Research at risk
New Cultural studies have offered a deep insight into new cultural spheres. Our undercover reporter for undercover party journalism met one of the field's most advanced and ambiguous experts, none other than mr A.F. Brunner.
Mr Brunner has led research in the past 20 years on Womanizing and the transvental self, inspired by the writings of the beat generation back in the 60s (Mr Brunner claims he's born in the 50s, which is why he says he had been on the field for 20 years already, but really you could say he's just a random party guy) and by the phenomenological movement of the 20th Century, in which he describes, "lies the inexplicable logic of modern identity's crisis".
Mr Brunner's research last night was strikingly and powerfully logical;
firstly "I attempted to look into the absence of creative-links that usually ties people in friendship, as described for example in the event of what I call prostituted talk in action", also "I attempted to look into sincerity, and by a complex disguise-arrangement addressing the now trendy theme of urban costume I uncovered:
- hidden structures of what one could call a 'lost-romance' in the meaning of style in the hyper-modern context of the urban diaspora
- logics of extra-polated truth as seen in the ritual of the drunk-joke, the euphoric trans dance listening to Bach's 27th suite in CD minor, repetition and the breaking the glass event - how this increases chances for the realization of a "lost-romance"...
- logics of amathematical contact in the trans-cultural encounter under which relies an important structure to discuss in the context of a postmodern crisis, that of a possible encounter. This can be seen in the "I take a picture of you, you take a picture of me" logic.
- logics of doubt in the modern conversation as seen through the remark "What?", dominating the circuit of communication in these global and fragmented networks.
- logics of loss as seen in the simple "where's my fags, Ian?" being an indicator of the postmodern's aspirations for the alternative
- logics of gift-giving traditions as seen not in the 'pass the joint' dialogue, but in the 'I have the joint, you have a beer' description, which is a clear itinerary to structures of gift in urban & youth culture
- logics of secularity and ungendered modernity intertwining with the previously described traditions (the term "modernity" would hence find its meaning in its historical development) in the universalized use of lipstick, hats, also in the generalized display of human hair, and in the pink-fashion, which clearly describes a move back towards ideas of peace, nature and love.
All this he told me in half an hour over a shot of vodka, two glasses of Wine, eight joints, 20 Bach's 27th suite in CD minor trans dances, two girls, and some fruit.
"I believe dried fruit is the apple of my eye", he added ironically.
Moreover Mr Brunner is quite optimistic for the future of humanity (he is himself an engaged humanist), as it constantly re-affirms its force and resistance in the meaning of style.
Anthropology's goal, he tells me, alongside thorough journalistic techniques of investigation, should be to re-assert the strength of the people as seen in their every-day gestures. This is strongly supported by the ideal of global-mass communication as a healer of its own power. The local becomes anthropology's alocal, post-historical matter.
Mr Brunner finally added that he prefers to avoid the idea of truth, and this entirely derives from an effort to integrate the crisis of the modern social individual...
I then left him conduct fieldwork in his unique fashion, and last I saw of him he was deep in the process of working out what his informant (cf. picture) meant by "Dude, this bar of chocolate is so catso! Hey, have you tried the toilet thing, pulling your dress up when you go to pee?"
D.W.James,
Undercover party journalist
for
the U.P.J.
editor: Julia Zaremba
