#34 Freud; The Uncanny | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

penguins-united · 1 year

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Books read in 2022!!

rereads are italicized, favorites are bolded

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

2. Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

3. Saints by Gene Luen Yang

4. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

5. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

6. Immortal Poems of the English Language by Oscar Williams

7. Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway

8. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

9. Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix by JK Rowling

10. The Dead by James Joyce

11. Soldiers Three by Richard Kipling

12. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

13. Richard iii by William Shakespeare

14. Balcony of Fog by Rich Shapiro

15. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

16. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

17. I have no mouth and I must scream by Harlan Ellison

18. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

19. The moment before the gun went off by Nadine Gordimer

20. The importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde

21. A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway

22. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

23. Rules for a knight by Ethan Hawke

24. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling

25. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

26. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

27. Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Major Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins

28. Highly Irregular by Arika Okrent

29. The Green Mile by Stephen King

30. The Swan Riders by Erin Bow

31. The King’s English by Henry Watson Fowler

32. The Truelove by Patrick O’Brian

33. The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

34. The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O’Brian

35. The Commodore by Patrick O’Brian

36. An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

37. Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill

38. The Disaster Area by JG Ballard

39. The Tacit Dimension by Michael Polanyi

40. Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan

41. The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

42. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

43. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

44. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

45. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

46. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

47. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

48. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

49. Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

50. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

51. Confessions of St. Augustine by St. Augustine of Hippo

52. Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett

53. The Yellow Admiral by Patrick O’Brian

54. Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre

55. The Russian Assassin by Jack Arbor

56. The ones who walk away from Omelas by Ursula K LeGuin

57. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

58. The Iliad by Homer

59. The Treadstone Transgression by Joshua Hood

60. The Hundred Days by Patrick O’Brian

61. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead by Tom Stoppard

62. The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

63. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

64. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Pearl, and Sir Orfeo (unknown)

65. Persuasion by Jane Austen

66. The Outsiders by SE Hinton

67. Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

68. The Odyssey by Homer

69. Dead Cert by Dick Francis

70. The Oresteia by Aeschylus

71. The Network Effect by Martha Wells

72. All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays by George Orwell

73. This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar

74. The Epic of Gilgamesh (unknown author)

75. The Republic by Plato

76. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

77. On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche

78. Ere the Cock Crows by Jens Bjornboe

79. Mid-Bloom by Katie Budris

80. Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O’Brian

81. 21 by Patrick O’Brian

82. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

83. Battle Cry by Leon Uris

84. Devils by Fyodor Dostoevsky

85. The Uncanny by Sigmund Freud

86. The Door in the Wall by HG Wells

87. Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You My Lad by MR James

88. The Birds and Don’t Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier

89. The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher

90. Blackout by Simon Scarrow

91. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

92. No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre

93. The Open Society and its Enemies volume one by Karl Popper

94. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

95. The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir

96. The Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease

97. The things they carried by Tim O’Brien

98. A very very very dark matter by Martin McDonagh

99. The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich A Hayek

100. The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh

101. A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh

102. The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh

103. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

104. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

105. The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth

106. Things have gotten worse since we last spoke and other misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

107. Each thing I show you is a piece of my death by Gemma Files

108. Different Seasons by Stephen King

109. Dracula by Bram Stoker

110. Inker and Crown by Megan O’Russell

111. Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis

112. Killers by Patrick Hodges

113. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

114. The Rise and Reign of Mammals by Stephen Brusatte

115. Any Means Necessary by Jack Mars

116. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche

117. In A Glass Darkly by J Sheridan le Fanu

118. Collected Poems by Edward Thomas

119. The Longer Poems by TS Eliot

120. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

121. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

122. The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche

123. Choice of George Herbert’s verse by George Herbert

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denisearef · 2 months

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X-files

Uncanny

"Uncanny," according to Freud, denotes phenomena that are strangely familiar yet unsettling or eerie. It encapsulates experiences or objects that evoke discomfort due to their resemblance to the known, coupled with an added sense of strangeness or unfamiliarity. Freud explores this concept in "The Uncanny," where he discusses how it often arises from repressed thoughts resurfacing in distorted forms, creating cognitive dissonance. This term highlights the peculiar sensation when the known and unknown intersect, prompting a profound sense of unease or disquietude. Thus, the uncanny embodies a complex interplay between recognition and strangeness, stirring profound psychological reactions.

