Saturday, January 28, 2017

Donald Trump and postmodernism


David Ernst, "Donald Trump Is the First President to Turn Postmodernism Against Itself" (The Federalist, January 23, 2017). Ernst picks Tony Montana in "Scarface" as an example of a postmodern antihero who responds to his public exposure as a criminal in polite society by turning the mirror back on his audience and dressing them down:
What you lookin’ at? You all a bunch of f—in’ a–holes. You know why? You don’t have the guts to be what you wanna be. You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f—in’ fingers and say, “That’s the bad guy.” So… what that make you? Good? You’re not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don’t have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you.
There's more, obviously; but there's the leap off point.

No comments: