29 July, 2009

Communication: The Terror of the Hyperreal

Posted by Socrates in democracy, democrazy, Socrates, Tom Sunic at 10:14 pm | Permanent Link

by Tom Sunic.

“One of the secret lies of liberal democracy is the dogma of free speech. The word ‘propaganda’ has obtained over the last six decades a nasty flavor; hence the need to use the word ‘communication.’ However, as much as everybody in modern society craves to communicate, traditional community ties, or in-group ties, are more than ever before subject to the process of disintegration. It is worth recalling that etymologically the terms ‘community’ and ‘communication’ are of the same origin. But how can one communicate if community no longer exists?”

[Article].


  • 8 Responses to “Communication: The Terror of the Hyperreal”

    1. Emily Says:

      Quite a nice weave. Ahime, if only people could take time to see it this way. Superb analysis. Wish everyone reads Sunic’s article. Great PTA talk. Bring it to the dish so diners can see what ingredients are being used to feed them. Required reading for every passerby. Thank you, Alex.

    2. Adam Says:

      What we are witnessing today in the West, in all spheres of official political discourse, is a gigantic display of lies — far worse than in the notorious totalitarian despotisms of the 20th century which the postmodern liberal pretends to abhor.[Emphasis added.]

      These are fine words, but it isn’t limited to just the political. As the map becomes the territory, the hyperreal is the essence of the lie; and such iconic myths and images that we see depicted on the screen, such as the myth of MLK and the myth of the Holocaust, to use just two examples chosen at random, are nothing but lies. Like grease dropped onto paper, these big lies spread and mix into the fiber of our lives, becoming inseparable from its substance. The entire culture of the West is degenerating into one enormous lie: the myth of racial equality; the myth of the warm, humanitarian Jew; the myth of the efficacy or even the existence of democracy; the noble negro; the evil of Hitler. One might go on all day listing such lies.

      But there is something missing from Sunic’s analysis, and that is a placement of all this within an historical framework. It is vital to appreciate why this is happening now, in our historical period. The Greeks, the Romans, or any society at a comparatively primitive level of technological development – they were not afflicted with our disease, and it would be very difficult to explain it to them, if it could be done at all. The translation of reality from the real to the hyperreal is being brought to pass now as an outgrowth of the expansion of the technological system; specifically, refinements in techniques of mass communication. The camera is a liar by nature; it self-consciously programs, in its attitude towards its subject, the mood and reaction of the viewer. Lighting, score, and camera angle compel mood, while careful cutting and editing collapse time. The use of these techniques ends up making movie blood more real than real blood. Even the sheer size of the faces on a movie screen makes them seem more real than real life. After seeing Spielberg’s version of the Holocaust, one would no doubt find the original rather boring, rather tedious, even if his facts were right. It is important to understand that the destruction of truth and its replacement with lies, the spread of the hyperreal which is eating away the foundations of Western culture like the acid rain which is slowly dissolving the Parthenon, is entirely a result of the expansion of the technological system.

    3. Justin Huber Says:

      This article isn’t too bad. Somewhat overintellectual though.

    4. Old Raven Says:

      Adam: Brilliant post!

      You sound like you’ve read T. Adorno’s “Culture Industry” and are extending Sunic’s analysis in the right directions. More understanding about the nature of the conflict being a CULTURAL conflict, and the cultural hegemony these days being based on the “hyperreal” projected by the “gods” who control the culture industry is what ALL PEOPLE need to understand better. Thanks, and hope to see more posts like this here.

    5. New America Says:

      Dr. Sunic wrote, in part:

      What we are witnessing today in the West, in all spheres of official political discourse, is a gigantic display of lies — far worse than in the notorious totalitarian despotisms of the 20th century which the postmodern liberal pretends to abhor.[Emphasis added.]

      in reply, Adam wrote:

      These are fine words, but it isn’t limited to just the political. As the map becomes the territory, the hyperreal is the essence of the lie; and such iconic myths and images that we see depicted on the screen, such as the myth of MLK and the myth of the Holocaust, to use just two examples chosen at random, are nothing but lies. Like grease dropped onto paper, these big lies spread and mix into the fiber of our lives, becoming inseparable from its substance. The entire culture of the West is degenerating into one enormous lie: the myth of racial equality; the myth of the warm, humanitarian Jew; the myth of the efficacy or even the existence of democracy; the noble negro; the evil of Hitler. One might go on all day listing such lies.

      in reply:
      Sunic didn’t explicitly limit his analysis to “the political,” which, of course, is defined by the Frankfurt School and its followers as, well, any social interaction.

      Thus, Sunic’s analysis, well, applies – and does so very well.

      And, at this point, you skip any further analysis of Dr. Sunic, and use him for support, rather than illumination, in changing the topic.

      One might almost expect an analysis of structuralism, and post-structuralism to follow…

      Adam wrote:

      But there is something missing from Sunic’s analysis, and that is a placement of all this within an historical framework. It is vital to appreciate why this is happening now, in our historical period. The Greeks, the Romans, or any society at a comparatively primitive level of technological development – they were not afflicted with our disease, and it would be very difficult to explain it to them, if it could be done at all.

      in reply:
      What you call “our disease” can easily be made into a useful tool for our Race.

