Creative reception of J. Baudrillard’s concept in Ch. Palahniuk’s postmodern worldview: simulacra, mediation, disappearing reality
Research Article
How to Cite
Kovtunenko I.V., Kudryashov I.A. Creative reception of J. Baudrillard’s concept in Ch. Palahniuk’s postmodern worldview: simulacra, mediation, disappearing reality. Humanities of the South of Russia. 2022. Vol. 11. No. 6. P. 241-254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2022.6.14 (in Russ.).
Abstract
Objective of the study is: to prove that Ch. Palahniuk’s “Choke” is a vivid example of a work of art in which J. Baudrillard’s views are systematically realized, and the novel itself can be interpreted as a kind of author’s reaction to these views.
The methodological basis of the research. The research methodology is based on the principles of hermeneutical and interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the author’s fictional reality, the rules of philosophical and philological comparative studies, and the method of explication of the author’s deep meanings from the most essential and significant details of the psychological and speech portrait of the characters. The possibilities of informational-semiotic approach to the interpretation of a literary text in the light of J. Baudrillard’s philosophy are realized.
Research results. In Ch. Palahniuk’s creative concept the contemporary world is a parasitic constructor, forever feeding on the past and simultaneously generating new layers of meaninglessness. “Empty” societies do not balance on the verge of chaotic collapse, on the contrary, collapse, entropic hand, are an incentive for radical changes in culture. Through a painful struggle with himself and society, Ch. Palahniuk’s heroes are freed from the restrictions imposed by the simulation. Cultural and individual-personal disintegration opens up a world of possibilities for restructuring, and it is this potential restructuring that becomes the subject of the author’s comprehension in the novel “Choke”.
Prospects of the study. In the novel “Choke”, Ch. Palahniuk offers both a diagnosis of simulation and an effective mechanism for getting rid of its destructive consequences. For Ch. Palahniuk – as, in fact, for J. Baudrillard – signs and images are completely devoid of their semantic content. The novel under study is replete with verbal illustrations of absent and mediated referents, especially in the field of personal identity. The most of the characters’ personalities largely turn out to be unfounded constructions In this regard it is promising to detail the philosophical content of the integral character zone of the novel, taking into account the concepts of other poststructuralists.
Keywords:
poststructuralism, postmodernism, empty sign, signified, signifier, simulation, hyperreality
References
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3. de Chavez J. (2018) The political subject is a lover not a fighter: reading Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club as a love story / J. de Chavez // ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Article, Notes and Reviews. – Vol. 31. – № 2. – Pp. 123-131. – DOI 10.1080/0895769X.2017.1369863.
4. Fuentes C.F. (2018) Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club under a different lens: pressures on the male body in community and the question of masculinity / C. F. Fuentes // Odisea. Revista de Estudios Ingleses. – Vol.19. – Pp. 53-72. – DOI 10.25115/odisea.v0i19.2008.
5. Jaima A.R. (2019) Literature Is philosophy: On the literary methodological considerations that would improve the practice and culture of philosophy / A.R. Jaima // The Pluralist. – 14 (2). – Pp. 13-29. – DOI 10.5406/pluralist.14.2.0013.
6. Keesey D. (2016) Understanding Chuck Palahniuk / D. Keesey. – Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, – 274 p. – DOI 10.2307/j.ctv6sj8cj.
7. Kudryashov I.A. (2021) The author’s manipulation of the space and time categories as a factor in reader’s identifying with the character’s image / I. A. Kudryashov, А. Yu. Turanova // Russian Linguistic Bulletin. Vol. 2(26). – Pp. 151-156. – DOI 10.18454/RULB.2021.26.2.4.
8. Lizardo O. (2007) Fight Club, or the cultural contradictions of late capitalism / O. Lizardo // Journal for Cultural Research. – Vol. 11(3). – Pp. 221-243. – DOI 10.1080/14797580701763830.
9. Mohammed Hasan A. D. (2018) Transition and transgression of identity in Chuck Palahniuk’s Survivor / A. D. Mohammed Hasan // Sino-US English Teaching. – Vol. 15. – T. 1. – Pp. 38-43. – DOI 10.17265/1539-8072/2018.01.006.
10. Mohd Said N. A. (2020) Order in Disorder: Exploring Chaos Theory in the Narrative Structure of Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club / N. A. Mohd Said A. A. Termizi // 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies.– Vol. 26(2). – Pp. 37-49. – DOI 10.17576/3L-2020-2602-03.
11. Palahniuk, Ch. (2010) Choke / Ch. Palahniuk. – N Y.: Anchor Books, – 138 p.
12. Shahriari H. (2017) A thematic analysis of Palahniuk’s fiction in light of epicureanism / H. Shahriari, G. A. Toosi // K@ta. – T. 19. – Vol. 1. – Pp. 273-291. – DOI 10.9744/kata.19.1.25-31.
Article
Received: 10.10.2022
Accepted: 25.12.2022
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Kovtunenko, I. V., & Kudryashov, I. A. (2022). Creative reception of J. Baudrillard’s concept in Ch. Palahniuk’s postmodern worldview: simulacra, mediation, disappearing reality. Humanities of the South of Russia, 11(6), 241-254. https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2022.6.14
Section
CULTURE AND GLOBALIZATION
