Commentary Of Jameson's Postmodernism Space Theory

Fredric Jameson is known in the academic world as a leader in the American neo-Marxism and postmodernism theorist and a cultural critic. Since he insists on the critical standpoint of neo-Marxism, devotes himself to the contempary elucidation of Marxism and notices the realistic social problem, he has been able to influence Chinese academics. His postmodernism cultural theory draws great responses from Chinese academics, literature and art, because of his theory' s affinity towards contemporary China. According to Jameson, one of the traits of the postmodernism culture is the transformation of temporality to spatiality and so the concept of space is very important in Jameson' s postmodern theory. Previously in China, there were only brief studies of the spatiality, which was considered as one of the characteristics of Jameson' s postmodernism , while there was no deep study of his space theory. This thesis is an attempt to make a deep analysis of Jameson' s space theory and real its significance in the fields of culture, aesthetics and plutonomy. The thesis is composed of three parts. The second part is the most important one and it includes four subtitles.1) "Introduction: the status of the concept of space in postmodern culture" . This part mainly illuminates that in the fields of contemporary philosophy, aesthetics and sociology, where the concept of time-space is emphasized, the conversion from temporality to spatiality became one of the important indications of the transition from modernism to postmodernism. The conversion of Heidegger' s thoughts was another indication of the conversion from temporality to spatiality and transition from modernity to postmodernity .2) "Analysis of Jameson' s postmodern space theory" . I. Summary of Jameson' s postmodern space theory.This section summaries Jameson' s space priority theory. According to Jameson, the time-based definition in modernism has been converted tospace-based definition in postmodernism and space is the priority subject. Evidence of the priorization of space can be observed in history, cultural psychology and aesthetic forms. One of the causes of this change (change to space-based definition) is the development of technology as the high technology changed people' s concept of time and space. As a new form of space, the postmodern space has the characteristic of hyperspace.II. Methods to study Jameson' s postmodern space theory.By considering the feature of Jameson' s whole theory, the view of totality and cultural logic theory, which Jameson always adhered to, were analyzed. The Marxism methodology was also examined, which is the theoretical foundation of Jameson' s postmodernism space theory.III. Origin of Jameson' s postmodern space theory.In this section the pedigree character displayed in Jameson' s postmodern space theory was analyzed. The concept of pedigree was presented originally by Lefebvre and Baudrillard. Lefebvre' s study on space was original. Jameson' s space theory was greatly influenced by Lefebvre' s concept of space and theory of space production. Baudrillard' s simulation theory, on the other hand, is the immediate source for Jameson' s concept of hyperspace and theory of virtual space included in his postmodernism.IV. Analysis of Jameson' s postmodern space theory.Jameson' s analysis of real space illustrated by architecture and virtual space illustrated by visualization were described, based on the postmordernity of space , and the significance in aesthetics and its significance in politics and economics.According to Jameson, the postmodern architecture represented by the Westin Bonaventure Hotel presents traits of deeplessness and hyperspace. These characters have significant cultural speciality, which rejects the distinction between "high" and "low" or popular culture and also reduces history to historicity, reality disappear, resists interpretation. Postmodernism architectures can give people special taste experience of "schizophrenic", this is a kind of transience glad sence worked by high-tech of the present age. Neo-space...