Eugene:
'Mike raised an interesting issue about the nature of so-called "false
consciousness" or why and how people willingly choose what is "obviously"
bad for them thinking that it is good for them...
1. People sometimes act guided by projective, virtual reality (back to the
issue of role-taking play).
2. Cultural models that are widely available to people through media,
school, and institutions are essentially middle- and upper-class. "American
dream" is very much middle-class ideology. People can't invent their own
cultural models - thinking tools - each time on individual basis. However,
publicly available cultural models are colonized by those who are in
power..."
iraj:
1. is it not the whole purpose of propaganda(pr/spin/ad) to make people
believe in something that it is not 'true' in the first place--ie, deception
(eg, WMD, imminent threat from iraq, and link to Al-Qaede. Or the add: 'if
you drink this brand of alcoholic beverage, good looking young people will
surround you')?
2. Put differently, the purpose is to produce "false consciousness" as
social space. Here the virtual or 'imagined space' has to NOT to correspond
to the 'real space.' In CHAT's language, the identity is not matching the
activity. In Lefebvre and Soja's language, there is a 'gap' between the
'perceived' or 'First space' and the produced 'conceived' or 'Second space.'
What is 'true' here then? Is it not that , based on the same real reality
we can produce many social spaces--virtual realities, identities, conceived
or second spaces?
3. If people are trapped into a "projective, virtual reality" or "
Cultural models" then they act upon them. In CHAT: identities feedback on
and shape activities (Eugene's example of the "American Dream"). IN Lefebvre
and soja's: second space is shaping social space.
4. If ruling ideas of the time come from the ruling classes, then one should
expect all of this! And hence the opportunity for critical or
transformational perspectives. Or time for production of new (imagined and
real) space; of identity, of cultural models, of activity, of new and
different social space (eg, Freire and others). If people are presented with
alternative 'cultural model' they may go on to produce their own individual
and group new spaces, and hence new activities. On by engaging in new
activities, they can explore and produce new social spaces (real and
imagined). May be that is why our w admin and our dominant cultural
productions needs so much censorship--to prevent production of a different
space.
Cheers!
iraj
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jan 01 2004 - 01:00:10 PST