英语论文网

which Baudrillard's theorising could explain this is by suggesting that it is subjective mental masturbation whereby we can escape the 'cold' simulated reality that we experience into a 'warm'4 simulated hyper-reality which is closer to our origins, our birth, the womb. Take, for example, the millions of people who buy Oasis records, or Oasis-Beatles as one commentator has dubbed them5. The parallels between Oasis and The Beatles are strong, the musical style, clothes, attitudes, and looks of the band members are very similar even though there is a twenty year gap between the two. It is not the people who bought Beatles records in the 60s that are now buying Oasis C.D.s, it is a new generation who, on the whole, know very little about The Beatles. It is not the 60s generation who buy simulated 1960s fashions, rather it is contemporary youth. In this context Baudrillard's argument does little to help explain the phenomenon of nostalgia across such a time gap. I would argue that music and fashion are like any other commodity in that they have a scarcity. It is this assumption that leads directly into a materialist explanation of nostalgia. 5.4. Material and nostalgia - the return of 'The Pistols'. If Marx is correct then it is the production of material that forms the basis of human existence. This process requires the availability of raw materials as well as the means of production. Each raw material does however have its own level of scarcity which, to a certain extent, will ascertain its exchange value. I would argue that for many individuals music, fashion, and decor are in part raw materials which are constituents of that person's life in that they make the harsh facts of life more bearable6. In this manner Baudrillard's theory is correct in that music etc. is used as escapism. However, music is a commodity created by production, and, even when it is spontaneous it is quickly pounced upon by the forces of production in order to increase accumulation of capital. Take for example the Sex Pistols. Here was a 'new' form of music, one which generated a whole new subculture, which was nihilistic, anarchic, and reviled by mainstream culture and society. The Pistols were, however, created by Malcom McClaren a bourgeois entrepreneur whose main interest lay in creating profit. Indeed the whole punk era was dominated and constructed by such gurus. It is no surprise then that the members of The Sex Pistols were all art school graduates. Twenty years on from their first concerts there is now a reunion of the original band, they are appearing in the media making themselves as reviled as they were in the mid 1970s. However, The Sex Pistols have now joined the ranks of the grand fathers of music; they will not be reviled. The Pistols have been accepted by capitalism: they made money, they still make money, they will make money again7. What this re-union is providing is material; it is the material that allows the 'thirty-something' generation to indulge in nostalgic re-birth. I am sure Baudrillard would agree with this point. However what it also provides is the opportunity for capitalism to create more surplus value. The record industry and the media provides a simulation for those who never experienced punk rock. The Pistols are put forward as the original wildmen of rock and roll and after all rock and roll is meant to be wild; that is why youth enjoys it. It is for this reason that production romanticises The Sex Pistols; they are material j