.99 cAN$15.e5

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lsBN 0-86316-188_X

Wrilers and Readera ?ublishing, lnc. 7.O.box 461,Villaqegtation, NewYork,NY iOO14 [email protected] Writers and Readers Ltd. 7 O b o x 2 9 5 2 2 , L o n d o nN 1B F D beqin@w rit er ea nd r ea d er s.c o m

Text Copyriqht@1998JameEN. Fowell llluelrationeCopyriqht@1990Joe Lee conceVtand Deeiqncopyriqht@1998writers and Readers?ubliehinq,lnc. Dookand CoverDeoiqn:RenbeMichaele CoverArt: Joe Lee Thie bookis eold oubjectto the conditionthat it ehall not,,W way of trade or oNherwise, be lent, re-eold,hired out, or ot'herwieecirculaled wihhoutIhe publioher'e consenl in form any of Vrior bindinqor coverot'hert'han lhat in whichir ie Vubliohed and wilhout a similarconditionbeinq imVoeedon the eubeequentpurchaeer. All riqht's reeerved.No Vart,of thie publicationmay be reproduced,sNoredin a ref,rievaleyetem, or lransmilted, in any form or by any meano,elecf,ronic,mechanical,VholocoVyinq, recordingor of,herwise, without,prior Vermieeionof Lhe Tublisher. AWrilere and KeadersDocumentary ComicOook Copyright@1990 t?bN )-86316-1BB-X 34567890 Manufacturedin NheUniled )tates of America 1eqinnereDocumenf,aryComic Oooks are publiehedW Writere and Keadere ?ubliehinq,lnc. lLe t'rademark,coneiet'inqof the worde"For geqinnere,Writers and KeadersDocument ary Comic1ooke" and Writers and Keaders logo, ie re7iotreredin lhe tJ.9. ?atent and Trademark Office and in otrhercountries.

?ublishing

FOR BEGINNER9*

books aontinuouely

sinae 1gT5

1975: Cuba . 1976: Marx , 1977: Lenin . 1978: Nuclear ?ower . 1979: Einstein . Freud . lgBO: Vao . TroLeky . 1981: CapiLaliem . 19b2: Darwin . Economiste . French Revolulion , Marx'e Kapital.FrenchRevolution.Food.Ecoloqy.lgBS:DNA.lreland.19b4:London.?eace.Medicine Orwell . Keaqan . Nicaraqua , Black Hietory , 19b5: Marx Diary . 1gb6: Zen . ?sychiatry Keich,Socialiem.Com?uLere.Orechf,,Elvis.lgbb:Archilechure.Sex.JFK.VirqiniaWoolf 1 9 9 0 : N i e t ' z e c h e . T l a l o , M a l c o l m X . J u d a i e m . l g g l : W W l l. E r o L i c a , A f r i c a n H i o L o r y , l g g 2 : T h i l o e o V h y .R a i n f o r e e t e . M i l e eD a v i e . l e l a m . ? a n A f r i c a n i e m . 1 9 9 3 : ? o y c h i a t r y. A b c k W o m e n Arabs & lerael . Freud . 1994: babiee . Foucaull . Heideqqer . Heminqway. Claeeical Mueic 1995: Jazz ' Jewjsh Holocauet . HealLh Care . DomeeLic Violence . garLre . United Na?ione Olack Holocauot . 1lack TanLhere . MarLial Arte . Hietory of Clowne . 1996: Opera . gioloqy Sauseure.UN|CEF.Kierkeqaard.Addiction&Recovery.lChinq,Ouddha,Derrida.Chomsky McLuhan,Jun7,1997:Lacan,ghakes?eare.glructuraliem.Che,lggB:Fanon.Adler Gandhi 'U.5, Constritubion.1999: Ariu. Oarch VArquez . Dantre, gukoweki. Kerouac . Tanao

2uC;aaal a y'r-*,

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lntroduction...

1

Postmodernese

6

Whotls Modernism?.

8

W h o tl s P o s t m o d e r n i s m ? fh o bH o s s o n . . . Lyotord Jeon-Froncois figure Discourse, ThePostmodernCondition..... Fredric Jomeson

......17 ........17 ....19 ..........2o .....22 .....3+

Postmodernism:or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.......31 J e o nB q u d r i l l a r d . . . . E o r l yW r i t i n g s "TheOrdersof Simulocro". ln the Shadowof the SilentMajorities ... On Seduction. America TheEcstasyof Communication Architecture . Modernist qnd Art Architecture Postmodern

.......11 .........15 ......18 ..........61 ......65 .........67 ..........69 .......72 ........77

C h q r l eJse n c k s

......78

Poststructurolism

........93

(ond Boudrilord on Foucqult) MichelFoucoult

......94

JocquesDerridq

.....96

deconstruction ond FelixGuottori GillesDeleuze

.-..-.99 ...1o8

D q v i dH o r v e y TheConditionof Postmodernity Artifocts.... Postmodern

......115 .......116 ......122

Blade Runner. Cyborgs Cyberpunk..... Neuromancer

........128 .......131 .......132

.. Poporazzi E Nono-Rovers Audioonimqtronic Teledidonics,

.......131

Mqdonno

......139

lJntitled Film stills (cindy shermon)

...1+2

MTV.

......113

Borbie-Art.....

.......1+1

B l u eV e l v e t . . . . . .

...145

Wingsof Desire

...115

Environmentolism Postmodern

....117

(ln Retrospect) Whotis Postmodernism?

....118

References.....

