Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 6-29-2012 12:00 AM Baroque Worlds of the 21st Century Xavier Gamboa The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Juan Luis Suárez The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Hispanic Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Xavier Gamboa 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Spanish Literature Commons Recommended Citation Gamboa, Xavier, "Baroque Worlds of the 21st Century" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 633. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/633 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BAROQUE WORLDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY (Spine title: Baroque Worlds of the 21st Century) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Xavier Gamboa Graduate Program in Hispanic Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Western University London, Ontario, Canada © Xavier Gamboa 2012 WESTERN UNIVERSITY School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Juan Luis Suárez Dr. Rafael Montano ______________________________ Dr. Anabel Quan-Haase ______________________________ Dr. Victoria Wolff ______________________________ Dr. Katherine Austin The thesis by Xavier Gamboa entitled: Baroque Worlds of the 21st Century is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract This dissertation furnishes an analysis of the unfolding twenty-first century neobaroque phenomenon. Thus this disquisition delves through assorted cultural artifacts from the current digital era as well as manifestations of neobaroque motifs; these virtual baroques of the twenty-first century range from memento mori, video games, social networking sites and the sponsors of these neobaroque manifestations--the corporations, a baroque legacy. This thesis seeks parallels, as opposed to replications of the first modern global culture--the historical baroque of the seventeenth century; it also provides an extensive etymological research of the international and evolving meaning of baroque, taking also into consideration its political instrumentality. The approach of this study also treats the current neobaroque as a global phenomenon. Therefore, to unveil the baroque resonance of these artifacts, global and multidisciplinary scholars and theories from traditional and nontraditional baroque bastions will be applied. Keywords: Neobaroque, baroque, etymology, memento mori, corporation, new technologies, video games, virtuality, Web 2.0, twenty-first century. iii Dedication To doña María Martha F.G., accountant, executive, mother-- and stalwart supporter. Per Angusta Ad Augusta iv Acknowledgments “When you drink the water, remember the well.” Chinese proverb I am grateful to Western University, in particular, to my mentor and dissertation director Dr. Juan Luis Suárez. Dr. Suárez’s professionalism, encouragement, and support merit gratitude. I also appreciate the opportunity to become involved in the Hispanic Baroque and CulturePlex projects; they continue to serve as wells of knowledge--and interesting inquiries. Likewise, I would like to thank Dr. Rafael Montano and Dr. Joyce Bruhn de Garavito for their guidance as professors and chairs. Thanks to everyone else who contributed to this journey. v Table of Contents Title page ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… i Certificate of Examination ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iii Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… v Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… vi Chapter One: A Case for Baroque Paradigms--Roots and Conceptual Issues Leading to Contemporary Neobaroque Artifacts ………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter Two: Rediscovering the Baroque as Neobaroque in the 21st Century …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 37 Chapter Three: The Baroque Legacy of Memento Mori …………………………………………… 87 Chapter Four: Kinetic and Interactive Art: Virtuality and Special Effects in Video Games …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 120 Chapter Five: Neobaroque Tendencies in Online Social Networks …………… 144 Chapter Six: Beyond the Bottom Line: The Ascendant 21st Century Corporate Baroque ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 183 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 229 Vita …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 250 vi 1 “Neo-Baroque calls for a more entertaining, more challenging, digitally-oriented education that forces students to solve real problems with present-day solutions.” Dr. Juan Luis Suárez, Barroco Nova Chapter 1 A Case for Baroque Paradigms--Roots and Conceptual Issues Leading to Contemporary Neobaroque Artifacts The historical baroque is not taking over the twenty- first century; after all, the seventeenth century has gone into the realm of history. Nevertheless, not all baroque features fade through time--they adapt. Indeed, the baroque’s adaptable features continue to reemerge through time. Even today, baroque facets emerge as neobaroque artifacts spring into the new digital era. In this dissertation, I will argue that protean attributes of the baroque continue to manifest as neobaroque artifacts as we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century. By “neobaroque artifacts,” I mean emerging contemporary manifestations of baroque features and motifs; especially, those adapted to the virtual media propelled by globalized digital technologies. For the 2 record, in this thesis, I categorically gainsay that everything related to the historical baroque resurfaces nowadays, or that everything is “baroque” for that matter. Furthermore, I espouse the notion that the emerging diverse, global and multicultural culture of the multitude- -akin to the ancient Roman form of pluralism--that overlaps with a surfeit of virtual interaction and information, spurs cultural complexity, a sign of neobaroqueness. Let me reiterate that by neobaroqueness I do not mean an utter replication of a historical time period associated with the seventeenth century; but rather, I aim to accentuate the adaptation of the historical baroque’s strategies and motifs into twenty-first century digital and global popular culture. So, is this a phenomenon? Absolutely, but not a phenomenon geared exclusively to the few or ultra-elite, such as the oligarchic patrons who purchased paintings for their private collections during the historical baroque or enjoyed complex and puzzling poetry while the majority of the population remained illiterate. This emerging “neobaroqueness” is geared towards the demos--like Shakespeare’s or Lope’s popular theaters. What actuates this “neobaroque?” 3 I consider globalization, crisis, decentralization and mass-oriented technological innovation as the driving forces behind this contemporary cultural phenomenon. In this discourse, I define crisis not only as a critical turning point or a time of dire straits, but also a time of conjuncture under the decentralizing drift catalyzed by ubiquitous digital technology worldwide. Certainly, the first crisis of the age of Cyberia yielded a proactive and mass-oriented theatricality; the user is the actor and public simultaneously in a virtual environment generated by the mainstream accessibility to gadgets that facilitate access to the digital and virtual milieu of Web 2.0. Indeed, today’s virtuality embraces digitalization; they go hand in hand and are no longer monopolies of knowledge kept by institutionalized ivory towers or opulent cliques fond of costly high-tech widgets. For better or worse, globalization brings about cost-effective manufacturing of gadgets that facilitate the digital and virtual realms to the populace; it has truly democratized those theatrical virtual realms. Now everybody can become an actor-spectator on Web 2.0 via Facebook or YouTube. Even the old traditional media--remember television?--has managed to come on board Web 2.0, where “users-viewers” can 4 follow, create and report more news and input on Facebook. The ongoing era of digitalization has taken the not-so-new concept of virtuality to new heights of popularity. For the purpose of this disquisition, virtuality can be concisely delineated as the conceptualization that the real and tangible--as well as abstract concepts--can be diffused via multisensory configurations conveying information. In chapter two, I will further discuss the baroque legacy on virtuality and make the case for its application and readaptation in today’s digitalized society. Likewise, in chapter four I will argue the need to consider video games as “neobaroque artifacts,” a theme that will resound on the final chapter where I discuss the impact of the ultimate twenty-first century hegemonic entity that harks back to the historical baroque. In