Orientation & Identity

reaction in one form or another necessary, or at least suggest
action, be anticipated? We try to come to conclusions based on impressions.
We react differently depending on whether our expectations
are confirmed or we are surprised. Either we change our attributions
of meaning and learn to see the world differently or we
declare the world crazy, or claim we were deceived.
From this perspective, culture consists of agreements among
a community of people who define the borders in which changes
will be tolerated. We mostly observe the world and the reaction of
others to this world as soon as we find ourselves in a community
with other people. Our perception is therefore co-determined by
the recognizable reactions of others, although in varying degrees.
Three options come to bear in the assessment of symbols – where
do we feel safe, where do I recognize dangers and where do I see
aims and possibilities?
Identity is ambivalent. Identity develops from the interplay
between inclusion and exclusion. Limits offer protection, but they
also limit. Limits therefore always tend to be unstable. Every phenomenon
beyond set limits is considered a provocation that should
be neutralized through ignorance, destruction or assimilation.
The tighter the limits, the larger and more threatening the world of
excluded options seems. But phenomena lose their sharpness,
volatility and fascination if limits extend into the unfathomable. But
a synthesis, a seemingly closed interplay of unique appearances
always succeeds where a pure broadening of the limits should.
Flamenco music, song and dance is an example that lets us experience
such a harmony of opposites.
Identical phenomena are observed until no unsolvable contradictions
emerge to be perceived and differentiated as opposites.
Extremely complex and multi-faceted appearance forms can be
traced back to uniform motives and characteristics. In reference to
urban spaces this means that precisely because certain attitudes
in varying degrees shape the world, they can be read as reliable
and trustworthy orientation symbols. It isn’t the uniformity of the
perceived symbols; it is the assumption that all symbols follow a
cogent complex of intentions that gives us the feeling that we are at
home, safe and sound.
The international exchange of money, goods and services
seems to be the increasingly dominant force behind human action
in our contemporary world. This desire for unbounded freedom of
action meets with massive resistance, again and again. It is popular
to see these inhibition levels as cultural barriers. But is it imaginable
for us to be able to orient ourselves in the face of constant,
unlimited change? Markets demand flexible people who are ready
to adjust to the job and consumption offerings. Identity is reduced
to core numbers connected to identity papers, credit cards, accounts,
telephone numbers, computer addresses and to the links
our networks offer us.
The distribution of existing goods is a central theme in every
human community. The idea that goods should be divided unequally
among people stands undisputed in large parts of the world
today. This makes it necessary to constantly set new limits signs.
These signs are subject to constant change so they can both stand
apart and be assigned to certain groups. A person who hasn’t
found a place within a certain distribution system can’t consciously
take up an outside position and/or attack the given limits with a
provocative appearance. Punk, Gothic, or Hip Hop cultures or socalled
alternative or discount offers on the market are examples of
this at a social level.
The current discussions of the identity concept refer to its
central role in modern societies. There is talk of identity loss, identity
disorder, and identity crises. The balance between continuity
and change is described as disturbed. The discussion is often driven
by the image of a world in which orientation was easy for most
people. The world only changed slowly. Even every innovation
remained true to its own “self.” And if something stood out it was
isolated and expelled. One form always enjoyed priority in these
considerations. Alternatives helped consolidate the rule of a culture
of majorities as discriminated forms.
We are therefore exposed to the following problem. On one
side, both deficiency symptoms and saturated markets demand the
permanent development of new alternatives while preserves asked
to be defended with constantly redrawn boundaries. Even those
areas of social action that traditionally stood outside of market
economy dominance are being commercialized today with the claim
that this is the only way they can survive.
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