.....158

lndex

.........16o

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An afr,s brochurefor almoel miqht aVVroany major univeroit'y

conlrary worldview,differenl folkNalee,danceeor mytrho.lf Ihey

or Vriatelyfealure a Vhot'omont'aqe shouldencounter an individual re?reoentinqils seaeonof cult'ural a eociely lhatr wae different,f,hen trhestraleqy wae No conquerit, offerinqotrom aroundthe world. The monNaqemighr feature a

and eexualmililarily,economically

femaledancerwit'han Eaetrlndian

ly; Io converLit tro one'eown reli'

head,a male Navaholeft' leq,

gion;or No kill it. Thevery exie' t enceof the )t'her, Ihe very

the riqht,leqof an Afro' (/^

a Lorso halt'coveredby

?reeenceof the Olher, Voeeda Ihreal lo lhe

a suil and r,ie,and t'he

ou??oeed univerealit'y

obher half feet'ooned

of one'eown beliefe,

Americanmoderndancer,

ln the Tostmodern

wibheaqlefealhers with a one arm dioplayinq eacredTibetan hand

il ie difaqe,however, ficultrlo qet' throuqh a

qeoture,anol'her

d ay wit'houI confronlin q

muscledarm a

poundinqouf,a rhyl,hmon a JaVaneeedrum, and Nwomorefemalearme in a lyricaldance ?ooefrom lndia. Contraet lhis culNuralmixing with Nheliveeof moeT,of the ?eoVlewho havelivedon Ihe Vlanetfor

rnanydifferenl realities. gimVlyt'urn on hhe'N and you miqhl hear a world mueicqrou? oinqinqa blendof lrieh loveeonq, lndianraqa,heavy-metalanlhem, Monqoli an 9 ud dhiel chant'- and all lo Nhef,uneof peyot'edrume,

mosl of iis hiotory. Cilizeneof the

os, panVipeo, qamelane, didqerido nooe ffuf,eg,alpenhorns,gilaro

MiddleAgee and membereof pre' could live modern0ribaleocieNiee

And all Nhese and hambourinee. eounds may be producednotrby

but elecoutrNheiryearo wilhout encount'er- the oriqinalinef'rumenf, tronically,to a danceablereq7ae inq anyonewif,hanot'hergod, a

or hiV-hoV beat,,and broadcaet, worldwide viaeaLellite to millione of viewere-NheprofiIegoingf,o eavethe Drazilianrainforeet.ln facf,, qo to a fundament aliet,lelamic weddingin an EqyVtian villaqe, and the bride,eurroundedby elern eldere, hoodedand veiled go that, no intruding male7aze willVollute herAay oecretlybe lioleninq

to trheconcert,, benealhlhe hood,throuqhthe earVhones of herminialurized radio.7he may jeaneunderher bewearing

I I I Nraditionalskift,, and havea belly I full of Coca-Cola.I T i c ku ?a n y I NewA7emaqazine,and you I will find the I Vyoleriouo I and Unknown I eold in a thoueand f orme-Vey chic channelinge I of dieembodied epirite, Dud dhist, I Taoietr and Hindumeditatrion I Iechniques,Nalive American sweaf,baths, cryot alo and herbe, I elecNronic medilatrio n ma chinee I and exoticVotione.Your tyVical I NewA7er eeeeno conl,radiclion in aLt endinqa Quakermeetingin I f,hemorning,eabinqa Zen macro- I biotic breakfaet,sitting tor ChiI neeeTaoietrmedihalion,eatinq an IndianAyurvediclunch,doinq I a Chero-keesweatrbeforeTai Chi, I munchinqdowna eoyburgerfor I dinner,dancinqin a full-moon I wiNchinq ceremonywith her neoI TaqanGoddee; 7rou?, I

and Ihen cominqhome

I and makinqlovewilh her I NewAqe boytriendaccordinq Tanlric princiVleo. I to Hindu All rhe world's culL,ureo, I rit,ualg, race6,dalabankg, I mylhe and musicalmot'ifs int ermixinqlikea omorI are qaebordin an ea(chquake, I AndNhishodge-Vodqeof I hybridimaqeoio qlobal, dinq t he trradilional I froo mao6 media,and also CyberI o?ace-a e?ace everI I I I I I I I I I I I I I I t'=iil

I I I I I I I I wilh newunivereee blossoming and whichio beinq and realit'ieo, Vrobedby an ever-ex?andinq and of cYberpunks Vopularion cyberoharnanowho-l ike electronic rat's burcowing eidewayoNhrouqha vaef.,interconnecled series of elecNronic gewer6,cellarg,?aoeaqewayo,caverne, quttero, and lunnels-are capableof from cyber' naviqaNinq sil,e Io cyber'eite via an almosl infinit'elyint'erlinkedcaf'aloqueof codee. ln obherwords,we live increaoinqlyin a world of int erconnect'ed difference9-

differenceoamVlifi ed and multiplied -{,F

l*)--'

at,Ihe oVeedof eleclricity. No lonqeris there one moraliNyor mph

or riNual or danceor dreamor philooophy

or conceVlof eelf or qod or culNureor eVyleof ar| t hat, Vred ominaIee. TheexVlosion of newcommunicahions technoloqieoand lhe continuingfragmenlaf,ionof culruresinro lhoueandeof liwle culluree has torced us tro viewour worldas simultaneouelyexVandinq and ehrinkinq.Andjuer as the unexVlored Nawworld of earliercenluriee had ite exVlorerlwho set ouNon voyaqeoof diecovery,bringingback newma?e, whichwereconetanf,lybeinqre-drawnae ever new reqionewereVrobedand chaft,ed,tha Newyostmodern World-?o ef,mod ern Keality-h ao ite mapmakersand explorero. The maVmakereof Vaet cenf,urie;euVerimVoeeda fictif,iouoqrid u?onthe qlobe-Nhe meridians-trhelineeof latitude and lonqitude. Theychafr,ednarcowstraiNs,f arflunq exoNicarchipela7oo, dark cont.inenle,?revailing winde,waveeand c ur renle. ?imila rly, 7oehmod ern intellecf,uale-Vhil oeophere and ih eorief,e-have att emVtedNo maV

te chnoloqiee, economiee,cybere?acee,mediaeca?ee. But not everyonelhinke inf,ellectrua Ily about,all f,he chanqeef,haf,are 'r,akinqplace.

