The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
Post-modernism has cut off the present from all futures. The daily media add to this by cutting off the past. Which means that critical opinion is often orphaned in the present.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how post-modernism disconnects us from our future visions and the past, leaving critical thought isolated in the present.
John Berger's quote reflects on the impact of post-modernist thought on contemporary society, suggesting that it severs our connection to both the past and future. This disconnection creates a sense of isolation for critical opinions, which are often left without historical context or future perspective, resulting in a fragmented understanding of our circumstances and challenges as we navigate the present.
Themes
Post-ModernismMediaPresentPastCritical OpinionIsolation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the impact of media on societal consciousness.
More from John Berger
All quotes →Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
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We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
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The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
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Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
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Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
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