      Again, Metzger’s Insight – WE LET THIS HAPPEN TO US – can be transformed into an effectiveness model for our Race.

      Some thoughts on one way to do this will follow.

      you wrote:

      The translation of reality from the real to the hyperreal is being brought to pass now as an outgrowth of the expansion of the technological system; specifically, refinements in techniques of mass communication.

      in reply:
      But this is only one Aspect of the “technological system” as it has developed in our time, in our place.

      The ancient Greeks and Romans had their own versions of this, in the plays and dramatic performances given in the polis’ and arenas, and it had the same basic effect – to make possible a shift in the Cultural Reality.

      So, the more things change, the more they…

      Adam wrote:

      The camera is a liar by nature; it self-consciously programs, in its attitude towards its subject, the mood and reaction of the viewer. Lighting, score, and camera angle compel mood, while careful cutting and editing collapse time. The use of these techniques ends up making movie blood more real than real blood. Even the sheer size of the faces on a movie screen makes them seem more real than real life. After seeing Spielberg’s version of the Holocaust, one would no doubt find the original rather boring, rather tedious, even if his facts were right. It is important to understand that the destruction of truth and its replacement with lies, the spread of the hyperreal which is eating away the foundations of Western culture like the acid rain which is slowly dissolving the Parthenon, is entirely a result of the expansion of the technological system.

      in reply:
      No, the camera is brutally honest by nature.

      BY NATURE, every strength, and every flaw, become trapped in the ruthlessly dispassionate lens of the camera.

      Your reference is to movies, where the director can arrange events – moving pictures with sounds – to convey a specific state of Mind.

      Yet, these are only tools, and, with good instruction, we can immunize our children against being ensnared in the cinematic Dreams of Others.

      We can then see the Light in the Darkness, and develop our own cinema – more “Real” than the fantasy world of the “hyperreal.”

      An excellent first step in this direction would be to have Linder do a special series of commentaries on one Lamestream Media story per week. Linder’s show would last for half an hour to an hour to an hour – longer if necessary – and he would focus on how issues are framed in the media to support a certain perspective.

      Obama’s comments about how the Cambridge policeman responded to Gates might be a useful place to start.

      After all, what better way to defeat our Racial Enemies than to take their fantasies of a hyperreal “Reality,” and transform them into Tool for greater effectiveness on our part.

      A name for Linder’s show?

      “Keeping it Real.”

      After all, there’s nothing more real, than Race.

      THAT is the philosophy that has guided the Jews in all of their activities, and has worked well for them.

      It can work better for us.

      Fourteen Forever.

    6. Adam Says:

      Sunic didn’t explicitly limit his analysis to “the political,” which, of course, is defined by the Frankfurt School and its followers as, well, any social interaction.

      Look, this is part I was responding to. Read it again.

      “What we are witnessing today in the West, in all spheres of official political discourse, is a gigantic display of lies … ”

      Do you get it now? Jeez…

      What you call “our disease” can easily be made into a useful tool for our Race.

      This then becomes a dispute among technicians on how best to deceive. But a better course is not to deceive at all. The destruction of the technological system would prevent even the possibility of further deception. But then, that wouldn’t do YOU any good, would it?

      No, the camera is brutally honest by nature.

      Once again, you don’t know what you are talking about. The camera necessarily sees things from only ONE point of view at a time. Who selects the point of view, who determines when it starts, and when it stops? Distortion is built in to the simplest camera shot.

      Yet, these are only tools, and, with good instruction, we can immunize our children against being ensnared in the cinematic Dreams of Others.

      So…read your Bibble, kiddies, stay out of the movies, and all will be well? I don’t think so.

      We can then see the Light in the Darkness, and develop our own cinema – more “Real” than the fantasy world of the “hyperreal.”

      If white people could have done that, they would never have lost control.

      THAT is the philosophy that has guided the Jews in all of their activities, and has worked well for them.

      It can work better for us.

      Yeah, sure. And if frogs had wings they wouldn’t keep bumping their ass all the time!

    7. New America Says:

      in reply to Adam:

      I wrote:

      Sunic didn’t explicitly limit his analysis to “the political,” which, of course, is defined by the Frankfurt School and its followers as, well, any social interaction.

      you replied:

      Look, this is part I was responding to. Read it again.

      “What we are witnessing today in the West, in all spheres of official political discourse, is a gigantic display of lies … ”

      Do you get it now? Jeez…

      in reply:
      And, again, I was placing the acts of the Distorter in the larger context that, frankly, makes my analysis more substantial – and in compliance with the brutal intellectual honesty that is at the heart of VNN.

      All of the things they do “are not by accident.”

