Working & Living in the Limbo of Hyperculture Only to Arrive at some Unknown Empty 'Future'

Scott Brodie Forsyth, "Non-Cultures: Mapping the Sterile Spirits of Culture"

Non-places, as Marc Augé conceptualised, make up the architecture of our transient lives, devoid of historical narratives and human connection. In Augé’s lexicon, these are the corridors of airports, the aisles of shopping malls, the sterile expanses of highways, and the interchangeable rooms of global hotel chains. They are the no-man’s-lands of our frenetic movement, constructed for efficiency and expediency, disrobed of cultural or social significance.

In non-places, identities blur into a nebulous sea of anonymity, and the present moment supersedes any sense of history or lasting connection. Likewise, cultures devoid of origin traverse a hyper-realm of culture where the boundaries between native and foreign, proximity and distance, the known and the exotic blur into obscurity. In these hypercultures, according to Byung-Chul Han, the traditional markers of cultural boundaries and identity lose their relevance, giving way to a fusion of diverse influences and experiences.

In this ever-shifting terrain, the conventional markers of cultural identity and demarcation steadily lose their grip, giving rise to a fluid and ever-evolving cultural landscape. It appears superficial and bereft of historical depth, resembling an anthropological void. Within this context, the concept of “non-places,” which we aptly rename non-cultures for the purpose of exploring the alienation of cultural acceleration, holds a relevant parallel. These non-cultures possess cultural attributes, epitomised by the swift trends of fast fashion giants such as H&M and Zara or the hyperreal imagery associated with Barbie aesthetics. However, they exude a sense of emptiness, akin to the vacuity of a shopping mall when juxtaposed with architectural marvels like La Sagrada Familia.

Non-cultures, paradoxically, are cultureless cultures, as they embody cultural characteristics, but are devoid of genuine cultural and historical depth. They may exhibit tangible and visible material symbols, brand auras, and adorned fashions, as deterritorialized forms of cultural expression. Much like the concept of the culture industry, as envisioned by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, and the fast fashion industry, they operate with the relentless pursuit of profit and commercialisation. Both the culture industry, as conceptualised by Horkheimer and Adorno, and the fast fashion industry operate with the operative mandate of profit-seeking and commercialisation. They actively engage in the rapid exchange of signifiers, seeking to break down signifying chains. In this process, consumers are pushed toward identifying with icons like the Marlboro Man or Michael Jordan.

Celebrities and commodities, as well as pop music crafted through the machinery of the cultural industry, contribute to the rapid acceleration of this superficial and vacuous commercial culture. They resurrect ghosts from the past, repackaging past aesthetics, and strategically harness the culture-industrial technique toward viral sensations. In these non-cultures, traditions wither, stories fade into oblivion, and meaningful human interactions become scarce like water in a desert. The paradox is that these non-cultures often co-exist in parallel with the proliferation of non-places. As we shuttle through the sterile corridors of supermodernity, we traverse non-cultures that strive to anchor themselves as billboards, advertisements, and posters. In this twilight zone of cultural existence, the very essence of what it means to be human is challenged, as the boundaries of identity, history, and social interaction blur into an indistinct haze.

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