TheseTostmodern sim?lylake arbieLlor architecf,s oymbole, cullureo nof,eof the newnix of meeeaqee, 6onq,Vaintinq andthencrealea video, andmedia, thal refleclelhe Toetmodern condiNion, or buildinq

WewillbeexVlorinq lhe lhouqhtoof someof theee " ma?makere"and"explorero," TogNmodern Nhege inLellecNuals in lhe ?aqeetrhal follow, andarNieNe,

Thie is Male eublecL-Voeilione,"

But woit o minute! lf Post-

derneoe, becauee,in Tosf'mo quye no lonqerexiet.TheY have become" eubject'Voei-

modernthinkershqve some

lion6,"Thesame qoeefor

reolly new ideosmopping

women.ThereforeNhe ohraee"ThirdWorld

the contoursof our times, why hoven't I heord of these ideos before?

women"needeto be queoifreduVt'o "pool'c o l o n i afle m a l ee u b -

A major reaoonie t.haI Toet' ie eucha difficull lanmodernese

The 1ecN-poeif,ione." phraoe"T,heway"

quaqelo underofand-and moef,

couldproVerly

are bookeon Toelmoderniem wrif,f,enin lhie parlicularlyob-

be renderedae "lhe hegemonic

6cureLonque.

(mie)reVreeen-

For inelance-lel'e eu??oeeyou

LaIionand delval'

livein Lhe 197Oe,and you want to eay "Theway while guys Nreal

you can eee,7ogl,'

ThirdWorldwomenae 6ex objecteio

moderneee reliee

s h a l l o wa n d d i e q u e l i n q . "

u ? o nu e i n ga e m a n y

orizaLionof." As

Thefire| thinq you havelo do

e l a e h e ea n d h y p h e n e lo lranelaf,eil into Tostmodeneee and oarentheseg and gent enceet op mak' whal,ever is f,o makef,he other kindeof inq eenee.You do f,hieby eubsf,imarksyour computer can IuLinq myetrerious ?oetmod ern buzzwordeor Vhraeeefor ordinary wordsthat do makeeenee.For ingf,ance"whif,e0uy6"can profilably be reVlacedby the Vhraoe "VhallocraLic and VanoVIic(in Lhe Foucaultian eenee)Oead-Whire'

Thuelhe makeae ?oe6ible. word"ohallow"ehouldcorrecLlybe renderedao "a texLually(ra)inecribedpraxie of pre-dieeeminale d, (counI'er) eubver eive' d eothle6one6o,"'

your frnal infinile bewildermenf'. Tobe pertecllycorcecf', Thenyou look shouldsoundsome- Nhemin Nheeye,cornpaooionaf'elY, t ranelat'ion Nhinqliket'his:"Thehegemonic and Nelltrhemlhat' Ihe Vlurivocal entalion and (mie)reVreo

of (non)meaninqinambiquitiee delvalorizalionof t'he alwaye- herent in their queeLionobviouely alrea dy multi-(de)/ gend ered subvefrt'he Voooibilityof your ocalitiee and (de)cen' deliverinqlo NhemNhekind of pluriv

' ,l

Iered delconstrruct'ed

cheaVand low-downVhallocrat'ic,

and dialoqically Vrob-

hoqand loqocenlricVatrriarchal wallowof an anewerwhichthey are

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lacra of abeentlpre-

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caVableof underet'andinq,

senl poelcolonial femaleoubject'-Vooi' lgl

Iions,by hyVerand erof,icized orienNalized phallocralic and VanoVIic (in lhe Fou-

wellt'mnot sosureI understond whot Postmodernism is. And is it POSTmodernlSM, PoStmOdErN' postMODERNism, ism, post-modernismor Postmodernism? Itrhae beenwriT'Ienin all

caulhianeenoe) Nhos e wayo. 7oet'modernism- as )ead-Whit'e-Male Lhe "pool"' i6 Vreface imVlieS, eubjecl-Vooitrion

eomelhinqIhat, followemodern' discourse,ig a Nex- ism, However, peoVlewho Lhink tually (re)inetibed about,euchthinqo ae Tost'Vraxieof Vre-dieeemi- moderniomdon'traqreewhet,her (counter)eubnaL,ed, is a breakfrom Toetmodernism versive d eplhleesneoe," moderniamor a continualion

@ *not!!?? E

of modernism-or bot'h.ln fact, they don'f,evenaqreeas t'o

Andif anyoneaokeyou whal moderniemis, muchlese

whaNall lhal meane,you juel beholdT,hemwilh a qaze ot

Toetmodernism.

Uh Well,whot is modernism?

r ,

ie a blanket,Lerm H lvloderniem for an exploeionof neweLyleeand trende in the arLe in the firet half of the zolh cenlury.lf lhe modern era had a cenlral imaqe-it wae LhaT,of a kindof non-imaqe-a Void-and if the era had a quoIation that, eummedit,all up,il was lriehVoet,Willia m SuIlerYeaLs'slinee:

But whot things fell oport in the modern ero? What center could not hold?

E

Whatfellapart in Lhemodernerawerexhevaluesof the ltth

century,the Aqe of Enligh;f,enment,, aleo knownae bhe Aqe of Keaeon. Trobablythe mainvalueof lhe aqe, beeidesreaoon,wae lhe idea of Vrogreoe.

ln f,hel9th cenlurybhinkerebecameoVlimisticIhat by ueinqNhe univerealvalueeof ocience,reaaonand loqic,they couldqet rid of all Ihe myihs and holyideasf,hat keVf humanityfrom ?roqreoeinq, They felt this wouldevenLually free humanilyfrom mieery,religion, euperotif,ion,all ircationalbehavior, and unfoundedbelief.Humanilywouldthue ?roqreeeLo a elaf,e of freedom,happineeeand proqreee. Francishacon eaw ?roqreeet akinqI,heform of a wiee, elhicaland ecience-minded eliLewhowouldbe Nhe guardianeof knowledge and who, t h o u q hl i v i n qo u f , e i d Le h ec o m m u n i l,y,wouldneverthelese inffuenceil. Marx aleo believedin and envieioned a ?roqreee, Ulopia,7ul Marx'eUloVian vieionwae of a ?erect,world brouqhtr aboul by a maLerialiet,ecience,

