Do Postmodernism Texts Find Ways to Articulate Our Unfreedom - Essay Example

Do postmodernism texts find ways to articulate our unfreedom? Current postmodernism texts continue to find ways in which they articulate people’s unfreedom. An author like Slavoj Zizek in his book Welcome to the desert of the real posits that society lacks a language to articulate its people’s unfreedom. In order to comprehend this, one must first understand the rationality behind postmodernism as a theory, and how theorists in this school of thought rationalize the world they live. Firstly, postmodernism theory refers to a nontraditional approach of defining existing concepts, which deviates from previously known superstructural theories. Most scholars consider modernism as providing the foundation of postmodernism theory. However, these scholars also agree on the fact that postmodernism theorists deviate from modernism in their radical, critical approach. Unlike previously existing theories which took a traditional approach in explaining concepts, Postmodernism takes into consideration the dynamic nature of social concepts. The theory advances that absolute truths do not exist because all apparent realities result from social construction by individuals. Meaning, people’s continually changing experiences influence their perception, and in turn, affects the way they define concepts. The subjective nature of individuals’ perspectives serves to explain the role played by language, motivations behind the formation of ideas and power relations. Examples of postmodernism theorists include; Michel Foucault (1926-1984), and Jean-Francois Lyotard among others (David, 1994) (Zizek 113). Zizek tackled a variety of issues in his novel, which he claimed best showcased how people’s lack of a defined language affected their ability to showcase their unfreedom. His work proved influential in works such as Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Brett E.E’s novel Glamorama. Zizek first examined people’s obsession with the concept of unreality by explaining that, people direct their efforts towards the attainment of what they perceive as real failing to realize that the reality they seek is unreal. Therefore, this brings problems when a person needs to face reality because they do not know how to deal with it. Zizek’s book explains this phenomenon by explaining why people celebrate heroes despite the inhumane acts done by these heroes in the name of serving their countries. He posits that people have a higher inclination towards doing noble things for their country rather than committing criminal acts for the same country. As a result, citizens of these countries exalt these heroes (Zizek 34) The psychology behind this phenomenon explains that people tend to gravitate towards those they perceive as heroes especially if the said heroes involve themselves in doing the dirty work on their behalf. This leads to a misguided sense of well being and creates a state of unreality. This is because most of these exalted heroes rely on their selfless, sacrificial actions to awe their onlookers, therefore, solicit preferential treatment. For example, they begin to live their lives outside of the law, which guarantees no negative consequence for their actions. The novel Glamorama illustrates this further by showcasing the lives lived by most celebrities through following the lives of the characters mentioned in the book. In the film, Pulp Fiction characters played by actors, Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta sere as illustrations of this phenomenon. The fact that they do the dirty jobs on behalf of their boss allows them to work recklessly beyond reproach. Living in a postmodernism society reinforces people’s unfreedom by allowing them to passionately obsess over their perceived versions of reality. As a result, most live in a state of unreality. For example, many people’s perception of beauty proves unreal because of the media’s influence, which advances certain stereotypes that define beauty. As a result, many continue to fall prey to these versions of unreality, whereby, they engage in extreme behaviors, which impact negatively on the psychological, emotional, physiological well being of an individual (Zizek 30). Zizek also addressed the issue of liberal democracy in depth, in his book. He viewed the concept of liberal democracy as a lie because it created an illusion of freedom. According to Zizek, liberal democracy was a mask of people’s real state of unfreedom. This is because the concept of liberal democracy offered people a chance to be independent in the way they expressed their opinions especially political opinions. However, it provided a limitation to the extent in which people could exercise their liberal democratic opinions by instituting laws in which people had no choice but to conform. Social psychologists explanation to this is that people seek to conform to the given standards laid out by the given majority in order to avoid excommunication from the group. Therefore, they follow the rules and regulations despite their inner rebellious nature. As a result, the standards set out by members of a group offer an unreal sense of freedom to the group members. In reality, these standards play a crucial role in holding people captive and denying them their sense of real freedom (Zizek 56). He further critiqued the concept of tolerance within a liberal democracy. He claimed that tolerance was not an absolute since it introduced Agamben’s Homo Sacer concept, which Zizek referred to as Homo Sucker concept. Zizek advanced that the concept of tolerance was nonexistent in liberal democracies because of the underlying rules and regulations. The fact that the latter limited people’s views show that tolerance within a liberal democracy was not absolute. Zizek illustrated this by examining the old German Democratic Republic. This regime concluded that individuals could not possess the following features; honesty, conviction and intelligence simultaneously. Meaning, a person viewed to possess intelligence did not qualify to possess the other two features. In addition, Zizek also critiqued the wars fought by the US by claiming that these wars acted as a ruse concealing the real intention of the warfare. He claimed that the wars fought did not happen between nations instead they occurred between Homo Sacers and armies because of nonexistent absolute tolerance between the two groups. Zizek claimed that the US excused torture by