Post by group4 on Jun 9, 2008 17:02:08 GMT -5
From a pre-World War II philosophy of modernism searching for a general explanation of existence emerged the phase of postmodernism, a sense of interpersonal disunity and moral nonfulfillment. Consequentially, in an attempt to fill these communal voids, the media began to "sell" popular belief system to the public. In other words, tangible products began to be marketed as ways to give meaning to one's otherwise meaningless life. Don DeLillo's novel White Noise reflects these ideals through its characters' unquestioning acceptance of the creeds of popular culture. The novel's tone, however, is ironic, implying a criticism toward this conformity for fear of a subsequent downward spiral in the near future. Indeed, these manners present in White Noise remain evident in our world, through society's consumer tendencies. Don DeLillo's novel critiques the media's influence upon society through the usage of popular belief systems, thus exhibiting a postmodern outlook which remains prevalent in modern mass behavior.
DeLillo's use of the use of the media and it's influence upon modern culture reveals a postmodern outlook further exemplified by the character's interactions with the consumer society. To fulfill self-created demands and pressure to conform, individuals allow the media to dictate how they will see the world. Consequentially, it becomes impossible to see the world with one's own eyes, for as Murray proclaims, "once you've seen the signs…[you] only see what the others see" (DeLillo 12). Society is willing to accept the creeds of popular culture because an established set of predetermined beliefs allows for a more convenient lifestyle, albeit one of lesser moral values. Unfortunately as a result of the life offered by the media, it often becomes difficult to distinguish between what is truth and what is fabricated illusion. As the protagonist Jack argues with his son Heinrich about the possibility of a rainstorm occurring, the problem becomes all too clear; Heinrich refuses to believe, despite sensory proof that it is indeed raining. He asserts that "our senses are wrong a lot more often than they are right" and the newscast that predicted rain later in the day must indeed be the accurate source of information (23). Heinrich was so dependant upon the media to fill the center which had been lost that he lost sight of his own abilities of observation. DeLillo further demonstrates the increasing value of the consumer society through his use of Murray's strive for self-fulfillment. As Murray develops a college course based solely upon the study of Elvis he illustrates a growing trend in pop culture; anything can be marketed and anything can be made to suit a purpose. Murray's desire to build an aura around himself based upon a cultural cliché speaks to the ironic postmodernist ideology that one can manipulate the accepted culture to fill the voids that society creates within one's character.
Today’s society can be viewed as a result of the postmodern era in that we are now trying to fill in the empty spaces which it has created. Postmodernism is the belief that there was no center and now many of us are attempting to satisfy the gap. The media, however, has begun to play a bigger role in this aspect of our lives because until many of us see the commercials which advertise the products and information as though they are the answers to our lives, none of truly see the apparent voids in our lives. For example, children are played into this because they see all their friends with the newest Nintendo Wii video game system and begin to think that if they do not get this new toy, then no one will want to play at their houses any more. This has sadly become true because many children nowadays only want to visit their friends who have the newest form of entertainment. The media today has definitely made it so that if one does not buy the latest products or tabloid magazines, or watch the latest news show, then he or she is out of the loop. On the subject of products, it has just been announced on the FCC website that on February 17, 2009 all television will be broadcast in digital and that all analog airways will cease to exist. The new high definition craze has gone so far as to change the entire system of television, therefore forcing people to go out and buy new televisions in order to support the new celebrities all over the world and the information included in these magazines week by week becomes the subject of many of our conversations. If one does not buy this magazine, then he or she will not have the necessary information to be included into this conversation. Last but not least, the way in which the American society has been sucked into the malls over the past few decades also shows how we attempt to fill in the gaps in our lives by escaping to a whole other realm. This realm of fantasy, lights, and sounds-such as that found in the Mall of America- takes us away from the real world and makes us think that we are doing something meaningful which will make us happier. This can also be explained using the theory of retail therapy. The long term effects of these pushes towards consumerism by the media eventually makes us worse off in the end because of the debt and bills. But for now America just wants to push the future aside and enjoy the fake happiness of opening up a plastic shopping bag after a long day at the mall.
