Zizek!

Slavoj Zizek is an extremely intelligent individual with plenty of thought-provoking ideas to share. The film we watched in class exposed me to his opinions, many of which coincide with those of Marx and Lacan. Zizek's eccentric personality kept me engaged and interested in what he had to say. He made statements that are debatable, such as "the universe is one big void" and "love is evil." One of the topics that he mentioned that really stood out to me though was his take on post-modernism. He claimed that post-modernism is almost like a secret message. An example of this would be a child visiting their grandmother's house on a Sunday. The totalitarian-esque father would force their child to go, saying that it is the right thing to do, even if they do not want to. However, the postmodern approach is a bit different. The postmodern father would say something along the lines of, "your grandmother loves you very much, but it is ultimately up to you if you want to go see her." Zizek states that "this apparent free choice secretly contains an even stronger authority...Not only do you have to visit your grandmother, but you have to like it." He claims that this is more dishonest than the former. I definitely agree with Zizek's take on this scenario. It leads me to think about our idea of freedom. In the United States, we claim to be "free," but are we really? Yes we are free, but that doesn't mean that society's version of what's "right" is not constantly being shoved down our throats to influence our behavior and opinions, sometimes without us even realizing it.

Where Did The Future Go?

It seems like these days, we as a society are always anticipating the future rather than living in the moment. Preparation is always great in theory, but how often do our plans go exactly as we imagined them to go in our heads? Randy Martin's Where Did The Future Go? discusses the idea of risk management. Just by dissecting the title, we can see that Martin is trying to show us how we are all taking the idea of the future and bringing it to the present. One quote that stuck out to me is when Martin says "As a social force, capital not only dispossesses people of old habits of life but also attaches them otherwise." He is explaining how capitalism enables a change in lifestyle based on the certain demands that it is evoking. An example of risk management that I can relate to in particular is college itself. I am going to school to learn and to hopefully secure a job in the future. The irony is that I am taking out student loans while going through school in order to obtain a job that will hopefully pay well enough to help me pay off those student loans. Risk management is a controlling ideology of late capitalism.
In class, we also looked at scenes from the film Minority Report.  The characters in his movie see a crime before it happens and take preventative measures to stop it from occurring. This is another great example of risk management.
In relation to risk management is this idea of a "false reality." Mainstreet USA in Disneyland is the epitome of a wholesome and perfect way of living. This illustrates how easy it is for us to look back with such an idealized view of the past, when in fact, it is really just a false reality of the past that never was. It always easy to look back and think that things were better than they are now, which is why it is vital to consciously remember to take a breath and just be in the moment.

Cultural Space and Urban Place

This week in class, we watched the classic film Rebel Without A Cause.  In relation to the topics we've discussed in class, this film takes place during a time that is sort of in between the movement from old world order to new world disorder. The war had just ended, which partly contributes to the teenagers being enabled to live this “rebellious” lifestyle. This film also emphasizes on the importance of a father figure, or lack thereof. All of the teens can empathize with each other through the shared feelings of having parents who just “don’t get it,” whether its Plato dealing with the fact that his father abandoned his family, Jim feeling anger towards his father for not standing up to his mother, or Judy who feels like her father does not love her. I think this film also does a good job of emphasizing how highly these teenagers value the idea of “fitting in.” Jim feels that if he doesn’t fight Buzz, everyone will make fun of him and he will be seen as weak. We can relate this to teens today. It is so easy to follow the crowd and do something we may not necessarily believe in just because everyone else is doing it. There is a fear of not being accepted and being an outcast. In my opinion, the title Rebel Without a Cause can be related to the Post-modern idea of the ever-evolving self. The teens are rebels, but it is not clear what their exact cause for rebellion is because it can frequently be changing.

 

 

 

What is being Sold to Us?

In today's popular culture and mass media, there is always something being sold to us, whether it's an actual product or a specific idea. Hard Day's Night was made in 1964, and allows viewers to take a peek into the "everyday lives" of The Beatles. The most prominent idea being sold to us in this film is this idea of "cool."  The film is trying to show that The Beatles are "real" people and that they won't follow certain fads just because someone says they should. The film is encouraging a sense of rebellion and individualism by standing up to society's idea of "cool", but ironically, it is simultaneously selling us the idea of "anti-cool." Anti-cool is the new cool because The Beatles are doing it.

In class we also looked at the film The Doors, made in 1991. Jim Morrison is seen as very poetic. In once scene he quotes, " When the doors of perception are cleansed, things will appear as they really are." Drugs are heavily referenced in this movie, and maybe for Morrison that was his way of "cleansing the doors of perception." But what exactly has made these so-called doors unclean? I believe that Morrison is referring to society's ideals and morals about how to act and how to live. Morrison was passionate and indulging in a care-free, hippie lifestyle.  The film portrays how this way of living ultimately led to  Morrison's downfall, which one can argue is the film's way of sending a warning. Yes you can go against the current, but are the consequences worth the risk?