Monday, November 1, 2010

The Post-Modern Self

Language is the only way to get through to the self. Without language there would be no understanding of the self. We are the result of many things. The Post-Modern self is a fragmented self. The person you think you are is an assembly of so many small montages, pieced together to create a whole. Not only is the self created, it is "rearrang[ed], transform[ed] and correct[ed]" (Bordo 1099). With all the technology available to us today, god as the creator has been replaced by surgeons. This rhetoric of choice and technology has allowed people (mostly women) to constantly find a reason to be dissatisfied with their bodies. This dissatisfaction leads to the post-modern plastic discourse. In this discourse, "all sense of history and all ability ( or inclination) to sustain cultural criticism, to make the distinctions and discriminations which would permit such criticism, have disappeared" (Bordo 1104). This means that because the post-modern self is relative, no one passes judgement anymore. There is this "you do what you want and I'll do what I want" attitude in the air. This no longer allows there to be an underlying truth. This causes the post-modern angst created by people walking around with an invisible veil. These people seem respectful towards the actions, comments and opinions of individual others, but under that veil is their true opinions that are bottled up.
"Television is of course, the great teacher here, our prime modeler of plastic pluralism" (Bordo 1104). Instead of judging each other or setting limits for this post-modern self, we find the television to be a better role model. As long as someone on TV says it looks beautiful, or it'll make everything okay, than it is worthy of being mimicked. Technology has taken the role of human to human contact. The post-modern self has a dialogic relationship with the TV rather than with humans. This is a major tragedy!

Bordo, Susan. "'Material Girl': The Effacements of Postmodern Culture."

No comments:

Post a Comment