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50
Jaargang 14 - Nummer 1 - 2013
Interdisciplinair Cultuurwetenschappelijk Tijdschrift
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Metamorphosis
Te reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the
unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the
world to himself.
Terefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Contact
Mosaek
Faculteit der Cultuur- en
Maatschappijwetenschappen
Postbus 616
6200 MD Maastricht
e-mail: mosaiek@maastrichtuniversity.nl
ISSN 1566-6859
Lay-out
Michiel Kragten
Image editor
Denise Op den Kamp
Cover Illustration
Romy Kaa, Persona
Print
Copying articles without permission
from the editorial is not allowed by any
means. All rights reserved.
Mosaek
Mosaek is an independent non-proft
magazine made by students from the Fa-
culty of Arts & Social Sciences (FaSoS) at
Maastricht University. Te magazine is an
interdisciplinary mixture of theme related
and submitted articles on culture.
Mosaek is a platform for students and
graduates.
Chief editors
Maxime Hensels
Saskia H. Herrmann
Editorial
Katrin Geyer
Maxime Hensels
Saskia H. Herrmann
Elisabeth Maier
Alejandra S. Moral
Jeska Onderwater
Pia Sombetzki
Luca Soudant
Thanks to
Romy Kaa
Norbert Lendrich
Advisory board
Koen Beumer
Iris Fraikin
Riki Janssen
Nicolle Lamerichs
Jim Pedd
Anna Wolters
Colophon
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Metamorphosis 5
editorial | NL | EN
Is that a mirror or a screen? 13
Alejandra S. Moral | flm review | EN
Het gewetenloze brein 19
Maxime Hensels | column | NL
De Metamorfose van de ongelijkheid 39
Maxime Hensels | column | NL
Waar blijven de alphas? 53
Maxime Hensels | column | NL
Verkeerde Keuze 57
Luca Soudant | column | NL
7 essay Putting friendship through its paces
Changing matter or always the same old shoe?
Pia Sombetzki EN
23 interview Een speelplaats voor het leven
Luca Soudant NL
29 interview The Gaze
Alejandra S. Moral EN
33 essay Look at me now!
How Facebook fosters our narcissistic society
Katrin Geyer EN
43 essay Why Home is Not Always Sweet
Jeska Ondwerwater EN
49 interview Young at Heart?
Age Representations in Online Dating 50+
Elisabeth Maier EN
61 book review Hitler, the method actor
Er ist wieder da
Saskia H. Herrmann EN
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Het lijkt allemaal zo snel te gaan. Hebben
wij nog grip op onze veranderende wereld?
Alles wat ons leven betekenis geeft en
onze persoonlijkheid doet veranderen is
verbonden aan tijd. Natuurlijk kunnen
wij ons hier aan overleveren, en we zullen
wel moeten ook. Wellicht moeten wij ons
de tijd nemen om stil te staan bij recente
ontwikkelingen of terug gaan naar de
essentie. Juist in onzekere tijden van crisis
is het goed te weten hoe alles wat ons
dierbaar is zich laat meeslepen door de tijd.
Metamorfose lijkt een abrupte en haast
ongrijpbare verandering. Het is dan ook
de vraag of wij hiervan kunnen spreken
indien men, wanneer een terugblik of
overzicht ontbreekt, niet in staat zal zijn
hierover te oordelen. Lijken niet alle grote
veranderingen, die een mens in zijn relatief
korte leven meemaakt, abrupt en immens?
Deze editie neemt je terug in de tijd,
staat stil bij recente ontwikkelingen en
schetst verwachtingen voor de toekomst.
Communicatie is een vaak
terugkomend thema en zal in vrijwel elk
artikel centraal staan. Of het nu gaat om de
essentie van vriendschap of de schoonheid
van reizen; het lijkt alsof social media niet
als een aparte ontwikkeling kan worden
gezien. Moeten wij ons overleveren aan
de kracht van dit fenomeen? Of is het
zaak de essentie der dingen, die ons zo
dierbaar zijn, naar boven te halen en
ons krampachtig hieraan vast houden?
Time seems to pass in the blink of an
eye. Are there still moments we can stop
and take a deep breath? Everything that
gives our lives meaning, and changes
our personality is inexorably linked to
time. Of course we could surrender, and
eventually we might have to. Perhaps we
have to take the time to refect on recent
developments, and to go back to the
crux of the matter. Especially in times of
crisis and uncertainty, it is good to know
what is dear to us is carried away by time.
Metamorphosis seems like an
abrupt, and almost elusive change. It is
therefore questionable whether one can
ever identify a metamorphosis, since a
retrospective judgement might not be
possible. Do not all major changes a
human goes through in his/her relatively
short life, happen abruptly and intensely?