Analysis

(Longstreet, 1993, 21:50)

During this scene, Eugene Victor Tooms, the alien/mutant serial killer, demonstrates his ability to contort his body and squeeze through narrow spaces. This sequence evokes a sense of unease and discomfort precisely because it taps into Freud's concept of the "uncanny." As Freud himself noted, "the ‘uncanny’ is that class of the terrifying which leads back to something long known to us, once very familiar" (1). We recognize Tooms' form as human, yet his actions defy our understanding of human limitations. This uncanny juxtaposition – the familiar transformed into the disturbingly unfamiliar – creates a potent sense of viewer disorientation and revulsion. Tooms' eerie and unsettling behavior, combined with his unnatural physical abilities, throws our sense of normalcy into question. We are confronted with the unsettling realization that the human form, something inherently familiar, can harbor monstrous capabilities. This blurring of boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary exemplifies the essence of the "uncanny."

Heimlich

Heimlich,' according to Freud, encompasses the German term for 'homely' or 'belonging to the house.' It denotes a sense of comfort, security, and familiarity associated with the home or domesticity (2). Freud explored the concept of 'heimlich' in contrast to 'uncanny,' emphasizing its connotations of warmth, safety, and intimacy. While 'uncanny' evokes feelings of eeriness and discomfort arising from the unfamiliar, 'heimlich' represents the opposite: a reassuring and soothing sense of the known and familiar. Freud's analysis underscores the psychological significance of these contrasting experiences in shaping perceptions of comfort and security within the human psyche.

Analysis

(Longstreet, 1993, 15:10-18:40)

\While Mulder suspects Tooms to be the mutant serial killer responsible for the murders, the other agents dismiss his claims, viewing Tooms as just another suspect undergoing routine questioning. To them, Tooms' appearance and demeanor seem innocuous, reinforcing their belief in his innocence. This physical portrayal of Tooms creates a sense of familiarity and normalcy, masking the underlying danger he poses. Thus, the scene effectively utilizes Tooms' human appearance to create the false sense of security and familiarity that Freud defines as 'Heimlich'.

Unheimlich

"Unheimlich," according to Freud, signifies the opposite of "heimlich," embodying the eerie, unsettling, or uncanny. He argues that, "In general we are reminded that the word heimlich is not unambiguous, but belongs to two sets of ideas, which without being contradictory are yet very different: on the one hand, it means that which is familiar and congenial, and on the other, that which is concealed and kept out of sight" (3). It encompasses experiences or objects that provoke discomfort due to their unfamiliarity, yet may hold underlying familiarity. This term encapsulates the unsettling feeling when the known becomes unfamiliar or when the familiar reveals its hidden, unsettling aspects. "Unheimlich" thus represents a complex interplay between recognition and strangeness, evoking profound psychological reactions of unease or disquietude.

Analysis

(Longstreet, 1993, 28:00-34:23)

In "Squeeze," Mulder and Scully's exploration of Eugene Tooms' apartment exemplifies the "unheimlich" as described by Freud. While the initial impression might be of a regular apartment – the lived-in quality, familiar furniture – a subtle sense of unease immediately filled both Mulder and Scully, like the retired agent they talked to mentioned happened to him 30 years prior. As soon as Mulder and Scully entered Toom's apartment, they are immediately struck by a sense of unease and eeriness, a feeling that is amplified by the unsettling discoveries they make within. The bile-filled jars, trophies from Tooms' victims, and the overall atmosphere of the apartment create a palpable sense of discomfort.

Unconscious

The unconscious, according to Freud, refers to a vast reservoir of thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories that exist outside of conscious awareness but influence behavior, emotions, and perceptions. It forms a crucial part of Freud's psychoanalytic theory, representing the deepest layers of the human mind where repressed or socially unacceptable urges and conflicts reside. Freud argued that unconscious processes shape conscious experience, often manifesting through dreams, slips of the tongue, and other forms of "parapraxes." Understanding and exploring the unconscious is central to psychoanalysis, as it provides insights into the underlying causes of psychological distress and contributes to the process of self-discovery and healing.

Analysis

(Longstreet, 1993, 15:10-18:40)

While Tooms initially appears calm and composed, the lie detector exposes cracks in his facade when confronted with unexpected questions. As the agent probes deeper, asking about Tooms' age, Tooms' subconscious fears and anxieties manifest, betraying him and prompting him to be unable to mask his lie. As Freud states, "Repressed desire continues to exist in the unconscious; it is on watch constantly for an opportunity to make itself known, and it soon comes back into consciousness" (4). This scene illustrates Freud's notion of the unconscious influencing conscious behavior, as Tooms' subconscious fears inadvertently undermine his attempts to deceive Mulder and Scully.

