tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571055663184272276.post9106672482795829152..comments2023-07-09T07:45:50.552-07:00Comments on Socialism and/or barbarism: The unquiet earth, 2 (on post-catastrophic realism, inhuman human nature, naked boys with nosebleeds trying to set themselves on fire)ECWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142600295759704786noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571055663184272276.post-65197250332792621972010-09-26T23:15:38.407-07:002010-09-26T23:15:38.407-07:00J L,
somehow missed your comment when you posted ...J L,<br /><br />somehow missed your comment when you posted it.<br /><br />Indeed, you're right about the prevalence of the train track, particularly insofar as it comes to rather bluntly let us know that the trains most certainly do not run on time.<br /><br />As for what they "mean," that's a sticky question, but perhaps given the other pole of the trackless open to be horizontally and diagonally traversed by endless number of cars (i.e. Mad Max) or nomads, the track does hold out something for me that has less of the domination and more of a lost collectivity. You don't drive a train alone, unless you're in The Quiet Earth. They are group vehicles, and I'd argue the track as such has little to do with, or even opposes, that sense of the forward motion in time. A track remains without a train and mocks the thought of motion, for it's a path that needs a very certain kind of motor to get those very certain kinds of wheels turning.<br /><br />For an unwieldy slab of thinking about trains and motions, here's this:<br /><br />http://socialismandorbarbarism.blogspot.com/2010/08/roman-letter-14-on-staying-still-and.htmlECWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02142600295759704786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571055663184272276.post-59491821467351678352010-09-22T17:24:52.302-07:002010-09-22T17:24:52.302-07:00But it is not just nature, it is nature with train...But it is not just nature, it is nature with train tracks running though it. Have you ever wondered why there are so many instances of train tracks in post-apocalyptic films? It's almost like it's a required element. I say train tracks rather than trains because in Stalker the mode of transport is a railcart. <br /><br />I think the post-apocalyptic train track motif is a very powerful utopian image. For me it says 3 things:<br /><br />1. Humans have been here and left their legacy and the future will be built from this legacy. <br /><br />2. No matter what happens, there is the potential to move forward -the momentum of the vehicle on the tracks symbolises the eternal forward momentum of time. <br /><br />3. We must go beyond the capitalist drive for constant progress and domination of 'nature' and other people.<br /><br />It could be argued that the post-apocalyptic film is a distantly related descendant of the Western film -particularly Sergio Leone's version of the genre. At least the train track image in the post-apocalyptic film is equally important as it was in the Westerns of the past.Jessica Louisenoreply@blogger.com