Abstract
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It is not often that one finds a theoretical book originally written in 1985 that is both prophetic and pertinent to contemporary society. Vilém Flusser not only articulates the power that technical images and media have and will continue to have over our society, but he also makes poignant observations on the implications that technical images will have for history itself. Flusser is a theorist who is mostly known for his discussions of photography, but his other work deserves more attention. That is fortunately now facilitated due to the translation of the original Ins Universum der technischen Bilder by Nancy Ann Roth, who did a terrific job both with the translation and with the explanatory notes at the end of the book. The text starts off with an introduction by Mark Poster, who explains the relevance and ingenuity of Flusser by arguing how he, unlike his counterparts of the 1970s through the 1990s, gave importance to emerging media and what the ramifications of that will be in a global society. The book is divided up into 21 short chapters that trace the development of technical images throughout history, proceeding into post-history, and eventually Utopia.
Flusser’s argument is that technical images have the potential to produce a utopic future society that will be unlike any other. He explains that technical images will become increasingly important in society as time progresses. Throughout history, there has been a heavy use of texts, but over the past few decades image- or media-based content has become more popular. Evidence of this change is easy to see as we take into consideration that information is now arbitrated by visual media. To say that Flusser was ahead of his time is an understatement. His discussion of technical images, the end of linear history, the importance of particles, and the emancipatory nature of the fingertip, among other concepts, has been very much on point.
Flusser begins his argument by delineating the different trends in history over the previous centuries. History has flowed from pre-history, linear history, and post-history. Flusser describes pre-history as the time when there was a predominance of traditional images. Traditional images produced during post-history have the characteristic of being utilitarian in nature and relying heavily on pre-established codes. Traditional images functioned to put forth a specific type of information and this was best achieved by following specific cultural codes. Thus, traditional images shunned creativity and originality because they were seen as failures to its purpose. The next phase of history is linear history. This type of history is dominated by text and is easily traceable from one point in time to another. Post-history, on the other hand, began during the technical image revolution that is currently taking place. Post-history relies on technical images but in a way that differs from the way images were used in the past. Technical images use visual media in creative and liberal ways in order to solve problems, influence behavior, and entertain, among other functions. Linear time has been destroyed, according to Flusser, because technical images reappropriate the images of the past in new and innovative ways.
After thoroughly discussing the historical implications of technical images, Flusser moves on to discuss the specific characteristics of this new technological world. Fingertips have ceased to merely be an anatomical part of the hand because they have been transformed into the primary agents for freedom, liberation, and creativity in the technical universe. Fingertips represent the will of humans and transform them into envisioners who use fingertips as tools for manipulating the bits, bites, and particles contained within an apparatus. This concept seems a little abstract but when one thinks about how the keyboard is used within a computer system and other specific software, it becomes evident that Flusser was correct in his assertion about the importance of fingertips. After discussing how a society centered on technical images works in the technical sense, Flusser then discusses specific peculiarities and the possible pitfalls of a telematic society. Technical images reconfigure traditional notions of entertainment, suffering, the economy, leisure, knowledge preservation, and even death. Flusser warns that there are serious drawbacks in this type of society that must be avoided if Utopia is ever to be reached. Nevertheless, paradise is a tangible possibility and is discussed in greater detail in his final chapters.
The closing lines of the text eerily reveal that ‘the story is about you.’ Flusser takes the reader through a journey where he explains the intricacies of post-history in a telematic society and the ending serves as a warning. Here, the reader encounters strange concepts such as the beauty of idleness and the necessity of death through suicide. However, at the end of the book, among all this discussion of our changing society, there is a ray of hope. Flusser assures readers that these changes are merely birth pains that will give birth to a new world where many of the institutions and issues that plague the contemporary world will be of little importance and that will pale in comparison to the enormous amount of emancipatory freedom that a universe of technical images will offer. Flusser’s purpose is to reach as many readers as possible in order to offer an explication, a warning, and words of hope about the future.
Flusser does a superb job of defining and discussing his key terms in language that is both concise and elucidating. He goes into detail explaining terms such as technical images, particles, envisioners, apparatus, telematics, pre-, linear, and post-history, idleness, and Utopia. Flusser understood that his contemporary audience at the time of publication would have a cursory understanding of the technicalities that he wished to discuss. He wrote in an easy-to-understand yet sophisticated manner without overcomplicated technical jargon and needless abstract theoretical tangents. This is not to say that his writing lacks academic rigor or innovative thought. On the contrary, his writing style caters to a wide variety of disciplines and educational levels. This book is a must read for students and academics in the fields of media and cultural studies, sociology, and history. However, the universal nature of the book makes it a good read for scholars and students of other fields, too, if they are interested in learning about how our current technological society might turn out in the future.