Dark Euphoria

A visualisation of Brue Stirling’s notes on the cultural temperament of the

coming decade: Reboot 11

Where did the future go?

• We’ve known since the 12th century what progress is: Master nature, more security, better health.....

• What we’re going to get: No money, scarcity, financial collapse, low-intensity global warfare, and a climate crisis.

• We’re deliberately moving backwards.

the cultural temperament of the coming decade

• Gen x: action is cheaper than control

• BRICS,fundies-globalising but not progressing

• Gen x: things falling apart, everything is possible

• Aging Baby Boomers. Have the votes.

Crisis Capitalism

Gothic High Tech

FavelaChic

Emergent countries

Dark Euphoria

Shock ofthe old

GOTHIC HIGH TECHWho is? What is?

Steve Jobs•brilliant but dying of something secret and horrible•got both hands on the steering wheel

- but death is waiting

a heroic 18th century gothic novel

brilliant poly-ethnic

with no ideology

will cheerfullycampaign against themselves

no lie holds sway -but nothing

holds

positionthemselves in the narrative

rather thanbuild anypermanentinfrastructure

chee

rlea

der

s n

ot

lead

ers

don't blame mebecauseI'm already deaddon't blame me I'm a vampire

why are gen x goths? why do they like to dress up like dead people?

FAVELA CHICAnd on the flipside

lost everything material-everything they've built and every thing they have but wired to the gills

no children

no

re

lati

on

ship

s

but bigon facebook

Facebook is a favela- the whole thing is going south,

no civil rights, you can't make money there,, you live there until they pull the plug

action is cheaper than control

an emergent structure

you can't insure it or get title to it-no inspections

-it'

s a

slu

m t

hat

yo

u

bu

ilt y

ou

rse

lf w

ith

p

lay

lab

ou

r

a stuffed animal:a smokestack industry,repurposed

a ci

viliz

ed s

qu

at

there isn't any other place to go

the old new

an urban intervention

References• Bruce Stirling’s Closing Key note Dark

Euphoria- the cultural temperament of the coming decade: Gothic High-Tech and Favela Chic

• “It is neither progress nor conservatism because there's nothing left to conserve and no direction in which to progress. So what you get is transition. Transition to nowhere.'"

• http://video.reboot.dk/video/486788/bruce-sterling-reboot-11

• He defines four quadrants for the coming decade and neatly discards this half as being irrelevant for the audience (which equates to the majority of the world's population): the financial crisis of the Boomer generation, the BRICs, the emerging economies and the 'fundies' of all persuasions

• length 45 minutes

IMAGES

1. Your Personal "Flying Carpet” http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollywoodplace/3016264752/

2. "buy this new thing, suckers" http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarod_uses_film/2576845129/

3. The Watchers Ruin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwest/215218600/

4. Confrontation? http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarra/1350029316/

5. Banksy http://www.flickr.com/photos/simon-crubellier/147034740/

6. Lobbyists for McCain http://www.flickr.com/photos/darynbarry/2831975838/

7. cheerleaders http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthdog/31471319/

8. eat the people who piss me off.http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitca/2280075391/

9. Electrical http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurman/2199563743/

10. My social Network on Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and MyblogLoghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/luc/1824234195/

11. James, I think your cover's blown! http://www.flickr.com/photos/23912576@N05/2962194797/

12. The moon belongs to everyone... http://www.flickr.com/photos/mauronascimento/2606241050/

13. Jumping into the new dimension http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterhack/2328014257/

14. always in beta http://www.flickr.com/photos/russelldavies/375434178/

15. http://www.treehugger.com/2008-01-14_110939-TreeHugger-wigglesworth1.jpg

16. http://steampunkworkshop.com/stunning-etched-brass-modular-synth