Meme Watch number 2:
Postmodernity and Paranoia...
This is more up for discussion than anything else. I've been noticing that one of the most defining current "memes" seems to be the entropic proliferation of cultural paranoia. Postmodernity has fragmented everything from identity to aesthetics to economy. With such fragmentary organization has come the converse and, I would argue adverse, reaction-- that of a paranoia that reorganizes this compartmentalized chaos through the dramatization and glorification of perceived constants, namely those of nationalism and religious fundamentalism. This coping mechanism seems to be at the root of many of our present-day problems that results in a cultural paranoia that breeds hatred toward the "other (whatever lives outside of the perceived constants)."
So... what do you think? Cultural Paranoia, meme or no?
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Smart. I really like the Wikipedia definition of "meme," as it's simple:
ReplyDelete"A meme (pronounced /miːm/ - like theme) is a unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices; such units or elements transmit from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena. The etymology of the term relates to the Greek word mimema for mimic.[1] Memes act as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate and respond to selective pressures.[2]
The word was first used by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976) to describe how one might extend evolutionary principles to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. He gave as examples melodies, catch-phrases, and beliefs (notably religious belief), clothing/fashion, and the technology of building arches.[3]"
Accordingly, I think you could totally argue that fundamentalism is a meme. And postmodernism. I actually think you've got a bunch of memes up in this spot.
What do I feed all the memes I caught?
ReplyDeleteI think this qualifies as a meme. My very unofficial and personal way of determining a meme: 1. it seems to be provable empirically, 2. I've noticed it anecdotally, and 3. hints of it are present in main stream media.
ReplyDeleteIn this case ...
1. Fundamentalism is at a new high.
2. Watch people on an airplane freak out when someone looks like they could be Arab. The new Orientalism.
3. I just started watching "Lost" and they have this recurring paranoia about "the others" that seems to tap into this meme.
What's interesting, too about Fundamentalism in the US with regard to what we're talking about here, is that it really began in just before WWI in the early 20th Century. It began as a backlash against a changing cultural landscape, an increased awareness of other World religions and the rise of critical biblical study that implied multiple human authors instead of a "consistent" and divine force.
ReplyDeleteThis fed into the creation of the Christian Right in the 70s and 80s, which we all know about.
Anyway, I digress.
Annie-
I like your determining factors of memes! I hadn't even thought about mainstream media, that's a great marker and tool of dissemination.
It seems like the problem with Fundamentalism, as with Patriotism is that they assume a fixed state to which we should return or in which we should remain.
Page, you'll like this...
At its root, isn't it an issue with shades of grey (I mean fragmentation automatically brings shades, right) and with impermanence?
In which case, I think we've found an even deeper meme, at least here in the States:
"PERMANENCE," which shouldn't be cultural, but I think here it is.
I wanna use Annie's determining factors to track that fucker.
This is fun!