Mirror stage

The "mirror stage" refers to a crucial developmental milestone occurring around 6-18 months of age, where an infant first recognizes its own reflection in a mirror and forms a sense of individual identity. This stage is pivotal as it marks the emergence of the ego, or sense of self, and initiates the process of subject formation. Lacan theorized that during the mirror stage, the infant experiences a sense of unity and coherence by identifying with its mirror image, which appears more complete and idealized than the fragmented body experienced proprioceptively. However, this unity is illusory and sets the stage for a lifelong pursuit of a stable, yet unattainable, self-identity.

Analysis

(Longstreet, 1993, 23:30-24:30)

Agent Scully's internal conflict regarding her professional identity can be seen as a reflection of Lacan's mirror stage. As he explains the mirror stage is the "transformation that takes place in the subject when he assumes an image" (5). Throughout the episode, Scully grapples with having to decide between embracing her role as a "believer" agent alongside Mulder, who investigates paranormal phenomena, or conforming to the expectations of her peers as a "skeptic" agent. As Scully navigates the skepticism and ridicule of her fellow agents, who dismiss Mulder's investigations as delusions, she faces a crisis of self-perception. The disparaging remarks and marginalization she experiences mirror the fragmented and dissonant aspects of Lacan's mirror stage, where the idealized self-image clashes with external perceptions. Scully's struggle to reconcile her desire for professional acceptance mirrors the tension inherent in Lacan's mirror stage. Ultimately, Scully's journey in "Squeeze" reflects the complexities of subjectivity and identity formation, as she navigates the intricate interplay between societal expectations and personal aspirations.

Works cited

(1) Freud, The ‘Uncanny ', 368.

(2) Freud, The ‘Uncanny ', 370.

(3) Freud, The ‘Uncanny ', 375.

(4) Fanon, Freud, Black Skin White Maks, 111.

(5) Lacan, The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I, 76.

#@theuncannyprofessoro #oxyfilmidentity

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roisinspencer · 3 years

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Research Essay on Hauntology & other concepts of memory

Question 10: The concept of hauntology (see online required reading for Week 11) was first coined by Jacques Derrida as a philosophical concept. However, it has been subsequently used to describe a style and genre of music and sound art (including vaporwave) by theorists such as Simon Reynolds and Mark Fisher. First describe the relevance of memory to the notion of hauntology both as a genre of music and as a philosophical concept, and then pick one or more sound works or music pieces that belong within the genre. How does the sound work(s) engage with the notion of memory and what could the work(s) be commenting on?

Hauntology’s inception as a philosophical concept was first conceived in the writings of Jacques Derridawhere he elucidates elements of the past as haunting the present through reconfigurations of dead ideas and figures. Derrida’s Hauntology concurs a logic that surpasses sanctioned logic, where there is a perturbed collusion between “actuality” and “ideality,” or most recently “virtuality.”[1]In Derrida’s denotation of Hauntology, virtuality largely consists of unconscious convulsions of embodied past traumas surfacing to actuality and confuting our understanding of the present. These ruptures of past subconscious repressions can be related to notionsof Freud’sInvoluntary memories which are crypted deep within us and materialise in an unmediated manner. Hauntology in the form of Involuntary memories is prevalent inGrimes’Oblivion, Blank Banshee’sTeenage Pregnancyand the Caretaker’sYou and the Nightas they each employ musicology to reconnoitre differing mnemonic theories. Constructing off Derrida’s definition of Hauntology, Mark Fisher, Simon Reynolds and other theorists have extended its meaning into modernity’s memory market. Fisher in particular ascribes the term to embody the concepts of Lost Futures and Capitalist Realism, interrogating the cyclic nature of our capitalist nostalgia and yearning for what could have been. The musical genre of Vaporwave proselytises this lust for the promises of capitalism in its most illustrious stages during the 80’s and 90’s. Grimes’Oblivion, Blank Banshee’sTeenage Pregnancyand the Caretaker’sYou and the Nighteach employ the characteristics of Vaporwave reconstruct the neo-liberalist vitality that once clad capitalist consumerism, appropriating audio techniques from the 80s/90s to invoke a thirst for past possibilities that never came to fruition.

