Tag Archives: urban

culture decanted September 21

Why are we taking the super out of the supernatural stories: another postmodern symptom?

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Why are we taking the super out of the supernatural stories: just another postmodern symptom? There is a tendency of modern films and TV shows to recycle supernatural stories by finding secular or mundane explanations for their supernatural themes. This trend is driven by the continuing postmodern agenda to find rational explanations for everything and challenge existing meta-narratives in culture. To illustrate this, ten examples of dominant supernatural themes are explored as having secular explanations for their plots.

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culturedecanted.com September 07

Emerging Metaphors for the Human Body

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Emerging Metaphors for the Human Body   Metaphors are the cognitive tools through which we understand ourselves and the world (Lakoff and Turner 1989: xi). One of the primary metaphoric resources is the human body. Probably, since we first became self-aware, we have been fascinated with our bodies: psychologically and culturally. “Man is the measure […]

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birdcage August 27

Semiotics of the Birdcage

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A semiotic analysis of the birdcage as a cultural status symbol. Why is this symbol used so consistently by luxury and fashion brands? What is the history of the birdcage through to today? What are the psychological drivers that influence the engagement with the birdcage in society today? Since the birdcage is linked with fashion, what does this suggest about women and how they are framed in societal discourse?

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Personification of the City August 15

Why are we no longer in love with our Cities?

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Why are we no longer in love with our cities? We personify cities, give them human characteristics.

We create our identity from where we live. Are we projecting something, of how we see ourselves, onto our cities?

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The psychology of the maze July 31

The Psychology of the Maze as a Modern Symbol

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    Why are we still a-maze-d by labyrinths? With a diverse range of permutations, the Maze is a symbol that has been with humanity since the pre-historic era. So pervasive is the labyrinth within human symbolic communication, it is impossible to think of a human era where it was not a deep structural metaphor […]

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Culture Decanted June 13

Opening a Window to the Future [Part 2]

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Why are we so negative about the future?: Future Part 2   “The future is like a dead wall or a thick mist hiding all objects from our view’ William Hazlitt, 1822   Cultural Metaphors of the Future One of the manifestations of the authenticity trend in society today is the cherry-picking what parts of […]

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June 11

Why are we so scared of tomorrow? [Part 1]

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Why are we so scared of tomorrow?   To paraphrase the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, ‘humankind has never had it so good’. Well it’s probably more accurate to say that in many ways our collective-cultures have never been so advanced, with the potential of helping so many. So why do we find western culture […]

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