Otherbhinkere, however,were nol, Eo oVtimietic.Edmund 9urke wae diequetedwilh Nheexceooeoof the French Revolution.And lhe Marquie de 1ade, lhe qreaf,-qranddaddy of 3/M, exVloredthe pervereitieeof eexualfreedom-Vainting a dark Victrureof hurnanliberal,ion.TheeociologietMax WeberVroVheeied lha| lhe future wouldbe an iron Vrieonof reaeon and bureaucracy,

E

Well,moybeYeotsond oll the

skepticswere right. lt look os if things did foll oport. Whot did Science, get us, ofter oll? Reasonond Progress ThezOthcenturyhos beennothing if nightmoreof not o dork, Kofkoesque rqtion-olly odministereddeqth comps, deoth squods,Auschwitz,WorldWqrs I ond ll, Hiroshimo,Nogosoki,ecologicol disqster-ond vorious systemsof totolitorionism.And oll in the nome

,,)), /,'), \s

vqluesof Science, of the Enlightenment Reoson,Liberotion,Freedomond Progress ! IIII

I

t..n'I

7uI I haven'|,evenlold vou

I,

n"

t,,*.

;t,

t.-E.:tl

He eawthe worldae the dance

abouf,the biggeet,ekepticof

of the deolructivelycrealive

eo V he r a l l - I h e G e r ma n ? h i l o

and creativelydeef,ructivegod

FriedrichNietzsche.Nief,zeche Dionyeue-the danceof the

411 lv

had no lolerancefor Enlighl-

Willto Tower-and Dionyouo

values.Keason?Unienmenf,

wae hie modelof howlo acL in

vereality? Mo raliry?7roqreee?

Ihe chaotic eLormof life.Any

Alltheee Enlightenmenf,pre'

man who acf,edin euch a way

leneee meanf,nolhinqtro him.

w o u l db e a S u p e r m a n .

I

And Nietzeche hit the nail right on t,.hehead.

notrdrill holeein lhe walleof our housesand hallowlhese hollowe,

Afr,erall, many ZOt h-century IuV ermenhave

t hemearneolly worohiVpinq with lhe worde"O rmyHoly Hole,

?rovenlhaf, you haveto deotroy in order f,o create: Hitler, Vao,

oave mel),l"

1halin,etc. Nief,zeche aleo ?ro' claimedIhe "Oeabhof God" as wellas trhedealh of Chrietian - moralilyand metaphyoico.With

No.We livein a cull,ure lhat, esNeems?reeenceover absence,icon overnon-existence, voluVNuoue virqinovervacant,

vacuum,wholesover holesl And one waveof his VhiloeoVhical wand, ye|,,wherewe Vreviouelyhad a the central oymbols,insNilutions center-wheNher in Christrianreliand beliefeof Weslern cullure, qionor in f,he whichhad alreadyeuffereda IS NOTI{IN6 idealeof ecilremendousblowby lhe Aqe of enceand Keaeon,diea??eared-?OOF?roqreoo likea maqician'srabbiT,into the -euddenly dark folds of a cloak. we had nothinq, What remainedwereonly dark waveoof Nothin7neee-a Void.

$nmtD?

Nature, however, abhorga vacuurr, and we Wegf,ernerg,unlike Ouddhie|,e and Taoietre, do nol toleraie voids very well.We do

)ome modernjof'g,euch as Heminqway, creaf,edworkeof arr f,hatr ex?reeeeda kind of Vaeeiverecoqnitrion of this lack of a center. ln hie

ehofr,eIory "A Clean, Well-lighted?lace," oneof hiecharacf,ere, a waitrer, //t t'/t't

reworksf,he Lord'e Trayer andthe Hail Mary-eubetritrutinq "nada"(or "nolhing"in gVanieh) atr oiqnificanf, Vlacee:

rc,c,trA I v7'7A_9'7\ tv vvJ \yvLf

lf modernthinkerecouldno lonqerbelieve in a Chrielian God, Chrislian moralif,y,or scienlifc ?ro7reoo-if Ihere wao no lonqera cenlerlo\Neetern culture-it was neceooaryXo find a new one for, aft,erall, we don'I likevoids. And il wae Nief,zsche-whohad proclaimedt'he deabhof Enliqhlenmenlvaluee,God and Chrislian moraliby-Ihat, ehowedthe way. Alf,houqhhe had deVrivedWeetern

culture of a centrer,he only did so by Vuttinq eomethingeleein ils place-nof, onlythe idea of a guVermanwho ie beyondqood and evil buNaleo ar| beyondqood and evil.Thue,amonq allNhefraqmentalion and chaoe,amidel everythinqfallinqaVafi,,modernarAists beqantro lookfor oomeet ernalvaluetrhat wae beyondall the chaos, TheeearlieNeadoVtedIhe heroic,almosl )uVerhumanrole of rediscovering lhe eeeenceof humanily,of findinqan eNernalvalue beyondall lhe chaoe,of fillinqin NheVoot-NielzecheanVoid in various wayo.ln a world withoul a cenf,er,aeslhelicsatb-became centrral,Afr for arL'o sakel Modern q wa s abo uNVaintinq- eelf-abeorbed, eelfVaint,in exVlorinqite own VrimaryVoeeibili?oeee6eed, |/

tiee: all pooeibleinheractionebef,ween VerceVt.ion,memory,idenlify. Oohemian, avanf,-qarde, exVerimenlinq wilh Iraditional qenreeand otyleemoderna(bisf,e,who brouqht modern arDto ite fullesl bloeeoming eomeIime be|,ween 1910

