Different interpretations of the myth of Atlantis continue to this day. As far as modern society is concerned, it is Francis Bacon's "New Atlantis" written in 1623 that interprets the myth of Atlantis with brand-new modern capitalist thinking. Unlike the utopian dreams that put Atlantis in a place of nothingness in the past, Bacon’s ideal island is America, a land conquered by the modern navigation technology of the British colonists. In this rich land, "Solomon's House" is the crystallization of human wisdom. All the wisest people will use the modern scientific methods advocated by Bacon to understand themselves and the universe. But Bacon is far less optimistic and scientific than we imagined. During the same period when "New Atlantis" was published, Bacon wrote an article called "Propaganda about the Holy War", advocating for the promotion of European civilization in the world. Dominate and slaughter all "giants, beasts and foreign dictators." Looking for the ideal country on the islands, but the establishment of the ideal country depends on blood and iron; after each island country seems to be suppressed by an "other", we will search for Atlantis in all subsequent journeys See this bloody and secretive dialectic.
Just one hundred years after Bacon wrote "New Atlantis", Daniel Defoe wrote "Robinson Crusoe". This is a story about how individual capitalists rely on primitive accumulation and the "master-slave relationship" to establish a capitalist ideal country on a desert island. Since the eighteenth century, classical political economists have repeatedly used Robinson as the prototype of economics, and proceeded from this to establish their grand theoretical system. For the early Puritans, the island was an ideal test site. There is no extra body and material consumption, but there are enough raw materials and time. The labor value theory has found its embryonic form here. As Marx said: "Our Robinson, who rescued the tables, account books, ink and pens from the broken ship, immediately began to keep accounts as an authentic British." And it was taken in 2000. "Castaway" retains the basic essence of "Robinson Crusoe", but omits the most sensitive slave issue in the original book. The "Friday" in the original book becomes a Wilson in the movie. The volleyball of the brand, the hero in the story personifies it, making it a "slave" on another level. However, what is interesting is that while the 18th century "Robinson Crusoe" focused on the production of commodities, the 21st century "Legend of a Deserted Island" focused on the exchange of commodities. The protagonist of the story Chunk happens to be the senior executive of the logistics company FedEX. Whether it is the volleyball he relies on or other items that he depends on for his livelihood, it is the finished product of the commodity circulation process. While the economic man in the 18th century still needed to manually grab natural soil to make earthenware jars and regarded it as a kind of "fetish," the economic man in the 21st century relied on the post-modern style of nothingness. Traces of capital circulation. Robinson used a raft to escape from the island, and Chunk used a plastic raft to escape from the island. This is the difference between the evolution of capitalism for centuries.
The success of "Legend of a Deserted Island" at the box office and public opinion made filmmakers realize that there is still a market for the island myth. Lloyd Braun, president of the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), decided to remake it into a series. And the end product of this idea is now the popular "Lost" (Lost). This series, which has now been crowned the "cult" (cult) hall, has mixed almost all the myths about the island: desert island survival and primitive production, Frankenstein and the ideal country, and what is really called " The mysterious person of the "other", etc., of course, everything will come down to Plato's original theme: when these dozens of people are put together, how can an effective and ideal society be built?
Many fans have different interpretations of "Lost". However, whether it is to understand this island as a ghost island or another dimension of space, there is no more realistic irony than the imagination of the island in "Escape from the Island" (Island). In this film, the so-called "Island" is the last unspoiled virgin land in the future world. The dream of all people in their lives is to leave this absolutely rational and programmed world by winning the lottery and come to this paradise on earth. However, all these people who dream of winning the lottery are clones. "Island" is actually just an illusory program that is input into their minds day and night. Every win in the lottery means that this clone will be slaughtered and put him Transplanted organs to humans in the real world. This is the most bleak and ironic prediction in the world today. In this world, everyone is a commodity, and everyone’s life is just a node in the circulation of capital, and the so-called Atlantis is nothing more than a place of capital. It's just a dream of manipulation.
Perhaps, ironically, in our real life, those islands that were originally deviated from the route and considered uninhabitable are indeed gradually included in the unstoppable torrent of capital. Uninhabited, no fresh water supply, and no transportation routes, these ghost islands, which should have been outside the world’s territory, have finally become the face of the earth under the devastation of private jets, catamarans, water distillation systems, satellite networks, and huge amounts of funds. The last piece of luxury paradise to be developed. On the Internet, you can find countless DIY information on how to buy a private island and how to survive on the island. Robinson’s survival notes have now become a fashion consumer manual; top real estate development companies like O Property Collection have set their own goals The group is defined as a "global consumer" and extends its tentacles to each island with a long coastline and blue sea. On the last piece of natural pure land that has not been polluted by civilization, Shigeru Ban will stand up. The luxury hotels designed by Hadid, Kengo Kuma and others are the transit point between countries and the junction of capital circulation, providing a stronghold for the "global ghosts" for a little rest. According to Chris Caruro, CEO of the US Private Island Company, after the 9/11 incident, a new wave of island purchases began again. Fleeing from cities, fleeing from pollution, fleeing from terrorism, islands are not so much the opposite of modern urban life, as they are the mirror image of urban life; when people think that islands are extra-legal land, safe and paradise, and involved in capital, race, and national disputes Outside the Garden of Eden, perhaps, the island’s revenge has just begun. When we look back at all the myths about islands for thousands of years, maybe all these legends about tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, civilization decadence, and invasion of others will become fables to some extent, the last one in human civilization. Dramatically staged on the end point.
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