Shock and Naturalization - An Inquiry into the Perception of Modernity

Abstract: In sociology shock is often seen as emblematic of modernity. However, while Benjamin and Simmel famously portray the big city crowd - and by extension modernity itself - as an arena of shock, shock sensations are notable for their absence in depictions of the crowd as well as of modernity as a whole in much contemporary literature. This is evident in depictions involving streets, trains, technology, interpersonal relations, and so forth. Like a natural environment, this modernity is characterized by a pattern of cyclical repetition rather than by the linear pattern of evolution or progress. It is a “naturalized modernity”, in contradistinction to the “shock-modernity” of much classical theory. The overarching aim of this study is to reflect on the meaning of this observation for the theory of modernity. In particular, we are interested in its implications for Benjamin’s theory of modernity. Three tasks stand at the center of our investigation. The first is to explicate and map the “constellations” of shock-modernity and naturalized modernity through the use of a “montage” of “primal scenes” from classical theories of modernity and contemporary literature. Secondly, we will show that each mode of modernity is characterized by its own distinctive dilemmas. This is crucial to bear in mind when discussing the strategies and ideals pursued within each modernity. Thirdly, we will discuss the implications of naturalization for the perception of non-identity, and, by extension, for the critique of myth. Special emphasis is given to how the relation between shocking and naturalized modernity unfolds in Japanese literature during the half century since the end of the Second World War. I focus on the work of four Japanese writers: Kawabata Yasunari, Abe Kôbô, Murakami Haruki and Murakami Ryû. The reason for choosing these four writers is simple: Kawabata and Abe share a view of modernity as shocking but display contrasting strategies towards the experience of shock - one basically affirming it while the other basically rejects it. Similarly, Murakami Ryû and Murakami Haruki share the view of modernity as naturalized while displaying contrasting strategies towards the experience of naturalization - again one affirming it and one rejecting it.