Jameson

“Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism”, by Fredric Jameson was a bit confusing to understand, but it is clear that Jameson is a Marxist and he relates to many theorists we have already learned about. Jameson says, “What has happened is that aesthetic production today has become integrated into commodity production generally: the frantic economic urgency of production fresh waves of ever more novel-seeming goods (from clothing to airplanes), at ever greater rates of turnover” (485). This quote really stuck out to me because it reminds me of when Habermas talks about “the cult of the new”, which is something that comes up a lot in the essays we have read by many different theorists. Our society has become so obsessed with getting what is bigger, better, and faster that we don’t even have to time to fully appreciate what we have, because once we do buy the “new” thing, something will come out a month later and we will then want that. It’s just an on-going cycle of wanting what is better than what we do have. This also has to do with how Habermas says we live in this “hyper stimulated sensitivity” and how we just can’t move away from it. This quote is very important, because you can tell when reading it that Jameson is being kind of sarcastic when he’s talking about commodities and how we want the best products out there, but actually those products that we think are the best, really aren’t at all. Jameson is saying that the companies who make the products only make it seem that way so consumers will believe that what they’re buying is the best. It’s amazing how things change- I remember when I was growing up I wanted the new Barbie and now it seems like even little kids are getting the newest and best technology available.

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