Samuel Johns
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“LIVING THE DREAM” ATOP WHISTLER MOUNTAIN: THE MALAISE OF MODERNITY AND VANCOUVER’S LEISURE CULTURE by SAMUEL GREGORY JOHNS B.A., The University of Oxford, 2011 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Geography) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2013 © Samuel Gregory Johns, 2013 Abstract Our modern age is purportedly like a mountain; high and mighty, worthy in stature and significance. Perhaps we live in the Everest era, atop the summit of achievements in science, technology, and innovation. If so, then modernity should be viewed as untroubled progress. Yet Charles Taylor's malaise of modernity presents us with a rather different view. Given the pervasive logics of individualism, instrumental reason, and a loss of freedom, the onward march of modernity should perhaps be met with more resistance. Taylor charges us to recognize such inherent contestation. The case study of a leisure culture in Vancouver, British Columbia, sheds light on this tension. An elite class of young urban professionals is observed to respond to Taylor's malaise by escaping and returning to nature, notably the Coast Mountains. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted to examine their refusals of the metropolitan auspices of the malaise, manifest in the pursuit of heroism, awe and wonder, and vitality, all of which reify mountain culture. Yet the call and response are far from simple. Rather, a riddle of sorts emerges. Given the logics, technologies, and terrain of escape, the grip of the malaise seems as tight on the mountainside as in the metropolis. Taylor serves as a valuable guide in this fraught terrain. His 'work of retrieval' informs a pursuit of the richer sources feeding this culture. Logics of social atomism, fragmentation, and instrumentalism are examined. In doing so, a critique of radical anthropocentrism is mounted, challenging the young professionals’ attitudes towards fulfillment. Does this quest for meaning negate nature, society, history, tradition, and even God? These questions reveal potential limits to the modern frame, in its individualized, secularized, and subjectivized versions. The mountain emerges as a powerful conceptual image amidst this analysis. In times of clarity and confusion, the permanence and perspective of the mountain are to be treasured. Whilst Leopold's call of 'Thinking like a Mountain' is considered, the limitations of a mountainous group, in the Coast Mountains, atop the 21st Century informational mountain are duly noted. The hope is that Taylor's 'work of retrieval' can, after all, enlarge the frame. ii Preface This dissertation is original, unpublished, independent intellectual work by the author, S. Johns. The fieldwork reported was covered by UBC Ethics Certificate number H12-02624. iii Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ...................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ viii Dedication ................................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Concepts, methods, and introduction to Vancouver .......................................................... 5 2.1 Three mountains ............................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 The mountain: an aspiring peak population............................................................................. 10 2.1.2 On the mountain: in the clouds ................................................................................................ 14 2.1.3 At the mountain: the Coast Range ........................................................................................... 18 2.2 Vancouverism ................................................................................................................................. 22 Chapter 3: Retorts to a malaise ............................................................................................................ 30 3.1 Escape: the search for heroism ....................................................................................................... 36 3.2 Return: the quest for awe and wonder ............................................................................................ 48 3.3 Pursuit: the vitality of life and meaning ......................................................................................... 63 Chapter 4: Riddles at the mountain ..................................................................................................... 75 4.1 Logics: the ultimate riddle .............................................................................................................. 76 4.2 Technologies: the trap of tools........................................................................................................ 88 4.3 Terrain: a paradoxical encounter .................................................................................................. 100 iv Chapter 5: A work of retrieval ............................................................................................................ 116 5.1 Hubris ........................................................................................................................................... 119 5.1.1 Denial: evasion and ignorance ............................................................................................... 121 5.1.2 Deception: false illusions....................................................................................................... 127 5.1.3 Honesty: administering realism ............................................................................................. 133 5.2 Hypomodernity ............................................................................................................................. 137 5.3 Transmodernity ............................................................................................................................. 146 Chapter 6: Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 154 Bibliography........................................................................................................................................... 163 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................. 173 Appendix A: Interview questions ....................................................................................................... 173 Appendix B: Interview consent form ................................................................................................. 174 v List of Tables Table 1: Three mountains ........................................................................................................................... 8 Table 2: Interview respondents ............................................................................................................... 13 Table 3: A profile of weekend warriors .................................................................................................... 35 Table 4: Supernatural smartphones .......................................................................................................... 94 Table 5: Three revolutions in speed ....................................................................................................... 106 Table 6: Kierkegaard's three existential stages ...................................................................................... 122 Table 7: Hypomodernity ......................................................................................................................... 143 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Map of leisure destinations from Vancouver in Winter ............................................................ 21 Figure 2: Map of leisure destinations from Vancouver in Summer ........................................................ 21 Figure 3: Wordle of interview responses ................................................................................................. 24 Figure 4: The onward march of modernity and push back ...................................................................... 35 Figure 5: A rhythmical view of the week ................................................................................................. 54 Figure 6: Whistler's Wonderground