Canadian born musician Clare Boucher (born March 17, 1988), professionally known by her stage alias Grimes[2], released pop phenomenonOblivionin 2012, alluding to Derrida’s Hauntology through distinctly layered developments and Vaporwave quintessence. Derrida portends Hauntology as a resurfacing of elements of the past which permeate into the present in an alternate, abstruse manner. The title of the song,Oblivion, denotes a state of incognizance where memory of a particular event or person has been effaced. This is conveyed in the introduction of the main riff as interjections of disjointedness via lagging and glitching project and air of inconsistency and disquietude. The song embodies a confused catharsis as the artist reinvokes the acutely traumatic experience of a past sexual assault and reconfigures it “as something really welcoming and nice.”[3]The melody bestows an anxious effervescence through major tonality and upbeat melodic mechanisms, exacerbated by the breathy, high pitched, ethereal vocals. Grimes speaks of this memory sporadically infiltrating her actuality, leaving her “terrified of men for a while.”[4]These reflexive outplays of mnemonic trauma are emblematic of Derrida’s “logic of the ghost”[5]as although the memory is an encapsulation of a past foreboding, it oscillates from virtuality to actuality and invokes physical repercussions out of fear. The bass line incessantly drives the song and is played by a heavily distorted and incredibly low synthesizer, allaying a murky yet omnipresent undercurrent of trauma. The bass line is so astonishingly low it is on the precipice of being inaudible to the human ear, suggesting just how far the depth of memory are and how deeply trauma can be imbedded within. This impetuous occurrence of memory intimates Freud’s theories on Involuntary memory and its convulsive manifestations of trauma which are often “crypted comments” which arise “with no identifiable cues.”[6]By rendering her involuntary memory “as positive”[7]Grimes has employed tenets of Freud’s Screen memory in aims of a “possibility for counter-memories to emerge”[8]in a bid to conceal tormenting truths. This convulsive delirium is evident through perpetual lyrical repetitions, most notably the phrase ‘see you on a dark night”[9](2:26) where the artist directly addresses the present physical space that remits her past trauma. The cyclic nature of this phrase portends the interminable haunting of this memory. In the bridge she accosts the resurrection of her memory by starting to ask it “To look into my eyes and tell me” (1:34) which is then abruptly interrupted by nonsensical interjections of “la la la la la”[10]as though to override and screen out the existing traumatic memory with an innocuous, unburdened one sung in a child-like, high-pitched naivety. Through evocations of the philosophical concept of Hauntology,Oblivionevinces how past trauma intermittently ruptures through to the present and the cyclic nightmare of attempted repressions along with unwanted regressions.

Patrick Driscoll, known professionally as Blank Banshee[11], (born June 28, 1987) is another Canadian artist who efficaciously employs Vaporwave tendencies in his songTeenage Pregnancy(2012)to conjure Hauntological notions of resurfaced trauma. Similarly to Grimes’Oblivion,Teenage Pregnancyalso imbues its digitised cadences with Involuntary memory by employing similar methods of repetition and recrudesce interjections. Although the two pieces share Hauntological notions of Involuntary memory, the artists execute the resolution of these ruptures in processes considered completely disparate from one another. As Grimes aspires to skew the traumatic crux of her past memory and purport it as “positive” via Screen Memory tactics, Blank Banshee aims to exploit the shared trauma of our conscripted nostalgia for origins and its circuitous fissuring into adulthood. Derrida’s writings on Hauntology partially elicit its inspiration from Freud’s theory on mourning where “one internalises or introjects the dead” assimilating them within an eternal idealisation of the “deceased.”[12]However when this mourning is not resolved, according to conventional “psychoanalytic theory, there is no true introjection,” only “an incorporation of the phantom.”[13]This concept of the phantom presents itself inTeenage Pregnancynot only in the title but also as a vocal schism which endeavours to interrogate our nostalgia for origins. The songbegins with a motif consisting of sustained, sporadically placed notes which make no sense out of the context of the future layers of sound. This relates to Derrida’s idea of the past and future being omnipresent in our understanding of present. Along with persistent crescendos and diminuendos, the drumbeat oscillates from one ear to the other destabilising the foundations of the song, allaying an insecurity in the linguistic information soon to occur. Layers of varying digitised motifs build up and establish the repetitious undulations“of traumatic and/or stressful events” that “are often poorly integrated into the life-story and identity of the person and for the same reason tend to intrude repeatedly upon consciousness.”[14]The cacophony of litanydrops out to expose the crux of the trauma, that being the disruption of childhood innocence and accosting of our romanticised mourning of childhood. In his writings about the Uncanny,Nicholas Royle, entails “another thinking of the beginning: the beginning as already haunted.”[15]This is illuminated in the recapitulation of the phrases “I’m just a kid”(1:52) and “It was only a mistake”(2:22) as the tonality of the verbiage starts at a high pitch but glissandos in glitches to a low, disturbingly distorted articulation affronting our mourning for the fictitious public memory of childhood. The timbre of the voice purports the dismay of this disarrayed experience of childhood through a cybernated vibrato, crackling in a manner that mimics the tremolo of vocals on the cusp of crying. As heard inOblivion, Blank Banshee effectively elucidates the spectral persistence of trauma associated with Derrida’s definition of Hauntology, yet strays from projecting a positive manufacturing of memory to mask the said trauma and instead aspires to exploit the negations of childhood nostalgia.

