By: Felipe Senra Barros (Grade 4)

We are encouraged to recycle. Recycle water bottles, recycle paper, recycle anything that would’ve gone to the trash. But it may seem like we took it way too seriously, bringing reusage to another realm apart from the physical one: the cultural universe.

The way culture influences our society is evident. It’s present in each and every mark of humanity. Physically, it reflects in fashion, art, music, architecture and many others. But have we made it to a point where it’s stagnant? Or worse, unmemorable?

Culture is subjective. We’re in a time where being nostalgic is trendy. We take little puzzle pieces from different decades, resignify them and create a new identity for them. Elements from the 90s, 60s and 00s (y2k) are perceptible nowadays in the physical shapes of culture. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t moving forward. Let’s call the 2020’s decade a transitioning time. Society as a whole is naturally shapeshifting and creating an authentic rememberable style. And although we can notice the old intrusive styles, it’s undeniable that we have innovated in so many different areas.

Opposite from what George Orwell and Eugène Ionesco predicted in their books “1984” and “Rhinocéros”, masses and culture are not controlled or controllable anymore, except from the horrid situation countries like Palestine, Iran and Afghanistan are in. Our relationship with philosophy and tradition has changed drastically since and because of WWII, and we don’t know yet how it may affect our cultural production.

Maybe, after all, this recycling marks the start of a new cultural and social system. We all know humans are naturally religious and developmental, therefore we are in constant change and can’t interfere with it. This new movement isn’t only cultural, it’s also social, theological, philosophical and scientific. Smile: you’re in the middle of it.

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