In response to David Wood,
I'm didn't mean to imply that reference to the cartoon/movie-like quality of
the US Space Command's material meant that the underlying military
realities of their plans were not being taken seriously. Perhaps what I
was questioning was a simple critique based on the representational
form of such material.
I guess that the question which then arises is: how do certain images
(associated with sci-fi or large-scale violence, for example) appeal to
'patriotic Americans'? Those of a psycho-analytical bent might explain this
in terms of a series of psycho-sexual explanations (perhaps revolving
around the affirmation of selfness and the negation of otherness). Those
of a cultural persuasion might be more interested in the ways and means
through which certain images become invested with meaning over time.
The critique of militarism through its infantilization and
hyper-masculinization certainly resonates culturally in the academy and
beyond. I wonder why?
David Lambert
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David Lambert
and
Department of Geography, Sidney Sussex College,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge,
Downing Site, CB2 3HU, UK.
Cambridge,
CB2 3EN, UK.
Tel: (01223) 740878 or 360570 (home)
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