WhilstOblivionandTeenage Pregnancyanalyse humanist, embodied experiences ofHauntology, English artist/producer Leyland James Kirby (Born May 9, 1974), professionally known as The Caretaker, released the trackYou and the Night(1991) which is emblematic of notions of the Uncanny and its reconstruction of space and time from remnants the past. Convictions of the phantom in Derrida’s ideas of hauntology amalgamate with the Uncanny to permeate unease and construe a contorted understanding of time, space and our standing within this misshapen memory. The sentiment of the phantom is evoked as elements of the past present themselves in fragments rather than in their historical totality, evident in the preternatural patina that filters the obfuscated layers of music. The crackle and grainy effect that filter the vexing remnants of music tacit an antiquity, yet this nostalgia prompted for the past is later accosted by its own decay and overlay with elements of the future. “The Uncanny involves feelings of uncertainty,” in particular “what is being experienced”[16]which is explicit in underscoring this Hauntological eclipsing of time. The pieceopens with low, prodigiously distorted instruments playing a minor, perturbed melody of acute, atonal nonsense, manifesting this uncertainty of the Uncanny. The eerie instruments have been slowed down to an acute largo, lending this uncertainty to our understanding of time and its disequilibrium in the extraction of memories. The layers of ominous instruments further destabilises time as each section of the orchestra are playing at augmented 4thintervals. These augmented 4thintervals were historically classed as the devil in music and its use was periodically forbade in sacred songs.[17]As well as underscoring the inconsonance of time in memory, similarly to the Involuntary memories present inOblivionandTeenage Pregnancy, the devil in music is also remnant of the dissonant re-evocations of trauma which Freud concurs “were a manifestation of death instincts.”[18]The high pitch strings confute notions of nostalgia as all though they are recognisable to the listener’s ear yet, their esoteric distortion detaches them from recognition in our memory. The dislocation of time in memory and Uncanny trauma in Hauntology is made audible inYou and the Nightthrough The Caretaker’s utilisation of cryptic chromaticism and deep decay.

Similarly toYou and the Night, Hauntological time is deeply confounded in Grimes’Oblivionthrough predilections of the Vaporwave genre to expound the circuitous capitalist purgatory of the present. Simon Reynolds discusses Vaporwave as “a kind of aural or musical detritus” which adopts “dead media sound production from the 80s and earlier”[19]to concoct a nostalgia for the inception of capitalist fruition and also futures that never came to fruition. Vaporwave can also present itself as “a kind of memory play that is produced through representations of repressed trauma or loss” which can be “expressed through musical form as a process of catharsis.” Grimes herself proclaimed that she “took one of the most shattering experiences of my life and turned it into something I can build a career on”[20]and capitalise off. Gerhardt Richter first coined the term “Capitalist Realism” in 1963, which Mark Fisher later adopted in his writings to presage why “We remain trapped in the 20th century.”[21] Fisher denotes that due to the “reliance of current artists on styles that were established long ago” our “current moment is in the grip of a formal nostalgia.”[22]This formal nostalgia is immediately connoted inOblivionthrough the opening motif allayed by a synth sentimental of “dead media”[23]of the 80s/90s. The motif imbues a sense of nostalgia via its upbeat major melody, playing into the romanticism of the 80s when capitalism harnessed new offerings. The ethereal yet heavily digitised female vocals reverberate with efficaciousness, yet the echo also illuminates an ebb in these capitalist expiations as the words lag past their initial debut. This reminiscence for a time with fresh bearings can be heard in thesporadic piano (1:50) bridge which doesn’t abide by typical methodologies of music, alluding to a time in Capitalism where everything being produced was new and experimental. Although it contrives an air of excitement, the notes echo and envelope itself by its own ghostly refractions and further confound our capitalist nostalgia and sense of time concurrent with it.Old riff comes back into play followed by the other infinite loops, speaking not only to incessant haunting of past coming to present but also the incapacity to cultivate anything new under capitalism. The song ends on an interrupted cadence, sounding unfinished by nature and insinuating that these loops and our wistfulness for the past could continue on for an eternity.

