Marinetti's
Futurist Manifesto provides a glimpse inside the mind of one Nietzsche might
have referred to as an "ubermensche." The manifesto outlines a
sadistic agenda founded in the use of propaganda that, which may rival that of
the Third Reich. From what I understand, this is the sort of literature that
drove fascism and the Nazism. Yet, Marinetti's Manifesto effectively excites
and romanticizes the degenerative behavior that it propagates.
The
Manifesto is littered with contradictory ideas. In his opening the poet,
writes, "
Museums:
public dormitories where one lies forever beside hated or unknown beings.
Museums: absurd abattoirs of painters and sculptors ferociously slaughtering
each other with color-blows and line- blows, the length of the fought-over
walls!" yet he fails to make such claims about poetry, which I would also
consider an art form. In creating art, he embraces his "godly" form
and uses it to blaspheme and disgrace his Creator. He pairs the sense invoked
by the word "love" and pairs it to those of "danger, defiance,
destruction." His rhetoric makes his work effective in arousing passion.
The love he describes here is one of the self and of earthly delights. His
close-minded, declarative statements do not question the truth, but perpetuate
his agenda, which seems to be to exalt himself over others by the manipulation
of those in lower social class. He appeals to the "struggle," yet
fails to acknowledge that struggle is distinctive to the human condition. The
painter struggles against the canvas; he fails to address this perspective.
He uses the
word "love" three times in his manifest. He uses this word out of
context. The love he describes, which is inhumane, immoral and injust, comes
from the greek, "eros," from which words like erosion are rooted. The
sense he is describing is desire. The contrasts the sense "love"
conveyed by the greek, "agape," which describes a sense of awe and
selflessness, the foundation upon which the model of humanity may be found.
"Agape" may be found in the New Testament, whereas "eros"
may be found in the Old Testament. In Biblical context, the Marinetti describes
the nature of the past, of the world before it received the Word which conveys
the image of God.
The
ubermensche, uber-id, behavior this manifesto propagates does not seem to be
dead. I think this is largely because much of the populous is unwilling to
acknowledge their form as "godly," misusing the word "love"
when the sense conveyed is "desire."
These depraving propositions are not dead. Though they seem
founded in the past, they have hung-over into the future. The strange thing seems
to be that so many seem so willing to embrace ideas such as these and that the
techniques employed to perpetuate such agendas are becoming so commonplace that
we don’t recognize we sell our time to ourselves and to the corrosion of our
minds by embracing ourselves over others, and accepting desire as “love.”
The 21st century is more convoluted with
propaganda than perhaps any other. Techniques employed by advertisers sell us
the ideas of love and identity through commercial media such as cinema,
television and perhaps, more interestingly, social media, like “facebook.” It’s
strange how things seem to have come full circle and art seems to be back right
where it began, on walls. Plato’s allegory of "the Cave” comes to mind…
Andy Warhol is sighted as saying, "Beauty? What's that? Beauty in itself is nothing." While I believe that there is something beautiful to be found in many things, persons, art, objects, sense data, etc. But in and of itself nothing would matter, what matters is that nothing, at least nothing we are sensually aware of, really seems to be in and of itself.
Andy Warhol is sighted as saying, "Beauty? What's that? Beauty in itself is nothing." While I believe that there is something beautiful to be found in many things, persons, art, objects, sense data, etc. But in and of itself nothing would matter, what matters is that nothing, at least nothing we are sensually aware of, really seems to be in and of itself.
