On blurring
As is almost always the case, this is not intended to be a philosophical essay. It is more about pointing out a phenomenon or condition. However, the term “condition” is not the right term here. In this case, however, it can be interesting. I am interested in the current criticism of postmodernism and the idea that postmodern considerations have destroyed values. The question is whether the world would correspond to postmodernism’s postulations anyway. The general model in which we live and act recognizes black and white. It knows demarcations. It knows sharp divisions. However, the division is not always so clear-cut. It is permeable. Like postmodernism was.
In the movie:
Maybe it’s not about the blurriness. Or maybe it is. It’s about the blurring of what we see. Perhaps it’s about how we look at the movie. The blurriness in “Grand Tour” refers to the shots. The movie is set in the 20th century in a region that we would call the Far East. That’s what it’s about: It’s about a journey. However, the film’s images were taken in 2023. Therefore, we see the Far East as it is today. The scenes in the film blend with documentary footage. The boundaries disappear.
In anthropology:
The book The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, by David Graeber and David Wengrow, is precisely about blurring. It discusses how societies have changed their social orders multiple times. For example, societies transitioned from more authoritarian structures during the hunting era to more democratic structures afterwards. This change was not guided by values, although I’m still unsure what values entail, but rather by society’s pragmatic attitude towards the respective form. Since, as Malinowski wrote, the constitution is a cultural act, it can vary.
At war
What is it? The war? We have a certain idea of it: Missiles flying overhead. But we are currently discussing hybrid warfare. The invasion of “green men.” Or paralyzing infrastructure. This is done without the military or missiles. Without the “green men.” Exerting pressure. Perhaps creating fear? A war under the brimstone. Just a blur. Not in a postmodernist book. In reality.
