Rules

In the reading I came across a sentence on pg 20 that really got me thinking.

“Even the question of formal limits imposed on expression will no longer form part of the problem; it will be completely eliminated as a distinct element of the problematic” (Easthope, 20).

As I was reading this and thinking to myself what it really meant, I came to the conclusion that it is a certain characteristic of the world that we live in today. The walls are falling, if they haven’t already fallen. Formal Limits? I think we left formal limits at the door at the turn of the century. Or did we? Is progression an ignorance of formal limits? Is the way our society operates today in any range of the formal limits of the 1900’s? how about 50’s? 80’s? I’d say absolutely not.

I’m not just talking about nudity on TV or cursing in songs. In talking about ethics and communication. We are in a period where literally anything goes. If a boy wants to wear pink sunglasses and tight jeans, it’s accepted. If you want to call you dad ‘dude’ it’s accepted. If your black and you want to run for president, it’s accepted. Of course, all of these things are relative to their respective spheres; however, my point is that just as every society before us has adapted and progressed beyond the respective definition of ‘formal limits’, so are we, but at a very accelerated rate.

The same rules are applying to text. Progression is at an all time high and many believe that one of the most valued institutions in “formal limits” (text) could possibly be distinct within the next 50 years. In fact, it’s probable.

In the last sentence of the paragraph the author states, “…and the rules will play their part in so far as they are directly useful” (20)

The difference is, in text or in life, the rules are being redefined every day, so who is the ref? I guess my point is that the formal limits that we think we know and the rules by which we play, are so ambiguous and ever changing that they are indefinable.