Christopher Lasch's After The Bomb
In After the Bomb, composers not only critique personal and political values but also manipulate textual forms and features in response to their times.
Evaluate this statement with reference to a prescribed text OTHER texts for your own choosing (Hiroshima, Lasch)
The cold war brought with it a darkened fog over almost the entire human race. Physical, psychological and emotional walls developed instantaneously. The world’s cultural, social and political paradigms seemed to shift in both negative and positive directions. This exponential amount of change sent shock waves through all forms of emotional and creative outlets. Composers of texts were harshly affected. Their entire outlook on our society and world developed harsh critiques on …show more content…
At a point in time where human extinction was not only conceivable but had been partially displayed- many took upon the role of the ultimate survivor. In desperate attempts to control their own personal lives: Many individuals developed strategies proposed by Christopher Lasch, an American cultural critic. The fact that Lasch’s commentary comes from an American perspective (removed from the physical fighting, threat or violence of the changing society) deems important in that he talks of the effect felt by those who were seemingly unaffected by the cold war. Lasch proposes that ‘under siege, the self contracts to a defensive core, armed against adversity’ which seems like a perfect summary of the personal and political values and events of this time. Politically, nations and governments developed espionage and security systems, which were defensive and ultimately damaging to both sides involved. Their expendable agents, money and morals were masked with the code name of ‘national security’ however was often a detailed, confusing plan that left many with wounds both physical and emotional. Lasch’s proposal and book The Minimal Self, develops a unique outlook on our human responses to control and attempts of control. On a personal level, Lasch suggests that in order to resist total external control from governments or higher authority figures, individuals shut down their interior introspective and personal responses to ensure a safe passage through uncertain times. This theory was heavily authenticated through personal accounts and experiences through living in the fear of another world war. Lasch’s theory, however sad and depersonalizing establishes the ultimate survivor: Much like our protagonist in Spy who came in from the Cold, Leamas we see social and emotional disengagement from others along with a refusal of past and present which
Evaluate this statement with reference to a prescribed text OTHER texts for your own choosing (Hiroshima, Lasch)
The cold war brought with it a darkened fog over almost the entire human race. Physical, psychological and emotional walls developed instantaneously. The world’s cultural, social and political paradigms seemed to shift in both negative and positive directions. This exponential amount of change sent shock waves through all forms of emotional and creative outlets. Composers of texts were harshly affected. Their entire outlook on our society and world developed harsh critiques on …show more content…
At a point in time where human extinction was not only conceivable but had been partially displayed- many took upon the role of the ultimate survivor. In desperate attempts to control their own personal lives: Many individuals developed strategies proposed by Christopher Lasch, an American cultural critic. The fact that Lasch’s commentary comes from an American perspective (removed from the physical fighting, threat or violence of the changing society) deems important in that he talks of the effect felt by those who were seemingly unaffected by the cold war. Lasch proposes that ‘under siege, the self contracts to a defensive core, armed against adversity’ which seems like a perfect summary of the personal and political values and events of this time. Politically, nations and governments developed espionage and security systems, which were defensive and ultimately damaging to both sides involved. Their expendable agents, money and morals were masked with the code name of ‘national security’ however was often a detailed, confusing plan that left many with wounds both physical and emotional. Lasch’s proposal and book The Minimal Self, develops a unique outlook on our human responses to control and attempts of control. On a personal level, Lasch suggests that in order to resist total external control from governments or higher authority figures, individuals shut down their interior introspective and personal responses to ensure a safe passage through uncertain times. This theory was heavily authenticated through personal accounts and experiences through living in the fear of another world war. Lasch’s theory, however sad and depersonalizing establishes the ultimate survivor: Much like our protagonist in Spy who came in from the Cold, Leamas we see social and emotional disengagement from others along with a refusal of past and present which