Multiple Now

May 26, 2011
Stacey Mason

The Aporetic makes an interesting argument for the “decentering of the self” in film. A viewer can see multiple points of view at once; each shot is a different perspective. The viewer can be omnipresent in ways that don’t exist in real life, and there are “multiple nows” that exist within the narrative space. The Aporetic argues that this idea of the decentered self has crept into reality with the ever-present stream of data across media—a very real stream of multiple nows that exists between real life, our projected self as we craft it in social media, the stream of information we are constantly seeking on our mobile devices, and the conversation we might be having with our sister via text message.

The idea is an interesting one, and he makes a point that he still demands that students “pay attention” and focus subjectivity in a single now—a method of engagement and learning that has become contrary to the ways they are learning things on their own. This is not, as he points out, a decline in a virtuous attention span, as the argument is normally presented. Rather, it is a shift in the way we are processing information. Perhaps it is better to recognize and embrace it.

Interesting ideas with intelligent comments.

.