i think we are in the age of post modernism which is a really fucking scary place to be. all around me i see simulations taking more precedence over what they are simulating. internet forums, aim/msn chat, talking on the phone and texting are all simulations of personal conversation and interaction, however these simulations are overtaking the interaction that they are simluating. people would rather talk online than talk in real life. the simulations are so prevalent that people mistake simulations for what is real. people often compare their lives to TV shows and movies, which seems like a normal thing for us to do, but what youre really doing is comparing your meaningful existence to a simulation of it. instead of saying "hey this tv show is just like my life!" we say "my life is just like this tv show!". it may seem like a slight change in semantics but its actually a really scary difference if you think about it. virtual reality is becoming reality, and IMAGE is beginning to have more emphasis than MEANING in our society.
in our world presentation often takes precedence over meaning. you can be the most qualified candidate for a job, but if you come into an interview with a stain on your shirt and messy hair or whatever superficial imperfection that doesnt conform with the modern image of "success" then you might as well say goodbye to your job opportunity.
if you write well, using fancy big words, or you write stylishly, or you write in a unique voice, you dont have to really say anything at all in order to gain a fanbase for your work. your argument doesnt even matter, its just the way you present it.
this is true for any art. music has become very superficial, not only in the mainstream but indie music as well. it seems like image and gimmicks and bandnames are more important than the actual music. it seems like anyone with a hot girl in their band is destined for fame. this is why bands fame don't last very long, no matter how good their music is. their image gets stale. new bands that want to STAY hip and current must constantly recreate their image. they most focus most of their creative energy on how to present themselves instead of writing songs.
"irony" is very prevalent in hip music today. this "irony" blurs meaning completely, to the point that you never know whether a song or band is being ironic or being genuine. the ironic "parody" of meaning trumps genuine meaning here. when things are a copy of a copy of a copy of a meme of a meme of a meme of a parody of a parody of a parody, its hard to tell what these things were even referring to originally anymore. its like reading an encyclopedia, in which one entry tells you to refer to another, and that one tells you to refer to another, etc, until you dont even know what entry you started with.
movies and videogames are relying more and more on presentation. the plot of a movie or the gameplay in a videogame seem almost irrelevant now. as long as there are shiny CGI explosions and a realistic physics engine and blood splatter that looks SO REAL!! it can sell millions of dollars. meaning is completely lost to image.
why are we so obsessed as a culture with realism in videogames and movies? why do the special effects that we consider the "best" are the ones that look most real? this is just another instance of post-modernism, or fascination with simulations becoming more real than what they are simulating. i keep talking about this but its just so true i see it every where i look.
videogames and movies are becoming more and more real looking, but more and more far off from actual real life. because while the IMAGE projects realism by looking real, the MEANING (or plot) of the game projects something far different. and since all MEANING in our art is slowly becoming meaningless and irrelevant in our visually-based society, our generations perception of REALITY is becoming skewed and twisted into something that is VIRTUAL REALITY. i fear that soon we wont be able to distinguish between REALITY and VIRTUAL REALITY. i fear that IMAGE will not only become more important than MEANING, but IMAGE WILL BECOME THE ONLY MEANING.
the internet is the craziest innovation man. meaning and substance is being lost is through over-stimulation due to internet. technology has enabled information to fly at us at wild rates. were literally being bombarded with info, like data overload. all this over-stimulation of entertainment and information is pretty much desensitized us and caused our lives to become meaningless. we are extremely desensitized to violence and stuff like that because it is so commonly thrown at us via TV, internet, movies and other technology. art that used to be extremely meaningful now has about 50000000 copies of it spread around the internet which completely degrades its meaning. i feel like all this over-stimulation has made us completely numb and passive. weve became so used to being constantly entertained we dont know how to live any other way. were addicted to information/entertainment/technology/VISUAL STIMULATION
even though the innovation of the internet causes loss of meaning, desensitization, addiction to entertainment/technology and passivity within our society, i obviously embrace technology or i wouldnt be posting right now. im living in a society where its the norm to be an internet addict. its ironic because we have all this information at our fingertips but we are still so passive. youd think that learning about all these horrible instances of violence and injustice would make us want to do something productive, act nobly against atrocities etc. but the overwhelming wealth of knowledge we are exposed to has the absolute opposite effect. the data surplus is like a tidal wave that drowns out our emotions, numbs our senses and makes us passive as fuck
i fear for ours...and its almost like we are worse than the ancient romans. because while the romans were ignorant and for the most part did not have the education and knowledge of what was going on right under their eyes, we have all the knoweledge in the world at the click of a button. we arent ignorant unless we choose to be. and even if we choose not be ignorant, even our most knowledgeable are very passive. see, i could philosophize about the destruction of our society due to technology due to all the info ive subsumed, but posting on the internet isnt going to do anything. i know this. i choose to be passive because thats all i know how to be.
I find it kind of sad that, I believe, we are the LAST few generations of this sort of "in between" existence where we try to bridge the gap between primordial organic creatures and a truly advanced, immortal, space faring, god-like species, that I'm sure already exist throughout the universe where species were lucky enough to escape their proverbial "crib" (birth planet).
I think this awkward "bridge" between the two existences only lasts a few centuries, and I think we are very... lucky? unlucky? To be here RIGHT at the EXACT point of change.
Think about it... Life has been evolving on this planet for billions of years, battling for evolutionary dominance and battling for the privilege of being the first species to escape infancy.
We are that species (on Earth) IF we don't kill ourselves before we escape the planet.
It has been LESS THAN A CENTURY since we have seen advanced technology.
Less than a century window after BILLIONS of years of primitive and primordial life.
Can you believe that shit?
We are incredibly lucky to be witnessing the beginning of this age, but also incredibly unlucky that we are so close to a virtual heaven where the life is forever and the world is whatever the fuck you want it to be (with virtual reality). We likely will die only a few generations before this transition is "complete". Not that we will stop evolving then, but I'm just talking about that specific point where we attain that "immortality" and virtual freedom so to speak.