NrW

and the 193Oe,

ralliedaround poet

Ezra Tound'eballle

cry "Make it new,"eeeinqNhemgelvee a6 creators of the newralher than as ?reoervereof old cultruralforme, )uch aft becamea way t o reVreoenl Ihe eNernalin Ihe mideVof chaos.Cubiemdrew ineVirationfrom lhe eimVleqeometriesof Af rican oc ulVhur e, d emaleri alized objecte, bre akinq lh em down into trheirbaeicgeomelricforme,CubistrafrieT,s Vainted, ag TicagooVut,il,, "nof,what,you oee,but what you knowis fhere."

sensiliveyoulh seek-

aro6ewar machines

ated AuechwiLzand

inqtroeecapethe

Hiroehima.AndNhere

confineeof hie

ao ?owefiulae Ihey were effrcient ln ltaly,

in CatholicuVbrinqing

Ihe war machineof

Dublin,ie baeedon

lhe )u?erman ltAus-

trheancient,Greek

solini.ln Germany,

mfih of the hero

)uVer-

wereolher Vrob' leme-aftietic oneo.

Oaedelueaf,tremVtinq m a n Hitler's NoeecaVethe LabyrinIh. Thue,it, has a

Nazi

rnyDhat it s cenler.

Nrainsran

OneoymbolIhaI

on f,ime,

atlem?f,ed f,o fill in

deliverinq

Ihe Voidlhal had

theirhuman

been left by Ihe "deal,hof God" wao

carqo lo deabh

the oymbolof the

Auschwitzand

machine.Toel Ezra

These buchenwald.

Toundeaw wordeae

cam?oNhemselves

machines.The Voet

drew u?onmoderniet

WilliamCarlos

plannina qndarchi-

Modern

Williamssaid Nhat

arL and lit er-

the wholeVoemie a

NecturalVrincipleo. And lhe Nazl war

machinemadeuV of

machinehad iIs own

increaeingly difficulf

worde,Modernarchi-

center-Nhe myth of

tecle f,houqhl ot

Ihe SuVerRace-f,he

No underetand. Moderniam-

housesae machinee

euVeriorityof blue-

becameHiqhmod-

for livinqin. ln facl, all

eyed,blondmembers

e r n i e mH . i q hm o d -

of society wae be-

of the Aryanrace.

ernismpeakedin

cominqmoremachineraf,ional, Nechnical,

1922,wilh the with moderniemis of Vublication thal scienceand rea- JameeJoyce'o

Fromthie kindof

eon didn't juel create

like:bureaucraNic,

campe like

af,urebecame

9o one Vroblem

machine4ike efficiency ?roqre6e-Nhey cre-

Ulyeeeeand

T,9. ElioN'o"The Wastelandl' ln bolh Ulyeeeeand Finneganb Wake,Joyce exVerimenled with a sNreamof-conscioueneee elyle, plunqin7the reader within Ihe fluid,ehiftrinqfree-flowof hie characNere'?oychee. E]iol'g "Waeteland" exVeri-

Chicaqo,CoVenha7en, Munichor Moscow,t o viewlhemselveeas an exiled,alienahedcultural eliLe. ln "The Metamorphoeie" lhe

menNedwith a fraqmenied poetry full of literary,hieNorical and

wrif,erFranz Kafka eymbolized

mytholoqicaltidbire from around

Nhiealienationof the arl,jet wilh Nheimaqeof a huqehuman-eized

the world-depiclinq a soul and a eocietyin fraqmenNalion and

buqNraVVed in an abeurdhuman

deeVair, eeekinqreinleqraf,ion, a

environmenl.Such afrieIs creaf,-

new cenf,er.1of,h Joyce and Eliof,

ed workseo challenqing and weird

rejected lhe etraiqhttorward, and

tha| Nheycouldonly be appreci-

ralional ffowof the et ory or

ated by a narrowaudience.This

lheme. Theyaleo rejecLedNradi-

onlyfufi,heraddedtrolheir

ti onal characT,erdevelo Vmenl,

elitiet imaqe.

f avoringinetead a fraqmenled otyle. Dul Ihis dislikeof conventional characlerdeveloVment and the celebrationinsf,ead,of Vrv vaf,e,eubjecNive ex?erienceadded

Modernafr,, in fac|,, wao eo far-ouI thal it, dividedculture into "Hiqhbrow"and "Lowbrow." Il, excluded the middleclass,who

trothe t endencyof moderniem'e

could not,underelandiI, and qave riee No a kind of "Vrieolhood"of

arf,iels,assembledin emall

echolarsand crif,ice.Theirjob wa6

qrou?ein ?aris,Oerlin,Kome, Vienna,London,NewYork,

and ie f,o explainmoderniem'e myof,eries,To read James Joyce'o Ulyeeea,T.9. ElioN'e"Waeteland" or Ezra Tound'o"Cantoo" ie an advenf,ure,You needa quide, ae Nhoughyou wereexplorinq the Amazon.

E

differ rhen how doesPostmodernism from Modernism?

E

there ie lirrleaqreemenr on Nhe eubjecl, Varf,lybecaue

"TooT,modernism"-whaleveril is-is

an aNIemVINo

of what ie qoingon now-and we can oeeIhe Vreeenl only in retrosVect,,

)ne ToetmoderntheorieL,lhabHassan,offere a Nableof differenceo the Nwomovemenf,g; beT,ween

Modernism

Tostmodernism

Form (,coniuncf,ivel cloged) ns.Toetmoderntheory, too, offere ,m of the centerleespoelmodern

, worldthan a cure. I

,wellknownfor hie dieT,inclion Onethinq trhal ToeLmodernily hae '

4o. In the aqe of modernitywe sLill L ^ t i ^ . , ^ ) t , ^ , - - r ^^ - . . t ^ ! ^ ^ L Lt- believed in the eubject-the eqo. Afr,ieteeuch ae Heminqway ?oo-

I

eeeeeda unifiede4o and idenlif,y-even if it wae an alienatedone, 1:-1151 : i l : l*\J -n.'

t',tbtl

f-'{tis1

And?oeoeaeinq an identity,Nhey ?oe-

#

eeeseda otyle f,hat could be the oubject

-\.r-'.

of Varody-you could make fun of iI by imit atrinqil. Everyyear,for instance,f,hereis a lilerary conteel in whichwritere imitrale tt

Heminqway's otyle in a humorou; way, ,\lF-.1-

i:tH-.