      I wrote:

      What you call “our disease” can easily be made into a useful tool for our Race.

      you replied:

      This then becomes a dispute among technicians on how best to deceive. But a better course is not to deceive at all. The destruction of the technological system would prevent even the possibility of further deception. But then, that wouldn’t do YOU any good, would it?

      in reply:
      Deception is a part of Nature, in general, and human nature, in particular.

      What I said was – read it slowly – is that we can LEARN from the tools and techniques of our Racial Enemy, and illuminate their deceptions with the Greater Truth.

      That is why I proposed – again, read it slowly – Alex Linder do a commentary on how the poststructuralists manipulated one story to fulfill their agenda.

      I wrote:

      No, the camera is brutally honest by nature.

      you replied:

      Once again, you don’t know what you are talking about. The camera necessarily sees things from only ONE point of view at a time.

      in reply:
      We know that.

      That is not the issue.

      The issue is the brutal reality the lens captures.

      Now, the manipulation of that moment is another issue altogether, which is what you seem to want to address.

      And you did, when…

      you wrote:

      Who selects the point of view, who determines when it starts, and when it stops? Distortion is built in to the simplest camera shot.

      in reply:
      The POSSIBILITY of distortion is present in every observation.

      See Heisenberg on this.

      Again, my point prevails – the camera reflects with brutal honesty.

      If the picture is framed to manipulate with an ulterior motive, then, we have all the more reason for an analytical model that allows for this, and can develop a Reality Lens, if you will, to see the picture more clearly, in a much greater, and much more accurate context.

      We will leave the semioticians, deconstructionists, structuralist and poststructualists to their perspectives, while we seek the Greater Truth.

      Like Pierce did, weekly.

      I wrote:

      Yet, these are only tools, and, with good instruction, we can immunize our children against being ensnared in the cinematic Dreams of Others.

      you replied:

      So…read your Bibble, kiddies, stay out of the movies, and all will be well? I don’t think so.

      in reply:
      I didn’t say that, at all.

      We must examine all elements of Culture in the bright, clean Light of Race.

      Again, the Jews are doing this, for themselves.

      Why not use these tools and techniques for us, and OUR Posterity?

      I am not proposing hiding, at all.

      I am proposing taking the war to The Enemy on the best terms of all – clear, clean thinking about Race as the overriding Framework for the analysis of Culture.

      I wrote:

      We can then see the Light in the Darkness, and develop our own cinema – more “Real” than the fantasy world of the “hyperreal.”

      you replied:

      If white people could have done that, they would never have lost control.

      in reply:
      Again, the examples cited by, and words of, Alex Linder lead us to the bright, clear Light of Truth.

      Citing the example of how far the German people had fallen before 1933 – when it certainly seemed they had lost all control, with an unemployment rate of over FIFTY PERCENT – Linder noted:

      In politics, things can change very quickly.

      Things certainly “changed very quickly” in Germany, where the power of the Jew was nullified by the same techniques that worked so well for the Byzantine Empire – limit the areas where the Jews can affect society, and let the nation develop organically.

      A good idea, for all of us, and, in many ways, an excellent example to follow, giving Our Posterity OUR Dreams, and not the synthetic, destroying Dreams of Others, our Racial Enemies.

      THAT is the philosophy that has guided the Jews in all of their activities, and has worked well for them.

      It can work better for us.

      your reply continued:

      Yeah, sure. And if frogs had wings they wouldn’t keep bumping their ass all the time!

      in reply:
      Well, that certainly trivializes, and ends, the discussion!

      And, on that note…

      Fourteen Forever

    8. Adam Says:

      New America Says:

      Yeah, sure. And if frogs had wings they wouldn’t keep bumping their ass all the time!

      Well, that certainly trivializes, and ends, the discussion!

      I don’t think I can possibly trivialize this “discussion”, such as it is, any more than you already have with your tedious bombast. At the risk of overtaxing your Latin again, I find almost everything you have written in response to me to be ignoratio elenchi – in ignorance of the argument.

      I have laid out in detail why I believe trying to construct a mass movement by white people against the Jew will fail, and further, why the technological system is inherently destructive of race and the types of values that are the evolutionary heritage of whites. You haven’t actually responded to any of it, as you would have if we were really having a bona fide discussion. Instead, you simply use my words as a jumping-off point for your usual goofy spiel. Now you’ve thrown in the Byzantine Empire and Nazi Germany. That neither example is particularly relevant to our social and technological context seems to escape you, but even if they were relevant, where are those empires now? Failures, smashed to dust. The games you play with your fantasy white people and what you think they could do “if only” in some alternate universe doesn’t interest me. That sort of nonsense only supports the present regime by providing a harmless outlet for born losers to blow off steam. It wastes time. It empowers the Jew. It makes sense to persist in such foolishness only if supporting the status quo and empowering the Jew is your real objective, which I am forced to conclude it probably is.

      By contrast, I am more interested in what actually can be done to save the white race; with how white people actually are, not how they could be “if only”, or how YOU think they should be. Maybe you should do some soul-searching and get back to us in a few years when you have re-established contact with reality (or should I say “Reality”?) But something tells me that is probably too much to hope for.