[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> [ot]FW.:.the era of postmodernism ended:.:

["Lachlan Brown" <lachlan@london.com>]

I thought the twin towers were perfectly modern. Their fall is post-modern. I am sure that architecturally they exceed none of the modernist ideals of Coubusier or Meis van der Rohe (sp?). They embodied the power of the American market, were built specifically to reassert American confidence in itself, in particular New York's confidence as world market and trade centre during a decade when anxieties about the future of New York, America and the world were far greater than they are now, and they were raised to assert to the world America's confidence in itself. They were a symbol to help re-assert a master narrative, the narrative of Western global dominance in the market place and in its futures. They did the job.

They fell down upon, or took, 6,000 people with them after two planes hijacked and piloted by men who had taken a few hours flying lessons were flown into them. It's a terrible thing. A disaster of Sub-Continent earthquake or flood proportions. America's bloodiest day since Antietam. Americans can be sure that no-one anywhere is gloating over the human disaster, it appals us all. Those of us who know New York feel the hurt. However, the symbolic function of the twin towers was oppressive to many, the work undertaken within the buildings as well as in the Pentagon, injurious to many, just as its practical form and function was disastrous to many. -- including those who worked in the place and found flights of stairs their only escape except death by falling rather than by flame, and including those who had to try to climb 80 floors put a fire out on the 80th floor. Without wanting to sound trite, the disaster was predicated in the over-determination of contradictions invited by!
 the WTC's symbolic form. The building invited its ruin. The disaster was written into the script. (The BBC actually ran a discussion of the impact of this scenario on geopolitics in a programme--or TV 'show'-- called 'The Devils Advocate' some years ago) The histories the WTC was constructed to suppress and the peoples whose exploitation was managed therein eventually brought them down.  

It's no mystery. It's History. The return of history in a rather spectacular way (as it tends to do), timed to the minute of the anniversary of the Coup in Chile in 73, the point where in Allende's last radio broadcast, he heard planes and helicopters above Santiago. Sept 11th does not mark the end of postmodernism, it marks the end of a particular modernism, one that attempted to embrace philosophical, ethical, legal, and political critiques of the modern idea by the selection of ideas ('American Pomo') most fitting to the American ideology.

We can be sure Capital's main concern at the moment is in shoring up 'a blow to market confidence', in finding the best practical solutions for 'meeting the office floor space deficit' and in 'replacing the skills base', as well as redefining insurance in what those who were likely to loose most (apart from those who died and their families of course) financially were very quick to call 'an act of war'. Geo-politically the West is moving to assure its oil supply as well as to suppress similar acts of terror. This, apparently, may require a permanent war, which may as wars do readily get out of control. The anxieties produced by this war may produce war and civil war in as yet unknown or predictable patterns and alliances. Ideologically, neither God nor Allah knows where we are heading, except to assure that the cycle of violence of terror and counter terror, is fuelled and will continue. This has to stop. This much is sure - peace has to be given a chance.

We should not assume that the fall of The World Trade Centre marks the end of civilisation as we know it. Civilisation takes other more meaningful forms and functions. What has happened is this: America is beginning to share in the consequences of its policies. America should consider these consequences and begin to change its policies. 

We love America, or rather we love Americans (mostly) and the idea of America and much of what America has stood for. America is learning however how much it has become hated in so much of the world.

Americans should be asking of themselves a very basic question, one whose reflection has put them in good stead in the past: "What is an American?" They should take into account what the rest of us think and put the kind of effort that goes into building WTC's and SDI's into creating the spaces for meaningful informed and educated dialogue for those it agrees with and those it does not, and begin a dialogue with the world beyond exploitation, war + tourism.

America, tooling up for '30 seconds over Kabul' and a war of  'infinite justice' now looks at a world readily agreeing with all of its demands and requests, except of course for the people it has targeted for retribution. America has the outlook of a bully. America needs to know that the world thinks otherwise, and it needs to learn quickly how to know. 





Lachlan Brown
http://third.net
publishing peace

Toronto



-----Original Message-----
From: david turgeon <david.t@steam.ca>
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 23:34:40 -0400
To: nettime-l@bbs.thing.net
Subject: Re: <nettime> [ot]FW.:.the era of postmodernism ended:.:


> 
> >you know, i read someone saying that with the fall of the twin towers
> >which were a perfectly postmodernist piece of architecture -- reflections
> >of each other without an original -- the era of postmodernism ended.
> >self-reference, irony, repetition, etc., all the attributes of
> >postmodernism which basically devoid creation of reality, authenticity
> >will be now void as reality came down crashing a hundred stories and
> >rendered things meaningful.
> 
> if that is true, & seeing how things are looking now, it seems we have 
> finally found the answer as to WHAT comes after post-modernism:
> 
> ** the middle ages **
> 
> coming up: a few hundred years of trusting the authority of your 
> senses.  e.g. "yech, d0od, the plague REALLY hurt!!!"
> 
> ~ david
> 
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> 


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