After reading Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle I found myself thinking a little different about how the star system affects society. I had thought of the how iconic architecture is craved by some people in the world because they want some thing new: fresh; a "spectacle" that represents what they want the model of life to be, not how it currently is.
And although I knew that star architecture becomes incorporated in the life of the society surrounding it (because as humans we adapt to our surroundings), I had not quite thought of it the way Debord did when he stated:
real life is materially invaded by the contemplation of the spectacle, and ends up absorbing it and aligning itself with it...Each of these seemingly fixed concepts has no other basis than its transformation into its opposite: reality emerges within the spectacle, and the spectacle is real.
He seems to have been able to put into better words what I had already been thinking. But then, as I think more on my interpretation of what Debord was saying the fact remains that the majority of the people in this world probably don't care about having the tallest building or the newest architectural and engineering feat in their country.
I am biased. I don't like star architecture. I can't stand it. And I would be a stubborn old mule if someone tried to get me to like the star system. I realize this is not being object and unfair to those who may actually have decent arguements for the system.
However, I feel that star architecture is part of the globalization that is destroying so many different cultures in this world. We can't have that. Our built environment is part of the physical manifestation of our cultures - the souls of our peoples. I may sound like Maxim Gorky when I say this, but if we allow the thousands of unique cultures in our world to fade out, to be destroyed violently in wars fought over economics and basic necessities, then we all might as well be dead.
And although I knew that star architecture becomes incorporated in the life of the society surrounding it (because as humans we adapt to our surroundings), I had not quite thought of it the way Debord did when he stated:
real life is materially invaded by the contemplation of the spectacle, and ends up absorbing it and aligning itself with it...Each of these seemingly fixed concepts has no other basis than its transformation into its opposite: reality emerges within the spectacle, and the spectacle is real.
He seems to have been able to put into better words what I had already been thinking. But then, as I think more on my interpretation of what Debord was saying the fact remains that the majority of the people in this world probably don't care about having the tallest building or the newest architectural and engineering feat in their country.
I am biased. I don't like star architecture. I can't stand it. And I would be a stubborn old mule if someone tried to get me to like the star system. I realize this is not being object and unfair to those who may actually have decent arguements for the system.
However, I feel that star architecture is part of the globalization that is destroying so many different cultures in this world. We can't have that. Our built environment is part of the physical manifestation of our cultures - the souls of our peoples. I may sound like Maxim Gorky when I say this, but if we allow the thousands of unique cultures in our world to fade out, to be destroyed violently in wars fought over economics and basic necessities, then we all might as well be dead.
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