justifying it with their liberal democracy concepts. Lastly, Zizek advanced that individuals efforts directed towards manipulating others prove futile because they end up rendering these individuals as Homo Suckers. This is because the current liberal democracy concept ensures a person cannot make fun of ruling ideologies (Zizek 123). Zizek’s proposals receive backing by the postmodernism arts like Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. The film revolves around the lives of characters played by Samuel and Travolta who are associates of the greatest gang running the city they live. These characters symbolize the state of citizens in the current society who lack the freedom allowing them to express themselves as unique, opinionated individuals without interference from the liberal democracy which enslaves them. Despite the work's basis on fiction, the themes and characters showcased in the film show the lack of absolute tolerance within the liberal democratic society. The death of these main characters also reaffirms this presumption. On the other hand, Brett’s Glamorama also showcases through its characters the nonexistent intolerance within the liberal society. According to Brett’s characters like John, people resort into living in an unreal world evading the freedom less state brought about by the liberal democracy in the society. They do this by involving themselves in actions which eventually prove harmful to their psychological, physiological, emotional and social welfare. They alter their appearance through cosmetic surgeries in order to appeal to the society’s definition of beauty. This might compromise the immune system of the body increasing the chances of an individual’s fatality. Issues relating to body image issues might lead to psychological issues, for example, depression. The way people relate with each other also becomes superficial. Characters in Brett’s novel mirror these aspects with such clarity (Zizek 73). Happiness is a feeling, emotion or state desired by most. This is because it establishes a sense of well being within individuals. As a result, psychological, physiological, emotional and social aspects of an individual's life remain in a state of equilibrium. Therefore, many people ensure their daily endeavors remain directed towards the achievement of happiness. Despite people's ability to live in a place filled with happiness in an ideal society, vices, such as desire manages to creep inside society destroying all the efforts directed towards the achievement of happiness. The illustration used by Zizek in his book explores the Czechoslovakian population in the 1970s and 1980s. He characterizes this population as one whereby individuals possessed features responsible for maintaining happiness. Firstly, they had the unlimited resources needed to satisfy their material needs. In addition, they had the option of shifting blame to the ruling political party when things did not go as planned. Finally, fantasies about the existence of a perfect place resonated among the inhabitants of Czechoslovakia. Despite living in a state filled with happiness, desire crept in destroying the balance which existed among the entire population. As a result, other vices associated with desire became rampant, thus leading to a state of unhappiness. This also took away their freedom (Zizek 59). The solution provided by Zizek in his book includes the development of a strong resolve which prevents one from getting sucked into the Homo Sucker world. A world characterized by desire, unhappiness and the lack of freedom when one needs to express themselves. His illustration of such a world included the IDF forces which refused to engage in the Israel-Palestine war. The character of Samuel L. Jackson best showed this in the movie Pulp Fiction. This is when he talked his co-stars from committing a crime that would result in extreme penalties from the law. He prevented them from going through with their armed robbery crime. In addition, he gave them his boss’ money and told them to leave. Figuratively speaking, Samuel’s character proved that he was not a Homo Sucker since he did not engage in violent acts with the robbers. Brett’s character John also abandons his exclusive lifestyle as a successful model and actor in order to pursue a career in life. This gave him an opportunity to know the world without the material things present in his previous life to cloud his judgment. Both forms of postmodernism pieces of art showcase the yearning of human beings to achieve control which guarantees them freedom to do as they please (Zizek 63). In conclusion, Zizek's work attempts to describe the state of unfreedom people live in within the current postmodern society. He attributes this state to aspects such as liberal democracy, desire and people's fascination with what is real despite the fact that it is not. Through his illustrations, Zizek manages to show how these aspects continue to rob people of their inherent right to freedom in the way they express themselves, and interact with others. A critical appraisal by Zizek on liberal democracy shows how the rules and regulations underlying democracy contribute to enslaving people. It does this by limiting the way in which they express their opinions. It further encourages the development of low tolerance among individuals, for example, people justifying acts of torture within the US. Zizek also analyzed the impact desire has on the state of happiness of an individual. He reckons that most people lose appreciation for all the things they have when desire creeps. As a result, they begin to covet things owned by those around them. Therefore, they resort into inhumane acts, which seek to satisfy their desires at the expense of others. A postmodernism appraisal of the American dream shows how desire turned this dream from a positive concept into a negative one. Instead of the American Dream encouraging equality in the treatment of the citizens of America, the reverse occurred especially when most of these citizens strived to accumulate wealth at the expense of their fellow nationals. Desire managed to overpower the concept of the American Dream which would have ensured the happiness of most people. Therefore, Zizek, Tarantino and Brett played an influential role in using their literal skills to articulate most people’s unfreedom (Zizek 149). Works Cited Zizek, Slavoj. Do postmodernism texts find ways to articulate our unfreedom? 2002: Verso, Italy. Print Read More