Everyyear we met at Harryb bar. Wedrank there. And everyyear was a good year. And we sat and drank and imitated Hemingwayb i.,

etyle. And we were good there.

:A

',,4> ('oK

f.t t-

(,) N+

7f

,i

doms by centralizedtechno-qiante, JueNao Mary thelley'o Franken: -:

etein warnedagainet Ihe exceeeee and danqereof Nheinduetrial and ecienbificrevolulionin hhe 19fh cenNury, ecienceficlion writinqI,hal 7oee by Ihe nameof cyberVunk warns of a techno-futurein whichhumansmusl fiqhf a7ainoNtrhetechnoloqicalVowere of giantrinternalionalmeqacorporaNions, Dutrt hat, lechnoloqical fut ure is now!

Neuronr ancer Thefirsl cyberVunknovel,which wao inepired,in paft, by Dlade Kunnen ie WilliamGibeon'sNeuromancer.The olory ie about,Caee,a pelty comVuler and dala thief who has elolen informaIion from his bosses.As Vuniehmenl,, hie nervecellehavebeenburnedoul. Case'snervoueoyelem ie reVaired, however, whenhe ie hired by a myeterioue emVloyerto Verforma Big HeioN.

m

ffi

m

t

by oomehiredmueHe ie accomVanied cle in Lheform of Molly,a qal brimminq e, includinqrazore wilh bio-imVlant Nheyeleal beneatrhher naile.Toqetrher conglrucl. a coYn?uf,er The major adventurein the novelie a planel trheirmieeionNo Freeland,

-I,

---

wherethey are f,o eleal an Anificial lntelliqence enlily namedNecromancer

4

wilh whomWinlermale (Ihe myef,eri-_

ou6 emVloyer)wiehestro mergeeo lhal he may becomeGod and Iake overf,he univerae, The ditrerencebeNween Dlade Kunnerand Neuromanceris that, in NeuromancerIhe ditrerence betweencomVuterand human,naNure oriqinaland coVV,oriqand Lechnoloqy, i n a la n d e i m u l a c r u mh,a e c o l l a V e e d imVloded,ln facN,Neuromancer sla(be ouf,wiNha deecriplion of nat ure lhat is in Ierme of t echnology:"Ihe ekyabove ihe porb wae the color of Neleviaion, tuned to a dead channel"(Nb).

-,4

S

'\

And ir ie Caee'oown reVaired nervouooyelem, for ingNance, nof,

CybereVaceis a cyborq-a merqinqof humanand comVuter

Andthis conceVlof oomecomVuIer,whichenableehim caVaciNies, Io enter cybereVace, AndIhouqh everyonetoday knowswhaf,cyberepaceie, Gibson wae the one who invenledthe

cybereVacewae euqqeetedto Gibeonone day in Vancouver, a6 he wae wat.chin7gometeenaqero Vlayinqvideo0ame6in an arcade: "l could see in trheVhyoical

Ierm. He did oo by eayinqthal cyberopaceie: " A conseneualhal-

intrenoityof their pooNureshow

lucination experienced daily by

raVt,f,heeekidewere.,,.You had

|

/ , billlonsoflegitl,,' mate o?era.-/./ | ',/ tors in every

|

o-o%\ ,frfr

wlr

K(_ NtI c\-nr ,, 1r\*ffi14

:

' -

NhiefeedbacklooV,with Vhotone cominqoff the ocreeninto the kids'eyeg,Nheneuronemovinq

nation.,,a

Ihrouqh lheir bodies,elecNrons

gnphia re?re-^-L^Lt^^s sentation of

movinqthrouqh Lhe comVuter,

data abstracted

Ihe oVacelhese 0arne6Vrojected!'

Andthoee kide clearlybelievedin

from the banke of

everycomputer in

CyberVunkscienceficIion is not,eo muchaboul the fulure ae it, is a way of drawinqa map of whatrie qoinqon t oday-a ?resenl in whichdat a are conf'rolled caVit'aliot'iccorVoby vaot, Nechno raf,ions.buI t'heeehuqedat'a tions of data, Like city lighte reaedlng"(N51).

banksexiel in a epacewhere'N, telex,t aVe recorder,VCR,laser

f 7

@o if you werea ou?ermodelstrultinq in thigh-hiqho

inf,oa glitzy trhemereetraurant, euch ae the FaehionCafe, or) whileenqaqedin noieyLeledildonice

-

.-1 .a

wilh eomeoneof Nat ional-Enquirer-

diek, camcorder, tel edild o, a ud ioa n i ma I r on ic Va Va ra z z i , nano-roverand t eleVhone are wiredtroqelherlikea eprawling eleclroniceVeciesof coemiccrabqraoe. Andthey can be Vluqqed int o by thoee with Ihe hacker, cybVerVunk ethic of "informaNion for Lhe VeoVle." Audioonimqtronic E reteditdo? pqpqrozzi? Nqno-rover?Whqt qre those? Teledildoniasinvolveea kindof comVuter eex in whicha joy- et ick-dildo can be animated by a uoer on a digT,anf, comVuter. Audioanimatronia ?a?arazziare eound-acbivatredrobotic paparazzi whichena?your photo

fr onl- cover st aIuo-o omeone such ao a dieLant,Maft]an. A nano-roverie an imVoeeibly small robolic lhaN eende back pixel imaqeetrom lhe eufraceof Mare. And eo you can 6eethe Voeeibilitiee: Nhedata trom teledildo, Mafi,ian,nano-roverand audioanimaf,ronic ?a?arazzi- all interactinq in one huqecoemicelecLronicevenT,.