Simon Reynolds discusses Vaporwave as a musical genre of “Retromania,” defining it as “Pop culture’s addiction to its own past,”[24]which is epitomised in Blank Banshee’sTeenage Pregnancy. As alluded to prior,Vaporwave music “plays with the idea of nostalgia for something that never happened”[25]which Mark Fisher concurs is the haunting of Lost Futures. This reworking of the past is conceived out of utopian visions of the 80s which were “co-opted by capitalism and repackaged for consumption”[26]and now haunt the present tense with past visions of the future. In consonance with Grimes’Oblivion,Teenage Pregnancymanifests the sound production of the 80s/90s, but instead of manufacturing its nostalgic utopianism, Blank Banshee appropriates a riff directly from a musical relic of 1982, beingGrand Master Flash and the Furious Five’s hit The Message.[27](0:27)The Message accosted the structured cultural divides under capitalism in the 80s and exhibits capitalism’s sedentary nature as the song aids a message about class and race that is just as culturally significant today. The sampled riff is profoundly manipulated through an increase in duration, pitch altering, lingering reverberations and interrupted cuts followed by repeated interjections of the same phrase which disallows the riff to resolve. This disseverance of the riff communicates a Lost Future desired by the original song which has been pervasively and ironically stifled and stultified by capitalism, betokeningElizabeth Guffy’sunderstanding ofRetro-Futurismas the message “remains a sensibility, rather than a plan of action.”[28]This asphyxiation of rebuttal to capitalism is furthered by the unchanging layers of hypnotic digitised motifs which add to a sense of being directionless. These invariable layers underscore how under capitalism “cultural time has folded back on itself, and the impression of linear development has given way to a strange simultaneity.”[29]This stunting of linear development is also exteriorized through the repeated phrase “I’m just a kid” which evinces capitalism’s stilted eternality in its past days of prophecy.

Both Blank Banshee’sTeenage Pregnancyand The Caretaker’sYou and the Nightutilise Vaporwave’s appropriation to incarnate the past, forming memory through the depletion and decay of their audio relics. Even though there is a subordinate amount of time between the Romanticism movement and the conception of Hauntology, there is a distinct convergence of concepts as through absence we derive definitions of past. Sophie Thomas writes of the affiliations of ruins in Romanticism and how in their “state of decay, ruins signify loss and absence”, furthermore “a visible evocation of the invisible, the appearance of disappearance.”[30]Fisher denotes the extent to which “cultural artifacts” in the form of music “can historicize the human condition”[31]as audio ruins an “absent whole.”[32]The caretaker has appropriated Eddie Higgins’ 1934 hitYou and the Nightand the Music and represented it with a patina of an embellished state of deterioration and distortion. Linking back to a Vaporwave idiosyncrasy, due to the levels of decay and dissonance each segment of the orchestra is isolated to a layer of its own presenting as a relic rather than a unified body of noise.You and the Nightdiffers from Blank Banshee as its appropriation predates the vitality of capitalism in the 80s and instead samples from the 1930’s, where the Industrial revolution and turbulent international relations were yet to meet the capitalism Francis Fukuyama called “the endpoint of history that would replace human conflict with universal peace.”[33]This notion is evident in melodramatic undulations in dynamics as the persistent adjusting between disturbed diminuendos and climactic crescendos prevails a volatility to the past before “accepting of contemporary capitalism as the only viable social structure.”[34]Apex of discomfort when the orchestra plays in a unison vivace, yet instead of playing in a congenial harmony the decaying layers play in disillusioning quartertones. The vocals are then discerningly doubled, a low voice more representational of the original track yet is still acutely diluted, the doubled voice at a higher pitch, filtered through an alienesque, digitised tremolo multiple octaves higher. This digitised doubling in an almost extraterrestrial tone depicts a duplicity to the past, acting as a fissure to an alternative future to contemporary capitalism. The Caretaker’sYou and the Nighthas employed the “technological advances and special effects”[35]of Vaporwave and the conceptual preface of Romantic ruins to recreate visions of the past and offer insight into Lost Futures.

