e-term papers--origins in the looking glass

[Joseph Murphy]

>There must be a
>density of the material that matches the density in the skulls and all that
>good knowledge goes _thunk_ without leaving a dent.
>
>But Joe writes,
>
>> Agreed about that.  In the context of an internet discussion list trading
>> ideas about Japanese film, the point is precisely about the hegemony of
>> knowledge, about a resourceful new player in the production of meaning, a
>> set of "pre-conceived" opinions available at competitive prices, easily
>> digestible and indistinguishable once set into circulation from the real
>> thing.  And there may be a sentimental, moral or ethical reason for
>> preferring the latter in terms of originality or genuineness, but I can't
>> think of a theoretical one,
>
>Why not? This is a serious question.
>

Well, it's probably worthwhile to invoke here Gavin Rees' recent statement
on Americans and irony, but let me answer the question as long as its up.
As I understand it, the critique of traditional objectivism involves the
refusal of the idea that back there behind all the surfaces and degraded
copies is an original, positive meaning, arresting the play of
signification, guaranteeing the integrity of the intention behind the
words, and that this anti-foundationalist thread runs through virtually all
of contemporary criticism, at least in its US versions.  The call for you
to "have your own opinion" would involve a misrecognition of this sort,
that an original encounter by a self-aware subject is somehow central to
the process of apprehending, enjoying and criticizing Japanese film.
Additionally, there is the problem that these pre-conceived opinions can't
be distinguished in practice from real opinions.  As a practical matter,
one could undoubtedly post excerpts from these papers to this list,
prestressed with appropriate misspellings like the simulated antique
furniture in the Crate & Barrel catalogues to give that genuineness effect,
and probably generate a real discussion.  It's like Zizek's discussion of
the laugh track on TV shows, where as you zone out on the couch you find
yourself smiling in spite of yourself.  Curiouser and curiouser indeed.
One may find it necessary strategically to affirm an identity or an
essentialism, or call for people to "do their own work", but this is an
ethical choice, based on the idea that certain desirable concepts or
institutions need to be preserved, and inevitably involves assertion of
authority.  Anyway, the point is that I can't come up with a theoretical
reason, but maybe someone else can, and in a way I'm challenging someone to
theorize the authority that's inevitably involved in intervening in this
kind of McCriticism service without the glib references to "policing."
I sense a certain squeamishness about the topic on the list, which has fled
headlong into one of the most interesting discussions of actual films in a
while (even though most even of the respondents seem not to have seen the
film), so I'll leave it at this, but others are welcome to add their
opinions or experience.
JM




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***************************************************
Joseph Murphy
E-mail: <jmurphy at aall.ufl.edu>
TEL: (352) 392-2110/2442. FAX (352) 392-1443
<http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jmurphy>
University of Florida, Box 115565, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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