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First off, are we talking "this decade" as in the one that just started, or the one we just left? Because I think it's a bit too soon to make a call on the 2010s. (Less than three months? What?).
The '80s and the '90s were each called a lot more than the Me decade and the Electronic age. I would contest those names as be-all end-all terms in the first place; I mean they aren't even thematically synchronized, since one refers to the social attitude and the other refers to technological advances. It's equally hard to come up with one be-all end-all title or for 2000-2009, but here are some possibilities:
The Culture Wars Both internationally and domestically, from jihad terrorism to conservative/liberal clashes within the US, cultures have been waging war.
The Age of Personal Glorification The "Me Age" may have been selfish, but never before have we ever had a culture that grants us so much power to believe in the importance of ourselves. Thanks to sites that host uploaded content, on Deviantart anyone can be a commission artist; on LJ, Xanga, Blogger, Wordpress, etc, anyone can be a journalist, social/political commentator, or "published" creative writer; on YouTube, a filmmaker, comedian, counselor, or style guru. On Wikipedia, anyone can be a published "expert." And with reality TV, anyone can be a celebrity. It's so easy for each of us to believe we are the most important voice in the world-- why else would we have a website devoted entirely to instant newflashes of every meaningless moment of our lives? It's funny, because making all ourselves out to be as special as our kindergarten teachers taught us, we're still just as anonymous as ever.
The Ascension of Postmodernity People have been arguing the birth of the postmodern age for practically a century, but I think this decade we began to see features of social postmodernity really start to become the norm, especially amongst young people. Let's look at the features:
-The rejection of an inside/outside self: With social networking sites, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, etc, in some circles we have become the sum of our uploaded content. I see it amongst my peers (including me!) and it appears to be only getting worse, people unloading their entire inner selves into public forums so that the public and private is indistinguishable.
-The absence of originality: In fashion, media, and music, we have resorted to mostly repeating the old rather than creating much of anything new, from vintage-inspired trends to remade movies to hooks remixed from classic music tracks. Creativity is in the form of reinterpretation and parody rather than new advances.
-The abolition of distance: Thanks to the Internet, we live in a truly global society, where distance is practically no object when it comes to media, merchandise, and often even culture. Living in Japan, it's amazing how much I still *live* in the US.
-The adoption of consumerism as identity: This is especially prevalent in countercultures, especially young countercultures, where you *are* emo once you have purchased the emo lifestyle of clothing, hair, and music, etc.
-The separation of identity from the individual: Online, you are not confined to your body, nor are you confined to one name. You can be pluralistic.
PS: Why did they give us an answer for us? And "The Mobile Decade"-- really? Sigh, I hate lame answers that only seem to speak to one sphere of the entire culture. Culture is not the sum of technology, however much technology may fuel it. I think it's infinitely more intriguing to explore the effect of that technology on the culture!
First off, are we talking "this decade" as in the one that just started, or the one we just left? Because I think it's a bit too soon to make a call on the 2010s. (Less than three months? What?).
The '80s and the '90s were each called a lot more than the Me decade and the Electronic age. I would contest those names as be-all end-all terms in the first place; I mean they aren't even thematically synchronized, since one refers to the social attitude and the other refers to technological advances. It's equally hard to come up with one be-all end-all title or for 2000-2009, but here are some possibilities:
The Culture Wars Both internationally and domestically, from jihad terrorism to conservative/liberal clashes within the US, cultures have been waging war.
The Age of Personal Glorification The "Me Age" may have been selfish, but never before have we ever had a culture that grants us so much power to believe in the importance of ourselves. Thanks to sites that host uploaded content, on Deviantart anyone can be a commission artist; on LJ, Xanga, Blogger, Wordpress, etc, anyone can be a journalist, social/political commentator, or "published" creative writer; on YouTube, a filmmaker, comedian, counselor, or style guru. On Wikipedia, anyone can be a published "expert." And with reality TV, anyone can be a celebrity. It's so easy for each of us to believe we are the most important voice in the world-- why else would we have a website devoted entirely to instant newflashes of every meaningless moment of our lives? It's funny, because making all ourselves out to be as special as our kindergarten teachers taught us, we're still just as anonymous as ever.
The Ascension of Postmodernity People have been arguing the birth of the postmodern age for practically a century, but I think this decade we began to see features of social postmodernity really start to become the norm, especially amongst young people. Let's look at the features:
-The rejection of an inside/outside self: With social networking sites, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, etc, in some circles we have become the sum of our uploaded content. I see it amongst my peers (including me!) and it appears to be only getting worse, people unloading their entire inner selves into public forums so that the public and private is indistinguishable.
-The absence of originality: In fashion, media, and music, we have resorted to mostly repeating the old rather than creating much of anything new, from vintage-inspired trends to remade movies to hooks remixed from classic music tracks. Creativity is in the form of reinterpretation and parody rather than new advances.
-The abolition of distance: Thanks to the Internet, we live in a truly global society, where distance is practically no object when it comes to media, merchandise, and often even culture. Living in Japan, it's amazing how much I still *live* in the US.
-The adoption of consumerism as identity: This is especially prevalent in countercultures, especially young countercultures, where you *are* emo once you have purchased the emo lifestyle of clothing, hair, and music, etc.
-The separation of identity from the individual: Online, you are not confined to your body, nor are you confined to one name. You can be pluralistic.
PS: Why did they give us an answer for us? And "The Mobile Decade"-- really? Sigh, I hate lame answers that only seem to speak to one sphere of the entire culture. Culture is not the sum of technology, however much technology may fuel it. I think it's infinitely more intriguing to explore the effect of that technology on the culture!
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Date: 2010-03-11 08:52 pm (UTC)In news items - Okay, while I absolutely DESPISE Michael Moore, he did make an important point about America's media in Bowling For Columbine where news makes a huge fuss over the smallest things to incite fear so that people can come back to the news and gain them more viewers. True, Mel Gibson is a drunkard and what he said wasn't cool, but for fuck's sake it wasn't that bad, was not a recorded sound, and was said WHILE HE WAS DRUNK. Meanwhile, Kramer's N-Bomb rant while sober, on stage as a professional and recorded on video got much less heat. Really, media?
And also, could we get less fucking biased reporting for once? Yes, politics suck, but just because someone's not on your political side doesn't mean you have to bash them (this goes both to Conservative AND Liberal media alike). Please give us the facts on BOTH sides and let us make our own decisions. To the networks and reporters who have managed to do this from time to time, thank you from the bottom of my moderate heart.
PHEW! Didn't mean to be as ranty as I was, but do you all see what I mean? Everything is brought close to us and yet it is at a distance in both truthfulness, meaning and physical proximity.
I hope that is is a transient thing in that we're finally settling comfortably into the Internet and other tools. Maybe once we're all settled, we'll be able to appreciate things actually close to us or find ways to get the real story.
Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong