Flâneur is the name for a man who aimlessly
through town, talking to acquaintances and experiences collected; often the
artist who obtains inspiration. The expression cannot be easily translated, as
it is firmly linked with Paris and with its covered passages, in which people
can hang out even in bad weather. First came up with this expression of Charles
Baudelaire, who so named intellectual café deadbeat inextricably linked to the
French culture and environment of the city. Later the concept was forged by modern
life philosophers Walter Benjamin and Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Flâneur is not a
tourist, because he or she are not in a hurry and does not visit popular
attractions, but places that are familiar, he is not a vagabond as he is fairly
materially well-off and can afford to visit restaurants.
through town, talking to acquaintances and experiences collected; often the
artist who obtains inspiration. The expression cannot be easily translated, as
it is firmly linked with Paris and with its covered passages, in which people
can hang out even in bad weather. First came up with this expression of Charles
Baudelaire, who so named intellectual café deadbeat inextricably linked to the
French culture and environment of the city. Later the concept was forged by modern
life philosophers Walter Benjamin and Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Flâneur is not a
tourist, because he or she are not in a hurry and does not visit popular
attractions, but places that are familiar, he is not a vagabond as he is fairly
materially well-off and can afford to visit restaurants.
New
concept of flâneur is coming to existence at present time, as many people are
transforming themselves into virtual flâneurs, roaming through social media and
thus imitating the activity described by Benjamin. On the contrary to flâneurs
of the past, they need only an internet connection and a piece of hardware, so
their strolling is rather mental and sedentary.
Cyber- flâneurs are creators in a certain sense as they build their own
boundaries of time and space, building up their own orientations points where
they like to return. These are selected websites which contain a certain
content which seems to be attractive to them. The labyrinth of different links
and interconnected websites is rather endless as it is being created faster
than it can be visited (Hall, 1976). Therefore, the flâneurs of modern time are
not permitted the luxury to have a vision of finity, which was permitted to the
flâneurs of the past. Rather, cyber-flâneurs are void of the spatial
understanding of the environment where they spent time: and therefore, their
activity is doomed to nihilism and self-destruction (Deleuze et al.,1997).
concept of flâneur is coming to existence at present time, as many people are
transforming themselves into virtual flâneurs, roaming through social media and
thus imitating the activity described by Benjamin. On the contrary to flâneurs
of the past, they need only an internet connection and a piece of hardware, so
their strolling is rather mental and sedentary.
Cyber- flâneurs are creators in a certain sense as they build their own
boundaries of time and space, building up their own orientations points where
they like to return. These are selected websites which contain a certain
content which seems to be attractive to them. The labyrinth of different links
and interconnected websites is rather endless as it is being created faster
than it can be visited (Hall, 1976). Therefore, the flâneurs of modern time are
not permitted the luxury to have a vision of finity, which was permitted to the
flâneurs of the past. Rather, cyber-flâneurs are void of the spatial
understanding of the environment where they spent time: and therefore, their
activity is doomed to nihilism and self-destruction (Deleuze et al.,1997).
In conclusion, the map of the
current world, seen through the eyes of Cyber- flâneurs, is however to a large
extent unbalanced, due to the fact that most online users come from the North,
rather than from the South. The social network is therefore anything but
inclusive and the virtual maps of the world where Cyber- flâneurs walk is in a
high disproportion in dependence of the material welfare of the social network
users.
current world, seen through the eyes of Cyber- flâneurs, is however to a large
extent unbalanced, due to the fact that most online users come from the North,
rather than from the South. The social network is therefore anything but
inclusive and the virtual maps of the world where Cyber- flâneurs walk is in a
high disproportion in dependence of the material welfare of the social network
users.
REFERENCES
Capitalism and Schizophrenia University of Minnesota
Press, Minneapolis.
Hall, Edward T. (2009) 'The Anthropology of Space: An Organizing
Model' in Environmental Psychology: People and
their Physical Settings Proshansky, Ittelson, Rivlin (eds.) Holt Rinehart and
Model' in Environmental Psychology: People and
their Physical Settings Proshansky, Ittelson, Rivlin (eds.) Holt Rinehart and
Winston, New York
Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narrative and
making of place. Lecture week 4
notes ( PowerPoint slides).
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