Week Eight: The Age of Fragmentation

The Age of Fragmentation (pardon the punny graphic) was and is characterized by a lack of unity. That is, there is no overriding purpose for life or meaning for the elements of our world and existence. So, reality is purely subjective, the transcendent is denied and the mundane is elevated. Though in many ways this carries on elements from the previous Age of Non-Reason, Schaeffer looks specifically at music, art, movies and general culture.

The movies Schaeffer looks at are primarily older movies (though less so at the time the video was done) by Fellini, Bergman, etc. Though they may be largely unfamiliar to many now, they demonstrated the notion of "cruelty equals non-cruelty" and, Fellini in particular, demonstrated the madness of cultures simply pursuing pleasure with no higher calling. Though Fellini's Satyricon was made about ancient Rome, the modern parallels are strong and serve as a warning.

Artists such as VanGogh, Monet and Picasso are also addressed, and though they did beautiful art, as acknowledged by Schaeffer, the impressionist and abstract styles were a move away from dealing with individuals as meaningful entities and a move towards individuals being just another element in nature. Interestingly, Schaeffer points out that though they often reduced their models to mere cubes, they all violated their own personal styles when painting loved ones. For lovers and children, they preferred a realistic portrayal that captured who they really were and not as symbols.

Perhaps the most interesting character discussed was the "musician" John Cage and his "works." I use quotations here, because it is debatable whether Cage's creations are truly art or simply a philosophical statement or "anti-art" as Schaeffer puts it. Though we heard both Cage's noisy, chaotic works and his ambient noise pieces like "4'33"" (or Four minutes and thirty three seconds), none of us considered his efforts worthy of anything more than a laugh or a cringe.

Next week, on the 29th, we'll be looking at the Age of Personal Peace & Affluence. We will not meet this week, the day before Thanksgiving.