Travels in Hyper Reality : Essays
by Umberto Eco
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 535)
Read in August, 2008
I have to admit, I only bought this because the title made me laugh. The titular essay is the best thing here and is really the only piece from this book I would recommend strongly. It's a little reminiscent of Joan Didion, in its focus on the peculiarities of California culture in the 20th century and the underlying psychologies that bring about monuments to artificiality like Ripley's Wax Museum, William Randolph Hearst's sprawling mansion, and good ol' Disneyworld. Although there are some int...more
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Read in October, 2007
A great book. The man's a total genius, but what I liked most about this cikkectuib of essays is the way Eco's humanity comes through, and how it is balanced against his sagacity. A series of political essays reveal a desire for disinterested situational analysis over partisanship; book reviews turn into opportunities for mild academic trash-talking; and his grumpy-old-man side emerges in talking about soccer and movies. Also included is a brilliant close-watching deconstruction of 'Casablanca' ...more
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hmmm. nice read until i got bored with an idea that was beat to death. eco seems to be in love with his own ability to draw obvious conclusions. and the conclusions start to lack while the pretention grows. i couldn't finish it--but the first half was good, so i gave it three stars. eco's main event seems to me to be "the name of the rose" afterwhich he becomes "umberto eco" and starts to rehearse that act a bit too much.
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recommends it for:
Zeitgeistophiles, sniffy aesthetes and permutations thereof
Patchy collection of essays with 1 or 2 winners. Eco has a rather breezy approach to his assay of American popular culture but he hits the mark in a few places. His bemusement is a little tinny at times but he at least seems to enjoy himself. The titular essay provides the most substance here. His comparison of William Randolph Hearst's California Shangrilah to Walt Disney's theme parks is spot on. Americans do like it authentically fake. The briefest of visits to Las Vegas should prove that.
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Derek by:
Found it at a used bookstore, said "what the hell?"recommends it for: European intellectuals
Doing my best to slog through this... I've read some of Eco's stuff in semiotics and thought I'd give this book of essays on contemporary culture a try... though I find myself drifting off when I start hearing talk about certain things being more "real" than others. It strikes me as a little flighty and postmodernish, though I suppose I'd like it more if I'd had more exposure to the various terms d'art he uses.
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Read in November, 2007
Humorous cultural theory. Sometimes Eco gets down to some heavy stuff, like in his critique of Foucalt's and Barthes's Language=power theories. But many of these essays read like intellectual and entertaining editorials (many of them were written for Italian newspapers), without the dry, dumbed-down polemical thrust you might encounter in the New York Times. Barthes "Mythologies" is approximate.
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Read in January, 2007
Eco's collection of [by now rather old:] essays. Still, they're worth reading; the perfect anecdote to anyone who believes that cultural theory is like eating milkless bran. Sometimes a bit overlong, but there's brilliance sparkled throughout, particularly when writing on California.
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This is a series of non-fiction essays that will be of interest to anyone who is interested in popular culture and/or the study of history. In particuar I recommend the essay titled "Dreaming the Middle Age." You will never view your state or region's Renn Fest the same way again!
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Read in February, 2008
Working my way through this one... slowly. I just finished the first essay on America's obsession with hyperrealism, the fetishization of places that preserve a "better" (read= more real than real) version of historical truth.
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recommends it for:
broski
this was my intro to eco went all around california and made a bunch of observations about it and america I read this before I moved to Cali so that was a great thing to do to get me ready. Real enjoyable/accessible
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Spectacular cultural critique of america's obsessions with kitsch and false iconicism. Truly a joy to read anything by Eco, one of the world's greatest modern thinkers.
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Yes, you read right...hyperreality (who knew there was such a thing?). Had to read several chapters for a class. Used a chapter on neomedievalism for a paper.
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If you only read this text for the essay on how the style of pants we wear coralates to our understanding of texts, you will have had much to think about.
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Very readable and insightful! Love the writing on blue jeans and Disneyworld even though sometimes I wonder what this Euronerd really knows about America
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Read in January, 2005
A world we're living is a world full of hiper-realities. Sayang gw baca yang versi Indonesia yang terjemahannya agak-agak membingungkan.
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Easy intellectual reading. Nothing groundbreaking...like have coffee with a professor friend that hones his lecture skills on you.
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Read in January, 1996
The essay on the movie Casablanca is an absolute must-read, as well as the essay on blue jeans, and many others. Eco is brilliant.
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I've read the portuguese translation of this book. Excellent, should be mandatory in all graduation courses.
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totally fun- and the bit at the end about oral roberts university nearly killed me through laughter.
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Buku ini di rekomen ama St. Gokil alias pak Bob, terus ... zzz..zzzzz...zzzzzzz...zzzz..
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