In “The Spirit of Utopia", Ernst Bloch argues that a lifestyle such as Bowie's is typical of the
"modern man". He is never complete, he is always searching for the next thing – whatever that
may be. I feel that there is a utopian dimension to the above statement which is worth
highlighting. This can be explored through Jameson’s view of Bloch’s ‘utopia’ in
Archaeology of the Future. Jameson tells us that we must be able to tell the difference
between utopian forms and utopian wishes. He says that Bloch's work regarding utopia is
forward-looking, much like the work that Bowie was producing during his time in Berlin as
both encompass a number of different elements from the various corners of politics and
culture that seek to highlight the “outlines of a better world” 13 within the context of modern
life.
Furthermore, Wayne Hudson discusses how Bloch talks of desire, influenced by the rapid rise
in consumerism, which becomes manifested in our everyday lives. He goes on to discuss how
Bloch sees identity as a “fundamental supposition of anticipatory consciousness […] Bloch
ranges over happy and dangerous experiences in ordinary life” 14 which again, is how David
Bowie lived his life in the 1970’s. He sought to completely immerse himself in Berlin’s
permissive culture in an attempt to simulate a utopic experience of what he saw as ‘everyday
life’ in an attempt to reach some form of fulfilment of the ‘inner narrative’ that Lyon
discusses.
This is present throughout the Berlin Trilogy, despite the abandonment of his past personas.
The idea of Bowie as the postmodern man can be further explored through Bloch’s work on
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14
Fredric Jameson, Archaeologies Of The Future (London: Verso, 2005).
Fredric Jameson, Archaeologies Of The Future (London: Verso, 2005).