Youth Fantasies: The Perverse Landscape of the Media
2005; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 46; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2325-8039
Autores Tópico(s)Education and Cultural Studies
ResumoYouth Fantasies: The Perverse Landscape of the Media jan jagodzinski (2004). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 281 pages. ISBN: 1-4039-6165-4All for freedom and for pleasure.Nothing ever lasts forever.Everybody wants to rule the world.-Tears for FearsIntroduction and Reflection on Designer CapitalismAccording to jagodzinski, the hedonistic pleasure of freedom and the death of Social Order define Designer Capitalism. Alas, in a capitalistic, motivated and manipulated cyber culture, freedom is truly illusive, and ruling the world (unless your name is George Bush) is only possible within virtual reality. Yet, as I reflect on my own desires and behaviors within the context of Jan jagodzinski's book, Youth Fantasies: The Perverse Landscape of the Media, and (re)consider iPods, CDs, video games, hyped movies, DVDs, wide-screen TVs, and my own intense anxiety to be connected to an internet wherever I am in the world, I realize that I am trapped in a web of excess. And as jagodzinski explains, Excess and addiction characterizes the capitalist super ego (p. 7).jagodzinski's book is troubling, but his insights bring home the dissonance that exists within a culture that privileges youthfulness, marketing to/for youth, and instant gratification. He argues that designer capitalism colonizes 'youth' in the sense that it turns 'play' into money and profit (p. 4). He reflects within a context of Lacanian psychoanalytic thought and the work of Slavoj Zizek on the multiplicities of mediaspaces that are available as a substitute for what I (acknowledging reluctantly my own status as a non-youth) generally consider to be reality.This book helps readers grasp the process of post-Oedipalization during this age of otherwise known as postmodernism (p. 4). He takes us on a journey through media culture with its perverse landscape, and shares with us a new way of considering the issues and impacts of media on youth. He also shares ideas and terms that allow us to deal with ideas that are difficult, but necessary for art educators who work within a context of visual culture. In fact, I'm starting to use new vocabulary, especially jouissance, because it seems so useful; and other Lacanian terms are starting to leak out unreflectedly in verbal and written discourse. Until I read jagodzinski's book, I never used the term designer capitalism, but now find that it flows nicely off my tongue. Designer capitalism presents a good alternative to postmodernism, which has never seemed to articulate clearly enough the state of chaotic order, nor to differentiate the techno-now with post WW2 porno. This study is focused on the last decade of the 20th century until the contemporary present (p. 4). While perhaps capitalism doesn't comprehensively articulate this time period, it feels right to have an alternative to postmodern, and post-postmodern terminology.Layout and DesignThroughout the book, jagodzinski semiotically and psychoanalytically analyzes multiple examples from movies, song lyrics, as well as video and web games, to facilitate readers' understanding of the discourse. Once in a while, jagodzinski uses obscure terms and multiple languages without translation. Lacanian reference books, as well as both a German and French dictionary, are useful for readers who attempt to understand each sentence. While this may be a general deterrent to readers who are unfamiliar with basic Lacanian psychodiscourse, or who are unilingual, jagodzinski does define basic terms in the introduction, and throughout the book he gives readers numerous excellent real-world examples of media artifacts to illustrate his ideas.The book is separated into two parts. In Part One of the book, jagodzinski introduces his basic thesis and articulates perversions of behavior and cognition that are related to the widespread influences of media culture. …
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