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The Language of Lies: Destroying Myth

© Shaun Michael Jex

The usage of language is in and of itself a political action. In this sense we will define language as anything that is capable of communicating an idea. The politics of this language come into being in that it's use either supports or subverts the myths of the status quo and, the term 'myth' is used in the Barthean sense as a semiotic sign drained of its history and given a non-arbitrary meaning that becomes naturalized through constant use and repetition until it becomes an accepted truth.

In the study of history and literature, the myths that have remained the most dominant and piercing into modern society have been those that came about as the result of colonial Europe. In our Brave New World, this is not the primary case, and Colonialism has been usurped by Commercialism. Even politics have become run by the mass media and by marketing and advertising. They create the new 'mythologies' by making wide spread generalizations, categorizing and representing with a particular image for the penultimate purpose of capital gain.

For the time being, literature will be considered anything with text or dialogue, therefore not limiting it solely to poetry, fiction and drama, but expanding it's grasp into the cinema, sitcom and advertisement. The myths that they create are apparent in almost every facet of day- to- day life (this being essential for them to truly be myths). To name only a few examples it can be seen that supposedly, Calvin Klein represents sexuality, black people represent basketball players and rappers and, America equals the Big Money, Drugs equal murderous villains and Religion equals Purity.

It should be blatantly obvious the dangers of making these sorts of 'mythos' naturalized and engrained into the mass consciousness. The threat of the naturalized image is that by draining it of it's true history and having it's pretense accepted as reality, it relieves the myth consumer of any social responsibility, because it is accepted that this is 'just the way things are.' What should be even more alarming is that many artists(from the lowliest soap opera's script writer to the high minded novelist) often reinforce these ideas in their work in everything they write and say, whether aware of it or not.

The subversive and socially/personally aware author is one who defies these myths by either demystifying them, exposing them for their falsity, or by satirizing them by creating a myth and perhaps giving it no meaning, as such is the case in Gravity's Rainbow, which brings the reader to realize that these myths are not inherently engrained in the objects, but are deliberately placed there by the myth creator. They are not natural.

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