So we watched American Psycho in class today. And we also talked about Postmodernism/Poststructuralism with a pinch of Capitalism. For those of you who aren't philosophers (like me) would have given a blank stare at how these two coincide. Well, let me tell you how. Postmodernism is the idea that nothing is real, or genuine; everything is an imitation of something that's already been done. Andy Warhol portrayed that beautifully with his Campbell's Soup painting. Warhol didn't come up with the company's logo or design; he copied it. He didn't take credit for the creation of the actual image because that would be copyrighting and that's not allowed. BUT, there's another side to postmodernism as well. Warhol's painting not really the Campbell's Soup logo. Why? Because it's not the actual thing itself. His painting is a copy, an imitation, of the actual can for Campbell's Soup. Now take this idea and put it with American Psycho.
"There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity; something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there." This is probably the best example of postmodernism, and capitalism, there is. Postmodernism because the character clearly states that he is not real. Yes, he is flesh and bone therefore he is real but his identity is not. His identity, his character, is purely made up, something he has put together. It is constructed by the things he buys. Here is where capitalism fits in. You are what you buy. Bateman exemplifies everything that he purchases thus giving us a capitalistic view. Capitalism is a purely consumer based economy. Because Bateman is a copy, an imitation, of who Patrick Bateman is, or thought to be by his peers, he is a postmodern being; he is not genuine. Because he has created a persona for himself through his consumerism, he is a capitalist.
Word Count: 346
Works Cited:
LionsGates Films. "American Psycho -2. "Morning Routine". Christian Bale. 9 May 2009. YouTube. 19 April 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46-WNPlCYsg
postmodernism is idiotic if that is what it means. If everything is a copy of a copy what is the original?
ReplyDeleteAlso if you doubt physical world is real stop eating and see how far that gets you.
Poor logic.
DeleteIf you doubt that the video game world is real, run your character into a monster and see how far that gets you.
Just because you "die" when you stop eating, doesn't make anything more or less real. You have no idea what happens to you when you die. You might wake up and realize the "real" you was just playing an immersive sim the whole time. Or you might fade into the void of nothingness.
The more you think, the more you realize how unoriginal your ideas are. They are based on some pre-programmed ideas, plus inputs from your parents and friends growing up. You start to realize the things that make you uniquely "you" are actually suprisingly common. Those deeply held beliefs that you are _just positive_ are true, end up being eerily similar to what people around you believed growing up. Your religion, your beliefs about democracy vs communism, your notions of freedom vs societal duty, all have a lot more to do with geography than philosophy.
All that said, it's probably safer for your mind just to believe all of postmodernism is "idiotic" and write it off. Knowledge is a very dangerous thing.