(tltfta - ' -

'9,:-$

:.1

2L ;ri './4

fiction @ aro.rpunkscience seemsto provide o more occurote mop of the contoursof thesePostmoderntimes thon doesBoudrillord'stheory. ThaN'eright, ln fact', many

zineehave CyberVunk becomemainglream. MONDO 2000, a

think that, Saudrillardis really

qlooeycyber-qlam 'BOo crezine,latre

doinqeciencefict'ion,and trhatr

alion of R.U. ?ir-

muchof cyberpunkeciencefict'ion

iue and Queen Mu "domined-

ie reallyVretIy qood Iheory. AfLer onlydeecribeea all, Oaudrillard

itrixl'ie ToeImoderneociet'ylhat Vaeoive- etruffed ly ourrendersNof,hesensual,

obecenefrowof hyVerrealilyand

wilh raV on gmarA

ecience druqo,cybereimulacra.7uI cyberVunk fiction not only deecribesa world fashion(cyberpunke ofbenwear mirrorof simulacrabut aleo showeiI to be a world dominated by vasf' me7a-corVoratione,and euqgeetre

ohadeo),cyber-qoeoip,ef,c. lvlond o'e Vopularit'y wae

ecliVeed,in 1993, by Wired,a eile a form of resistancelo Nheconexer- for cyberVunk aulhors euch as trol these huqecor?orat'iong WilliamGibeon.Wiredwenf'online cige over uo, like1aucyberVunk, However, drillard,hae nowceasedt'o be avanNqardeand ie now merelYhiV,

in 1994 as HotWired.

lTe[iloltlireil www.wirBil.G0|l|

e r n c i v i l i z a l i oinn t e r m i n a ld e c l i n e

SeeideeLhese?o?ularmaga-

hookeup wiLhrebellioue ultrimalely

zinee,f,oneof cyberpunk eci-fihae

beenVumpedouT^1uT,il all eounde and lou qh-lalking (youlhI aftifrcial culto) who offer pelly muchNheeame.Ae Ceicoery- inlelligencelrock Ronayaeke: "Howmanyformulaict ales

nol of (communithe alt ernaLive,

can one wadeNhrouqhin whicha eelf-deetruclive bul eeneilive

tranecendentalvieion),buLof eu-

t y I ooc ia l i e mI t r ad i t io na l va l ue eI qoinq ?reme,lifeaffirminghippneee, wilh lhe flow whichnowflowein

younqVrolaqonieL with an (imVlanf,/ Vr oeIheeie/ Lelecht ronic t al ent) trhaI makeeLhe evil(mega-

the machine, aqainet,the epecf,er

neI police el at eeI corVoraT,io

of a world-eubverLinq (arLifi cial inf,elliqenceI mulbina -

c r i m i n aul n d e r w o r l d ep)u r e u eh i m

tional corVorate web/ evil

Lhrouqh(waetredurban|andecaVeel qeniue)?" elite luxuryenclavee| eccentric

(7Re1O4)

q

e?aceef,alions)full of groheeque (haircuLe/ cloth esI eelf- mulila t ioneI rock mueicI eexual

t I

h o b b i e/ ed e e i q n edr r u q o/

f

f,elechf,ronic qa d qeto/ na oty newweaponeI ex\eriorized hallu ci naIi one) re?reeentin g Ihe (moree/faehione) of mod-

.,t\j

f.,.,,

/

'1t{l \t

just E well,cyberpunk soundslike o bunch of boys with high-tech power fqntosies.How ore theseony different from Rombo?And whot does cyberpunk hove to soy obout the problemsof crime, drug oddiction, sex qddiction, obout women, obout ecology? I

reVlaceo [if Wharever

t h a n I h e o r i q i n a lT. h u es h e i s deliberately Irivial, shallow,formulaic. And not,only in her videoe. the realizeethat "real" lite ie juol show biz aleo.Thueehe collecf,s her VaycheckbuNneverreallyqoee t o work.Whenshe dresoeeu? ao MarilynMonroeshe does so wilh the knowledqe IhaI MarilynMonroe, hereelf,waejuet a VuT,-on, a juot consbruction,a simulacrum, likedreeeinquV in draq or voqueinq,Thuoher dreseinqu? ae Mari'

cyberpunkwill havef,o be

lyn Monroeis doublecodedin Nhe

more eart,h-cenf,ered and

oame 6enoethat Dlade Kunner

more woman-cenf,ered,

and Tosf,modern architecbureare doublecoded. Some of her crilice, VeoVlelike

Whot'sso Postmodern obout Modonno?

Tlanned?ar' f eminiets, Neachers, enthood,Veteransof ForeiqnWars, ehc.reqardMadonnaae juot a

Well,tor one thinq, she ie

cheese'

all surtace, quitreconeciouely

cakeywhore

all all Vut-on,all dreoe-uV,

dreeeedup

all simulalion,all make-over,

in Nraehyjunk jewelry,with

the knowebhat eimulacrum.

a hrNherebellybulf,on

we livein an aqe of hyVe,of

and a fondle-myhyVer-reality.the knowstrhat' bra, boy-toy simulationand a??earance attitrude. meanmorelhan subsf,ance

and reality.the knowsthat and fhe apVropriaf,ion replicationof lhe oriqinalare morereal

oexualdifference,For Madonnaingtrance, it, io oloqisfs,on Nhe ou??o6edly a of,herhand, ref e m i n i nqea m a qard Madonnaao noNa maoculine deconelruclinq eooenq a m e , t ow e a ra lialisl notionsof malel blacklace bra, with a female,hiqharr,lVoVafi,, little bit of etraV ohowblackl whiNe,virqin/ whore, inqaI f,heehoulder. Dut, fucker/fuckee, et c, in Vadonna';videoemen I essenlEl Deconstructing havebreaste and wear tialist notion of whcrt? bra6,imVlying NhalXhey genderrole6, havebreaotrenvy(inotead E Traditrional of the womenhavinqVenieideaoof whal it Nakesto be 6nqy),wornenhavehard-ons, maoculine or feminine, are virginsare whoree, and eluNe keVIin Vlaceby fixedpolariare virqino, triee-binaryo??osites of 9ome

