Although the subject of Habermas’s essay, “Modernity-An Incomplete Project” intrigued me, I did find the article very difficult to read and understand. I will do my best to unpack it but I am sure tomorrow’s class will be very beneficial!
In his essay, he discusses the notion of Avant-garde. According to Habermas, Avant-garde is the “unknown territory, exposing itself to the dangers of sudden, shocking encounters…”. In my opinion, someone like Lady Gaga would possess Avant-garde qualities. Movies, musicians, actors, and paintings alike can all be expressed in an Avant-garde fashion. Last week I was watching the VMA awards on MTV and Lady Gaga accepted her award wearing a dress made entirely out of meat. This would be an example of Avant-garde fashion, something that pushes the envelope and moves us away from the expected or the norm. According to Habermas, “modernity lives on the experience of rebelling against all that is normative”, in which case, Lady Gaga is definitely an product of modernity.
Habermas would argue that we are still in an age of modernity because modernity is the now, the present day not an era of the past. It is amazing to watch how quickly we as humans progress and move from era to era. How can we define where and era begins and where it ends? Imagine that only 15 years ago cell phones were invented. Now think about the ability of the first cell phone versus an iphone or BlackBerry. In some ways these pieces of technology are avant-garde, they are pushing and envelope that has never been pushed, they have truly changed the way that we live.
What I understand form the readings is that modernity is the now, it’s a time, and Avant-garde ideas are what make this moment modern. Without the influence of Avant-garde and people pushing the envelope, we would never move forward and experience something new.
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