ultimate 80s mashup.
really need a dance party right now
(Source: quipquipquip)
you’re going to make it after all
bouncing around ideas for a think piece regarding our physical/emotional states in this cultural moment. basically, we live in a culture of anxiety => not necessarily fear, but a constant uneasiness and insecurity.
historically spurred by the Cold War era (nuclear threat, political tensions) and 9/11+post-9/11 police state (dramatic surge in surveillance, the “war on terror”), as well as the recent economic crisis.
more social factors include the rise of social media (especially twitter and facebook, which thrive on extracting updates from ourselves and pushing friends’ updates onto us), an education system based on high-stakes testing, a divisive news media (especially cable news, which is typically alarmist), and a near-constant influx of political messages thanks to the permanent campaigning many politicians must now take part in.
these factors all contribute to several phenomena: the rise in use/misuse of anti-anxiety drugs, an entertainment culture based on reality tv (anxiety as entertainment, maybe increased depression (when anxiety meets failure?).
anxiety comes to govern our choices of food, politicians, clothes, where we live, who we hire, etc.
possible solution to cultural illness: art => cultural relief, disrupts prevailing cultural climate, provides a catharsis for artist/viewer/reader/listener alike. is the art gallery a meditative space/refuge from anxiety?
going to ponder these ideas for a while, hopefully produce something in the early summer. part of my larger think-project on reality tv and the sort of cultural dialogue it engenders.
