(6) Speculations II
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The Old West is as emblematic an image of the United States of America as is the post-World War II "golden era" of suburban welfare--the era evoked by Mayfield, of course. An era is often stylized in retrospect in terms of its prime cultural elements--in this case, for example, the nuclear family unit symbolizes stability and the wholesome quality of an assured existence.
Cultural markers often become definitive, but their meanings are narrowed down. By this, I mean that for example, the household is reduced from an actually existing entity to a merely symbolic one-- from, say, four people, with four people's differing sensibilities, to one monolithic object, 'the household.' Mayfield's drones are, in this sense, symbolic versions of people.
We've seen evidence that the world outside Mayfield is post-nuclear-war. In a situation where the stresses on society are extreme, society usually responds with promoting symbolic values, even above practical ones. Communist propaganda was never so strong as right before the fall of a country; even when the outcome of an election is in no doubt, politicians say they will fight the hardest before they concede; and of course, 'the night is always darkest before the dawn'. Given the context of the world outside, then, it seems fair to conclude that one of the reasons behind Mayfield's forms is the symbolic value of the 1950s.
This isn't, however, new information, I believe. At least, I think many of you will have come to this conclusion. However, given that we discovered a new city--apparently a separate shelter, and certainly one which is separate from Mayfield in non-trivial ways, since that town was left uninhabitable after we left--we might want to consider it in this light. That is, the town of Deadman's Gulch is very similar to Mayfield under these criteria: its Old West setting is, as I said, emblematic. Its inhabitants and its contents were stereotypical in the extreme.
It seems to make sense that the common maintainers of Mayfield and Deadman's Gulch, therefore, are driven by a sense of seeking security--and that they possess a knowledge of history which is detailed in the factual sense, but shallow and stereotypical in the matter of attitudes or understanding of underlying historical factors. A cowboy's hat is ancillary to the historical factors that gave rise to the cowboy.
After all, the West was once considered the frontier, where one could find a better place to live. Later, the suburbs fulfilled this role in the imagination--the white picket house. That seems like it's not quite a coincidence, don't you think?
Incidentally, was there anyone who discovered anything pertinent at Deadman's Gulch when we were able to enter?
The Old West is as emblematic an image of the United States of America as is the post-World War II "golden era" of suburban welfare--the era evoked by Mayfield, of course. An era is often stylized in retrospect in terms of its prime cultural elements--in this case, for example, the nuclear family unit symbolizes stability and the wholesome quality of an assured existence.
Cultural markers often become definitive, but their meanings are narrowed down. By this, I mean that for example, the household is reduced from an actually existing entity to a merely symbolic one-- from, say, four people, with four people's differing sensibilities, to one monolithic object, 'the household.' Mayfield's drones are, in this sense, symbolic versions of people.
We've seen evidence that the world outside Mayfield is post-nuclear-war. In a situation where the stresses on society are extreme, society usually responds with promoting symbolic values, even above practical ones. Communist propaganda was never so strong as right before the fall of a country; even when the outcome of an election is in no doubt, politicians say they will fight the hardest before they concede; and of course, 'the night is always darkest before the dawn'. Given the context of the world outside, then, it seems fair to conclude that one of the reasons behind Mayfield's forms is the symbolic value of the 1950s.
This isn't, however, new information, I believe. At least, I think many of you will have come to this conclusion. However, given that we discovered a new city--apparently a separate shelter, and certainly one which is separate from Mayfield in non-trivial ways, since that town was left uninhabitable after we left--we might want to consider it in this light. That is, the town of Deadman's Gulch is very similar to Mayfield under these criteria: its Old West setting is, as I said, emblematic. Its inhabitants and its contents were stereotypical in the extreme.
It seems to make sense that the common maintainers of Mayfield and Deadman's Gulch, therefore, are driven by a sense of seeking security--and that they possess a knowledge of history which is detailed in the factual sense, but shallow and stereotypical in the matter of attitudes or understanding of underlying historical factors. A cowboy's hat is ancillary to the historical factors that gave rise to the cowboy.
After all, the West was once considered the frontier, where one could find a better place to live. Later, the suburbs fulfilled this role in the imagination--the white picket house. That seems like it's not quite a coincidence, don't you think?
Incidentally, was there anyone who discovered anything pertinent at Deadman's Gulch when we were able to enter?