Is Anything Shocking Anymore?

I will admit, the reading by Habermas was quite difficult for me… the theory was very dense and I reread many a line! Two quotes that really stuck out to me, however, were both on page 6, discussing creativity in modern life and the avant-garde. The first quote is as follows: “Culture in its modern form stirs up hatred against the conventions and virtues of everyday life, which has become rationalized under the pressures of economic and administrative imperatives.” This quote led me to question whether or not capitalism is hindering our society’s creativity. That is, are we too capitalistic to be modern? The conventions that are equated with capitalism, in order to reinforce consumerism, can interfere with the creative, as the conventions are centered on efficiency and profit. In any atmosphere where profit is valued higher than artistic prowess, creativity will be negatively affected. We see this theme occur in mainstream Top 40 music on the radio. The creativity is sucked from the music industry in order to make a standardized, money-making hit in order to make profit. Consumerism encourages mass production, and what is less creative than vast numbers of the same image or product?

The second quote that I fixated on was: “Although the avant-garde is still considered to be expanding, it is supposedly no longer creative.” The article discusses avant-garde as a movement focused on uniqueness and shocking the viewer. When creativity becomes mass-produced, even the avant-garde falls victim to the capitalistic consumerism. In some ways, the most shocking images now are returns to the classic, instead of continuously pushing boundaries. I am reminded of Lady Gaga’s progression of fashion and appearance, and how it is more shocking to see her in an old Hollywood style glamorous dress, than to see her in nude pleather being “born” from an egg. Overall I found this article very interesting and quite illuminating in regards to originality and the fate of creativity.