I noticed this remarkable review by Slavoj Zizek of the 2006 film “The Children of Men”. In the apocalyptic, sterile world in 2027, the hero Theo Faron (Clive Owen) comes to visit his friend who is one of the leaders of the dying civilization. The friend filled his castle with abandoned masterpieces of art, like Picasso’s Guernica (above), Michelangelo’s David, etc. Taken out of the historical context, without a contextual reference, the art means nothing. Actually we live in the word of museum objects that lost connection to historical context and cultural thread, our art became and artifact. BTW, “The Children of Men” has the most amazing warfare scenes. A sobering epic.
Further Reading:
Rembrandt as a Cultural Culmination
The Cocoon of Status Updates
Reinventing the Past with Walter Benjamin