Through imbuing connotations of Involuntary memory with Derrida’s definition of Hauntology,Grimes’Oblivion, Blank Banshee’sTeenage Pregnancyand the Caretaker’sYou and the Nightinvestigate the resurfacing and rupturing of past trauma into the present tense. Each artist conveys the spectrality of trauma and its recurrent Hauntological embodiment which pervades into the present. The three songs concurrently apply the musical genre of Vaporwave to elucidate contemporary nostalgia for the vitality of the consumerist contingencies of capitalism in the 80s/90s. The three pieces interrogate the cyclic idealisation of Capitalist Realism and the Lost Futures as a result of this societal sedentary.

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meteoradominic · 4 years

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Pantheon of Influence

The fate that awaits Elizabeth as the daughter of a media entrepreneur turns out to be a heavy burden. Left with an Empire of «old fashioned» media, that is on the edge of abyss. (…) times change and the Empire is no longer what it was. [1] The newspaper of the day, fashion, both go out of fashion, the news quickly becomes outdated. [2] The heritage in danger, it requires an effort to adapt to the changing conditions. She (…)felt a thread of a sense of personal responsibility associated with the deep, deep fear of loss. [1]

The solution for preserving new media culture lies not in attempting to circumvent its variability with outdated notions of fixity, but rather in embracing the essential nature of the medium and transforming its greatest challenge into a defense against obsolescence. [3] While “old” media such as print, film, and television traffic in immaterial representations that can be reproduced endlessly for any number of viewers, the interactivity of “new” media draws it closer to live performance. [4] As the secular empire faded, a new idea of spiritual domination that had been growing quietly and slowly in seclusion slipped into the great house of the dying world giant. [5] Moreover, the motive behind the writing of history was not objective curiosity, but a desire to influence contemporaries, to stimulate and uplift them, or to hold a mirror up to them. [6]

The new Brand of Elizabeth Murdoch stands above the chaotic noise of information and

media. From the elevated platform vision is unobstructed. [7] At that height one could look into the top rooms from the elevated pathway. [8]

In all of these media we see a number of consistent patterns. [9]

That assemblage is the “ megamachine,” or the apparatus of capture, the archaic empire. [10] (…) Elizabeth always tried to talk as though there were lots of people in it with her. [1] Her new brand is not defined by its clear agenda but the appropriation of viral phenomenons. Consisting of Influencers, attracted by their striving for fame and recognition.

The gods have entered the “cultivated” world; they no longer speak through the moving figures of animals and natural elements but through those of a sedentary pantheon that takes charge of society and supports the activity of transforming the world. [11] The image (…) shifted from social crusader and aesthetic puritan to trendsetter and media star. [12] But they somehow function together in structuring the social life process, as complementary media, each with its own specific affordances and limitations. [13] The crowd, a compact mass, a locus of multiple exchanges, individualities merging together, a collective effect, is abolished and replaced by a collection of separated individualities. [14] The media become the messengers, rather than the message. [15] The type of frame used to present information dramatically affects how people make decisions and judgments, and is consequently a powerful influencer of behaviour. [16]

Therefore, this new type of Pantheon is created by Elizabeth. Gathering selected contemporary influencers under her roof.

Influencers such as: Owners of different Media outlets, Presidents like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, modern industrialist entrepreneur like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. [17] very bright people, like Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk. [18] CEO of Social media Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Search engines Sundai Pichai, Environmental activists like Greta Thunberg, Sport Stars like Roger Federer or Cristiano Ronaldo, Or trash media stars like the Kardashians.

The overall effect of the display (…) is create an exotic display; a sort of cabinet of curiosities. [19]Contradicting and supplementing each other. Her palace a place to collect them all.

The facade was well constructed, composed of bricks, glass walls and windows. [20] The field of glass bricks is ordered in a raster of a thin solid framework made of white granite with black frames and stripes indicating the main direction. [21]

Hall of Fame

The entrance was discreet, with a rounded metal railing. [22] Leading into the Hall of Fame. Inside, you confront a wall of glass bricks set in concrete in a black steel frame at the back of a standard Paris type courtyard, with two steel ladders flying up on either side, and some massive floodlamps carried on clever steel brackets. [23] Self reconfiguring building skins (…)filter both urban noise and airborne toxins.[24] Creating a place which was quiet, well lit (…). [25] Only selected and high-quality materials are used. The atmosphere was perfect, the moment sweet for something sacred. [26]

