“The issue therefore is no longer the “crisis of modernity,” the progressive degradation of common ideals, the proto-foundation of History’s meaning benefiting narratives which are more or less linked to the autonomous development of an individual, but rather a crisis of the narrative itself. That is, the crisis of an official discourse or mode of representation bound until now to the universally recognized capacity to assert, describe and inscribe reality.” –Paul Virilio
Virilio speaks of a crisis of non-narrative, and that there is no overriding language of representation that will speak to, in a sense, the masses. However, Virilio also speaks of the monotony of urban development today, which for me indicates that there is most certainly an overriding discourse, which is evident in how we construct our cities. Aren’t suburbs, mass communication systems, and transportation networks indications that there is a universal understanding of how to conduct oneself in the environment, and that there are representational norms that describe reality? Certainly the communication networks are seemingly infinite and in a constant state of renewal, but the rules don’t seem to change, one is simply an extension of the other. Perhaps the crisis of narrative is not that there is no narrative, but rather that it is constantly being updated. The competitive and non-committal nature of our economic culture implies that something can always be manipulated, whether it is a computer program, or a neighborhood. However, those slight improvements can cause fundamental shifts in the nature of the “game”, whereby the users need to shift at the same pace in order to maintain a sense of equal negotiation with the narrative. Are we suffering from a loss of narrative or are we just not educating ourselves of the new way in which to recognize the narrative?
5 comments:
I think the crisis that Virilio speaks of in terms of the narrative-crisis is not necessarily the loss of narrative. I agree with Virilio’s statement that there is a “crisis of an official discourse or mode of representation.” But I think that only communication methods in complete isolation could ever exist as an official discourse or mode of representation not in crisis. I think the condition that Larraine has described above (“communication networks are seemingly infinite and in a constant state of renewal”) has existed since the beginning of human communication between different cultures, tribes, communities etc. Relating back to the coding and decoding reading, within communication there are constant discrepancies because of the multitude of interpretations possible. I think that the occurrences of these misinterpretations are increased when an outsider comes into a normal or isolated communication between people who have shared encoding decoding habits. Due to the recent explosion of global communication I think that our official discourses are in a constant state of misinterpretation and consequently are constantly restated in order to clarify the intended message.
Virilio mentions that airport development as an essential “regulation of exchange and communication” is the reason the airport “became the perfect field for intense control and high surveillance experimentation.” The aspects of communication and surveillance are interesting when considering the traveler-airport authority relationship. The communicated information to the traveler is very strict and rarely open for questioning beyond what information is already given. For example if your plane is delayed often you will be provided with the reason that there were weather complications. Most often if one asks for further information on the issue they will be told that “they are not privy to that information”, or another excuse, which basically shuts down any further questioning. On the other hand, the traveler is expected to divulge as much information as needed by the airport authority to allow them within designated areas and on a plane. Information can be as personal as the authorities rooting through ones personal belongings. This information gathering is given the title of surveillance. They expect compliance with all of these intrusive and grilling exercised because they are justified as methods of surveillance. What I wonder is when or how did they acquire such justification? Were there a number of terrorist events that instigated these preventative measures at the individual airports? Does a terrorist attack on an Egyptian airport grant higher security at a Canadian airport? What role does propaganda play in prepping the traveler’s mindset to allow these intense inspections?
Lag in time and technology has a large implication on the way we communicate with one another. Or shall I say not communicate with one another. Technology and communicating has always been a problem apparent throughout various generations and age groups. But, now more than ever because there is such a large array of programs out there that allows you to manipulate different mediums of technology in order to communicate. The mediums are so specific to certain users that an outsider has an extremely hard time just trying to relate. There are multiply conversations talking place on so many trajectories and we still have not figured out how to communicate just by talking face to face with one another. Parallel to this thought is that maybe we will come up with a better way in which to communicate with one another as a collective through trial and error of technological communication.
Maybe one day we will become in sync with technology? It is not an extension of our self or is it the other way around. Just think about how much technology you use in order to communicate with different parts of your body, now attach all though devices and such to your body…. and well what is the result? Are you fully human or has your/our body become morphed into something else. To take it one step further what has our minds become? Are they purely humanistic? Are we now possibly just a modem that receives information and can no longer communicate it on a human level? Is that maybe why we have communication problems? Does the time lag occur in that moment instead?
Judith - good question in your the airport comment. For a moment I was going to argue something like globalization leading to greater ease of transport between countries and the weakening of political boundaries makes it increasingly possible (though not plausible) that an attack on Canada may occur. THEN I realized, damn, that's borderline racist! I was trying to come up with an argument for increased security in Canada, and that's how I thought someone might elaborate on the "it happened 'there', it could happen 'here'" philosophy. How ridiculous it seems!! Are there sources of contention between Canada and other countries (or militia groups within countries) of which I'm not aware? Are people scared because of our proximity and trade relations with the U.S.? What IS the answer to your question??
Virilio's article often refers back to the increased use of transparent materials and a focus on interiority (spaces for technology) rather than relation to the outside environment. I'm not convinced that these elements indicate a crisis in urban architecture! Even ancient homes creat space for non-human objects (storage shelves and closets, space for tables, space for appliances, etc). I think that it is a fascinating challenge, coming up with a new architectural language that incorporates new (seemingly) permanent, yet ever-'improving', technological fixtures.
Regarding transparency, I don't think architecture loses its sense of space when formerly solid elements are replaced by 'invisible' ones. In what way is glass not a tectonic device?? True, it lends to a blurring of inside and outside, private and public, but is there harm in this? Virilio seems to lean on 'traditional' (to him) architectural tectonics; perhaps what we are shaping now is the 'new' tradition, and further in the future, this tradition will again shift.
Post a Comment