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Not
too long ago, symbols knew their place in the world and confined
themselves mostly to that night world of dreams, the "talking
cure" of psychoanalysis in dim offices of therapists or the oblong
dimensions of flags and dollar bills. But in our postmodern era,
they've taken on a 24/7 schedule and you can see them hanging
out everywhere.
Not
long ago they stayed hidden from view like "wallflowers" (masculine
and feminine wallflowers) around the dim perimeters of the basketball
court of the high school dance. Now these wallflowers have taken
on a new "in your face" attitude. They've blossomed into sexy young
vixens that walk around (and over) popular culture with the verve
and audacity of L.A. "valley girls" at shopping malls or modern
surfer skateboard dudes monopolizing the sidewalks of California
suburbs.
There
seems little question that these brash new contemporary symbols
are close to that "epicentre" earthquake of the postmodern culture
which shakes the foundation of grand, meta-narratives.
Joseph
Campbell once observed that the Greek goddess emerges each morning
from a New York subway. Jung once observed that airplanes are modern
symbols for birds. With the over-production of symbols in our era
of postmodern pluralism, they are spread far beyond airplanes floating
overhead or goddesses emerging out of subways.
It wasn't
long ago that we were encouraged to see symbols produced in everyday
life. Now the challenge seems to be to reduce their pesty, buzzing,
ubiquity.
There
is the possibility that the Internet, that modern manufacturing
plant of symbols of cultural content in the form of words and information,
might also present a technology for reducing them. Of course no
one is really jumping up and down with excitement at this prospect
since American capitalism (and certainly NASDAQ) has always rewarded
production rather than reduction.
One
begins with that basic dictionary definition of a symbol as "something
that refers to something else." Hello. Great definition. It's like
the dictionary is not very interested in defining reference but
rather deferring definition of reference. "Refer to something else
for the definition of this word." Is there some type of conspiracy
with the Merriam Webster corporation to keep this word secret?
Trying
to find the definition is like a dog chasing that elusive tail.
Somewhat like the phrases "senseless violence" (with its sub-textual
message that there is an opposite here in "senseful" violence) or
that American idea of "manifest destiny" another hypnotic phrase
cutting off the logic of the statement.
Much
of the relevance of symbols and reference to the Internet centres
around search engine technology developed in the last years of the
twentieth century by the Google scientists at Stanford and the Clever
Project at IBM's Almaden Research facility in San Jose.
In an
effort toward reduction of the massive content of information and
Web pages on the Internet, and yes the possibility of even moving
towards some of Jung's grand monistic symbols, the Clever Project
team defines two basic types of Web sites: Authorities and Hubs.
Authorities are sites other Web pages link to frequently on a particular
topic. For the subject of human rights, for instance, the home page
of Amnesty International might be such a location. Hubs are sites
that cite many of these authorities, perhaps in a resource list
or in a "My Favorite Links" section on a personal home page.
One
suspects an incredible inequality on the Web between Hub and Authority
sites, between "original" producers of content and streaming syndicators
of content produced elsewhere. One can look at that vast cyber-city
called AOL/Times Warner as the great Authority. One can also see
it as the great Hub, its centre referring out visitors to the Authorities
lurking in its far ranging cyber-suburbs. And one can also suggest
that the great Authority site will be somewhat like Santa's workshop
with little Authorities working around the clock to meet the demands
of original content.
One
of the problems behind the "postmodern condition" is that everyone
sees Hubs as the only symbols when the real ones ("Will the real
symbol please stand up") are the Authorities often hiding behind
the Hubs in the same manner that the dictionary definition of "symbol"
hides behind. True symbols are not the Hubs "referring to something
else" in their hyper-links to Authorities. Rather, the real symbols
will be found in those few Authorities.
And
in the process of discovering these Authorities, Campbell's Greek
Goddess will not emerge everyday but only once. For those few who
are aware and have been able to escape from the "trance of content"
she will only need to emerge once rather than each few hours in
a thirty second television commercial for perfume. A few will see
her for what she really is: that one Authority on beauty.
Copyright
© 2000 John Fraim. All Rights Reserved.
John Fraim is a regular contributor to *spark-online. He lives
in California.
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