-

.: ).4i-, -2_

TIITII

IITIII "DieVlacemenl, ie at,lhe core

videoJuetify My Lovehae become of f,hevideo'olraneqressionwhere a k i n do f g a y a n t h e m .I I b l u r eL h e bodieeintereect in the infamoue

differencebelweeneexualorienta-

bedroomecene.Vultiplebodiee

lione, belweenqenderand sex,

ehiff poeitionein a eerieeof diewhilecameramoveplacemenf,s,

Vortrayinqan erotic flow of fractured imaqeoLhal refueeto play

menLeimulaleethe ffuidilyof

eitherthe leebianor Nhehelero'

erolic activity as iI ranqeeover

eexualqame,eiLherthe eLraighf

bodiee,undieNurbed by subetitu'

qameor the qay qame,eilher

f,ione.CoreidenliLieaaurcender

t h e b l a c kq a r n eo r t h e w h i l eg a m e ,

Io lhe aeeumVf,ion of erof,icrolee

e i t h e rt h e m a l eq a m eo r L h ef e '

in a oplif,tinqbetweendark and

maleqame,buN,wibha litIle imaq'

liqht,maleand female,gay and

e inabionand crose-dreesinq,play

eLraiqhr- differencee multiVlied ibo-g). and compounded" 1u?F 3y deconef,rucNing the riqid

lhe hybrid,mulanl, hyperreal,

belweenmaeculine boundariee

heferosexual-leebi an 6ame,t he mulaf,to maleI esbia n qa me,the

a n d f e m i n i n em, a n a n d w o m a n ,

half-breed-temale-gay- man qame.

qay and etrrai7hl,Madonna' e 140

Iesbian-heleroe exual qame, I,he

Butif Modonno's videosdecontruct gender,sexuolity ond roce,don't thesevideos-ond the wholeModonno phenomenon-hove something to do with power?

E Yee,Or with?ower fant aoiee,Naf,ually, the ?owerleselike?ower. And a largepafi of \Aadonna'e ?ower derivesfrom herabiliby Lo Vroduce imaqesof rebellinq aqainstestablished?owere.buL, often the only?ower Madonna fane haveie Nobuyher Vroducf,e: t o increasethe wealth of the mulLinatrional enlerLainmenl cor?oraLioneNhathaveIhem hypnoNized.

>-

((i

somef,hinglike maeke, o?eninqa letler, elc. All of trheeeimaqee concealinq"Cindy'o"

Untitled Film ?tills

I l9l Hypnotizedthem? T fl Yeo.Theflow of mediaimaqeohyVno'

face (whichie nol so

eeem otrranqelyfamil-

familiar lo ue) but,

iar. buf, this io only

remindinqu6 of eome- becaueeIhey were ineVired,in Varb, Ihinq familiar (yeL,

lizee and conditione

we cannol someT,hinq

by clich1efrom old

quile qraeV).

Dri7iINeDardot and )oVhia Lorenmovies.

ue.The hyVerreality

Whenyou oee one

of Vadonnaimaqee

of her Vholoe,you think you recognizea

becomeemore real NhanNheMadonna wanna-beswho imi-

characler or ecene from an old movieyou

t ale her.And Ihis

have6een,Dul, in

Vhenomenon-of lhe imaqebeing

fact,Ihe phot'osdo

more realthan t'he

opecificaceneoin any

human-is drama-

notrreVroduceany

movieebu| pullup in lized W VhotograVher What'we oee,t'hen, our mind'e eye t'he Cindytherman in a ie noI Cindytherman, kinds of vieualalich4e eeriesof Vhof'oqraVhe and roleo womenhave butran imaqeof a laken bet'ween1977 glarlef', a Vlayedin old moviee Vaooed-ouf' and 19BO ent'it'led we havegeen. hitch-hiker, a woman Untitled Film ?tille, The imaqeaare act'uallyall of Cindytherman,the phot'ograVher, hereelf,bu| we do nol, eee Cindytherman.Whal we eeeare imaqeothal a??ear in our mind'oeye. Theeeimaqeoact' 142

Thus,our momenf, io only of recoqnif,ion a n i l l u e i o nT.h o u q h Iheee imageeoeem lo refer No eomething oNherthan them' selveo,Iheyare all oufiace,all deVthlessness.

@

lhal whirl by wirh

Another Tootmod- such velocitythat ern arLifact ie MTV f,hey have been

ET El whyMrv?

etriVVedof all mean-

becauseit, is like a

of t ot al saturation

t ornadoof imagee

ae lhe meaninqlees

inq-refercinq only T ,lelevision,in tro olher imaqeefl Wall general,ie considered Nheaudiencehavinq t o be TosT,modern reachedthe point,

imaqeeqlowand fricker,makinqthe viewerinlo a kind of mindecreen.

barbiedollein compromieinq poeiT,ione, dreeeingthem up in boy'o

Butsomeof the imoges dO mokesense.Mostof the sit-comsond soopshove stories-qrrotives.

clothinq,or,ae lhe barbieLiberatrionOrqanization did, ewitchin7 the voice-boxee of barbiedolls wilh thoee of G.l.Joe.

E whqtmokes

AndNhaf,'ewhy

\.

is consideredto

[i

o novel or o film

ti !

be eepeoially Toslmodern. ---r/a gecaueefor \:

I

Postmodern?

naalaaJ^--2

E Modernist novelgconcern

moel of IV,

trhemeelves with the limiteof individ-

narrative-hae been the norm. Ouf,Mry ie not basedon etories but,

ual congciousness\- howthe individual knowsNheworld.ln

"4

on disconneated

novelesuch as

flowe of images.Then

James Joyce'ePor-

there ie subvertleing,a

tmit of the Anist ao 5-r'

q c am--.;