Many of Don DeLillo’s novels have been described as postmodern in their ideas, but White Noise speaks more to a criticism of the unquestionable trust society has of the media and pop culture icons while also satirizing the mass consumerism of 1985. These values all stem from a belief in growing individualism and lack of morals and seem to be opposed in the novel. This is evident in DeLillo’s humorous contempt for those who allow their actions to be determined by what the media tells them should be done, his disgust with the media for marketing every possible thing to society and society’s susceptibility to consumerism because of the need to fill a hole in their lives, a hole that the media convinces them can be filled with consumer goods. No one could be sure how long DeLillo thought this postmodernism would last, but we in today’s America are a testament to the control that the media, popular culture and consumer goods still wages over us, probably even more so than what is described in the novel.
DeLillo's use of the use of the media and it's influence upon modern culture reveals a postmodern outlook further exemplified by the character's interactions with the consumer society. To fulfill self-created demands and pressure to conform, individuals allow the media to dictate how they will see the world. Consequentially, it becomes impossible to see the world with one's own eyes, for as Murray proclaims, "once you've seen the signs…[you] only see what the others see" (DeLillo 12). Society is willing to accept the creeds of popular culture because an established set of predetermined beliefs allows for a more convenient lifestyle, albeit one of lesser moral values. Unfortunately as a result of the life offered by the media, it often becomes difficult to distinguish between what is truth and what is fabricated illusion. As the protagonist Jack argues with his son Heinrich about the possibility of a rainstorm occurring, the problem becomes all too clear; Heinrich refuses to believe, despite sensory proof that it is indeed raining. He asserts that "our senses are wrong a lot more often than they are right" and the newscast that predicted rain later in the day must indeed be the accurate source of information (23). Heinrich was so dependant upon the media to fill the center which had been lost that he lost sight of his own abilities of observation. DeLillo further demonstrates the increasing value of the consumer society through his use of Murray's strive for self-fulfillment. As Murray develops a college course based solely upon the study of Elvis he illustrates a growing trend in pop culture; anything can be marketed and anything can be made to suit a purpose. Murray's desire to build an aura around himself based upon a cultural cliché speaks to the ironic postmodernist ideology that one can manipulate the accepted culture to fill the voids that society creates within one's character.
Today’s society can be viewed as a result of the postmodern era in that we are now trying to fill in the empty spaces which it has created. Postmodernism is the belief that there was no center and now many of us are attempting to satisfy the gap. The media, however, has begun to play a bigger role in this aspect of our lives because until many of us see the commercials which advertise the products and information as though they are the answers to our lives, none of truly see the apparent voids in our lives. For example, children are played into this because they see all their friends with the newest Nintendo Wii video game system and begin to think that if they do not get this new toy, then no one will want to play at their houses any more. This has sadly become true because many children nowadays only want to visit their friends who have the newest form of entertainment. The media today has definitely made it so that if one does not buy the latest products or tabloid magazines, or watch the latest news show, then he or she is out of the loop. On the subject of products, it has just been announced on the FCC website that on February 17, 2009 all television will be broadcast in digital and that all analog airways will cease to exist. The new high definition craze has gone so far as to change the entire system of television, therefore forcing people to go out and buy new televisions in order to support the new celebrities all over the world and the information included in these magazines week by week becomes the subject of many of our conversations. If one does not buy this magazine, then he or she will not have the necessary information to be included into this conversation. Last but not least, the way in which the American society has been sucked into the malls over the past few decades also shows how we attempt to fill in the gaps in our lives by escaping to a whole other realm. This realm of fantasy, lights, and sounds-such as that found in the Mall of America- takes us away from the real world and makes us think that we are doing something meaningful which will make us happier. This can also be explained using the theory of retail therapy. The long term effects of these pushes towards consumerism by the media eventually makes us worse off in the end because of the debt and bills. But for now America just wants to push the future aside and enjoy the fake happiness of opening up a plastic shopping bag after a long day at the mall.
Many of Don DeLillo’s novels have been described as postmodern in their ideas, but White Noise speaks more to a criticism of the unquestionable trust society has of the media and pop culture icons while also satirizing the mass consumerism of 1985. These values all stem from a belief in growing individualism and lack of morals and seem to be opposed in the novel. This is evident in DeLillo’s humorous contempt for those who allow their actions to be determined by what the media tells them should be done, his disgust with the media for marketing every possible thing to society and society’s susceptibility to consumerism because of the need to fill a hole in their lives, a hole that the media convinces them can be filled with consumer goods. No one could be sure how long DeLillo thought this postmodernism would last, but we in today’s America are a testament to the control that the media, popular culture and consumer goods still wages over us, probably even more so than what is described in the novel.