It’s is the Place Elizabeth welcomes her guests. Start with a house cocktail—say, L’Alsacien, in which the aperitif Belle de Brillet meets cognac, pear, and fresh lemon in a happy union. [27] Everyone shouts and has an alcoholic smile(…) A French aperitif is taken when you are seated around a table. There are two, three, four persons. You have chosen your companions. You drink slowly. [28]

Chamber of Feasts

In the dining room, meals were served family style at long tables that could seat 150 guests. [29] Only the finest dishes made by world class chefs are served. This dinner the place for debate and disputes. This performance, itself enough to win great fame,(…) [30] It resembles a Sensation drama: play that intends to create strong effects. [31] Harmony and dissonance of ideas create a rough and interesting music. [32] The principal requirements of a summer dining room are water and greenery; of a winter one, the warmth of a hearth.[33] Both should preferably be spacious, cheery, and splendid. [33] For this reason, distribute more spacious intercolumniations around the performance space. [34] (…) the walls of the ceremonial chamber were covered with purple tapestries embroidered in gold, specially made for this feast. [5]

Oracle of Artificial Intelligent

In the middle, as in the center of a house, there is an Capsule, roofed, spacious, and majestic; (…) their lineaments taken from the Etruscan temple, as we have described it. [33] Enter the oracle. [35] Intensifying the color, lights, and excitement of Broadway by translating the commercial message into form and color, a wordless interpretation of New York. [33] The “Oracle (…)” presented a head that seemed to float in space. [36] Commercial constructions such as Apple’s Siri and more recently Microsoft’s Cortana are quite literal but archetypal examples of “the guide” or “concierge,” elsewhere manifested as the guide, oracle, or personal secretary. [37] There is no knowing how far a real image may lead: the importance of becoming visionary or seer. [38] Is it Illusionism, confusion, or manipulation? [39]

Paris

Paris. [40] Facing Notre Dame, a church for one god. In close Proximity to the existing Panthéon, a symbol of glory and a burial place of famous French personalities.

Elizabeth's palace does not require the physical size of those buildings of past times. It is not dependent on its rigidity but flexibility to accomodate as much power as possible. In the digital age, power is no longer seen through its built image in stone, but through the power of those present. The once powerful institutions have lost their power. Today, the influence changes rapidly from person to person, from ideology to ideology, from institution to institution.

Elizabeth's pantheon is a machine to capture those all new and constantly changing influence.

Bibliography: [1]Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology.[2]Serres, Biogea.[3]Rinehart, ReCollection Art New Media and Social Memory.[4]Siemens, A Companion to Digital Literary Studies.[5]Semper, Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts or Practical Aesthetics.[6]Freud, The Uncanny.[7]Alexander, A Pattern Language.[8]Hollis, Cities Are Good For You.[9]Tuck, A History of Roman Art.[10]D. Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus.[11]Henaff, The Price of Truth.[12]Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968.[13]Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture Vol 2.[14]Foucault, Discipline and Punish.[15]H. Buehlmann, Quantum City.[16]Holden, Universal Principles of Design.[17]Heskett, Design and the Creation of Value.[18]Green, Architectural Robotics Ecosystems of Bits Bytes.[19]Tythacott, Collecting and Displaying Chinas Summer Palace in.[20]Bill, Form Function Beauty Gestalt.[21]L. Eisenschmidt, Twentieth Century Architecture.[22]Goldsmith, Capital New York Capital of the 20th Century.[23]Banham, Critic Writes.[24]Bureaud, MetaLife Biotechnologies Synthetic Biology ALi.[25]Jerram, Streetlife The Untold History of Europes Twentie.[26]Goldsmith, Capital New York Capital of the 20th Century.[27]F. Travel, Fodors New York City 2015.[28]L. Corbusier, When the Cathedrals Were White.[29]H. Lawson, Gastropolis Food and New York City.[30]Serres, History of Scientific Thought.[31]Gaudreault, A Companion to Early Cinema.[32]Alberti, The Family in Renaissance Florence.[33]Alberti, On the Art of Building in Ten Books 1988.[34]Vitruvius, Ten Books on Architecture 1999.[35]Serres, The Five Senses.[36] Gaudreault, A Companion to Early Cinema.[37]Clarke, Design Anthropology Object Culture in the 21st Ce.[38]Deleuze, Cinema 2 The Time Image.[39]Derrida, Signature.[40]Naginski, Sculpture and Enlightenment.

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