The Power of the Wandering: Consumer Society and Urban Culture Studies: Consumer Society and Urban Culture Studies

Author: Bao Yaming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: The meaning space constructed by text and image is like the urban space in real life. We can either climb skyscrapers and overlook from above, or wander through the streets and buildings below. This is the difference between the observer and the stroller. The stroller, on the other hand, is situated in the "lower" part of the space, and wandering is the basic form through which he experiences this space and its meaning. His body rises and falls with the thickness of the "text" of space and meaning, and at the same time, he is writing this text. The Power of the Stroller is a thought diary of an urban stroller. McDonald's, television, subways, ferries, cinemas, bars, the working class, modernity, science and technology, globalization, consumerism, cultural studies, urban space, literary images—all converge here. The stroller wanders through the messy questions and texts. His body rises and falls with the thickness of the "text" of space and meaning, and at the same time, he is writing this text. The stroller (parasitic) in space, text, and image. His wandering and writing are both related to and unrelated to space and text. He only cares about the "surface," yet he can sense the power and depth he never pays attention to from the "surface."