Just a few days ago I was struck by the misuse of the word, “surreal.” Today at the Univ. there were three guests, 2 visual artists/teachers and an art historian/teacher, talking to the students about “postmodernism.” This lecture, and panel discussion, gave a brief overview as to what postmodernism is and its various points of view as a theory. One of the theorists mentioned was Jean Baudrillard. He is credited with coining the term “hyperrealism” by talking about “the meticulous reduplication of the real” and how what we know as reality is a replication of reality as an image of itself. I have read some of Baudrillard’s work but, I haven’t read enough of it to fully understand it to my satisfation. One thing that bothers me about some of this type of writing is its “privileged voice.” Privileged in the sense of those in the “west” speaking as if theories can be applied across all cultures and societies in the same way. The so-called third world shouldn’t want to “BE” like us, although they may want some of what we have: good food, water, clothing, ease of transportation, ease of access, health, etc.
One of today’s lecturer/artists mentioned currently reading Homi Baba, a postcolonial writer and, born into the Parsi community of Bombay, teaching in a U.S. university (I’m not sure where he’s currently teaching). I was surprised to hear a white woman was reading on postcolonialism. Surprised mostly because she is white because many whites (excuse the generalisation) would rather not talk about the effects of colonialism either here in the Americas, Europe, nor in Africa itself. Naturally, I asked two questions that brought out some of these issues. They thanked me for the questions.
[edited 11 Apr., 2003]