2008-04-19 - 8:25 p.m.
Wow! Wow, wow, double-wow! Quadruple-wow! In fact, infinity-wow!
I just read a book for school called The Condition of Postmodernity and it’s brought me a whole new understanding. Of my thesis, of my other courses, of where I grew up, of cities generally, of my family, of my first memory, of why I liked Brown so much more than Harvard, of my book, of our condo, of a movie I just saw, of the current presidential election, of the nature of politics generally, of war, of comedy, of music, of art, of everything. I’m giving a final presentation on it for class and I think I’ll work out what I’m going to say here.
The book examines the transition from from modernity to postmodernity .I’m completely obsessed by this shift. Just last night I saw a DVD of the film No Country for Old Men. set in 1980 early on in this transition. At the end there’s a scene between the county sheriff, Bell, played by Tommy Lee Jones and his cousin Ellis, who used to be a deputy and now uses a wheelchair because he was shot by a criminal. Tommy says he’s retiring since he doesn’t really understand the world anymore, given the brutal killer he just dealt with. I think I’ll use part of the ensuing dialogue in my presentation:
Ellis: ...What you got ain't nothin’ new. This country is hard on people. Hard and crazy. Got the devil in it yet folks never seem to hold it to account.
Bell: Most don’t.
Ellis: You’re discouraged.
Bell: I’m... discouraged.
Ellis: You can’t stop what’s comin’. Ain’t all waitin’ on you.
The two men look at each other. Ellis shakes his head.
...That’s vanity.
“Modernity” and “postmodernity” may seem like big concepts to grasp, but they’re really quite simple. I think the terminology of “modern/postmodern” may come off as overly academic. This is a shame because everyone should understand it. I think “modernity/postmodernity” is actually much like the social model of disability. The social model is not more widely known in part because it’s often couched in language that seems over people’s heads. But this idea can be boiled down to a far more comprehensible statement. “Wait, it’s not me!” is much easier to grab onto. In the other half of this – “it’s not me, it’s you!” – the “you” refers to placemakers who created a built world (as was done in the Modernist era) with no thought of people’s differing needs.
I’ll suggest that the words “Modern/Postmodern” can be replaced with “Then/Now”. This can be applied to almost anything. I’ll talk about a lot of these in future entries, starting with those pertinent to my current classes.
Wow, again.
© 2008 Geoff Gladstone
If you’ve ever enjoyed my writing, please donate to the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis and/or the Montel Williams MS Foundation.
Sign My Guestbook!
powered by SignMyGuestbook.com