Tis edition of Mosaiek takes you back in
time, refects on recent developments, and
speculates on expecations for the future.
Communication is a frequently
recurring theme, and is central to each
article. Whether it is about the essence
of friendship, or the beauty of travelling;
it appears impossible to consider social
media as a separate development. Should
we surrender to this phenomenon? Or is it
the case that the essence of things which
we hold so dear is rising to the surface
and we should desperately cling to this?
Metamorphosis
editorial
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7
Transformation, change, metamorphosis
words which all may awake a lot of
diferent thoughts and associations. Some
may think of steps in all kinds of processes
or maybe of the diferent periods people
undergo in their lives. Eventually, some may
think of rather abstract notions which also
can experience a sort of metamorphosis.
Friendship, a notion that could never
easily be grasped and defned, was not
often taken into account when changing
processes were discussed. However, I
would like to take the plunge and ask the
question: Did friendship possibly change?
Aristotle once said O my friends,
there is no friend. Some might question
the existence of real friendship as we
preferably imagine it to be pure and
without any ulterior motives. Many tend
to think of friendship in a nostalgic and
glorifying way, when they are reasoning
about the new forms of communication
which led to a change of conditions on
which relationships are built nowadays.
Characteristics of the modern society we
live in, such as the permanent lack of time
and the wish for constant efciency, seem
to afect our behaviour in the friending-
process. However, most people complain
about the negative efects on friendships,
occurring in the course of the increasing
use of social media in our daily lives. Some
even whish themselves back to the old
days, when friendships seemed not to be
afected by new forms of communication,
by online social platforms, or especially, by
Facebook. Whether Facebook really has
changed anything, in terms of forming and
maintaining friendships, or just unveiled
Were born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love
and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that were not
alone. Orson Welles
Putting friendship
through its paces
Changing matter or always the same old shoe?
Pia Sombetzki
essay
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the ugly truth of everyones personal self-
interest, has to be examined. Analysing and
comparing the philosophical perspectives
of Aristotle and Nietzsche on the principle
of friendship, we may observe two
diferent views manifested in throughout
the past. Tese are taken into account
when the focus is layed upon the impact
which new forms of communication and
especially Facebook have on our present
views and realisations of friendships
or maybe the impact is negligible.
Friendships, as a form of relationship,
evolved throughout centuries and millenia
since the existence of human beings on
our planet. As naturally as this happened,
distinctions between diferent forms of
friendships were made naturally as well
probably mostly rather subconsciously.
Te three forms of friendship Aristotle
describes in his Nicomachean Ethics,
are friendships which are based on three
diferent grounds: utility, pleasure or
virtue. When friendships develop out of
a purpose these can be seen as convenient
relationships. Getting your cofee day by
day at the same caf before you head to
university, probably leads to the situation
that you get familiar with the caf staf at
some time. Tey provide a service to you
everyday you presumably do not want to
miss anymore, so you get in touch with
them out of utility. Te other way around,
they appreciate that you are a loyal
customer who comes back again and again
every day, and contributes to their regular
income. Friendships based on utility may
give rise to friendships based on pleasure
but these are not a necessary condition to
the emergence of the latter. Friendships
that are based on pleasure are known as
superfcial and probably the ones many
may complain most about. Tis form of
friendship does not seem to be pure and
not based on a real interest for the other
person which is generally determined as
morally wrong. Especially in accordance
to the often described phenomenon of
the experience society
1
, scholars say we live
in, this form is well known and discussed
in our modern times. Te principle,
which leads to the emergence of such
friendships, seems to be mainly personal
self-interest. People who feel that their
lives reveal a lack of time, which can be
spend according to their own desires, think
that their precious time should be used
efciently. It should be spent by having
fun with people who provide a good time
and do not waste it with serious issues
that only cause a negative atmosphere.
Te case that this form of friendship was
already constituted by Aristotle in ancient
times may to some extent demonstrate
that superfcial friendships are not, at least
only, a phenomenon of the recent increase
of applications of social media in our
daily lives. If it supports the emergence
of more and more friendships based
only on pleasure, may still be a question.
However, Aristotle describes a third form
of friendship, which is based on virtue
1
Te sociologist Gerhard Schulze coined the
term experience society in his same called
book and heavily criticised the mass con-
sumption which he has observed in the past
recent years.
8
and can be defned as true friendship in
the modern use of the word. Tis form of
friendship is considered to display the love
that is felt for the other but which should
not be reduced to a desire for the person.
Friendship based on virtue may also
develop out of a previously mentioned form
of friendship, but these are not necessary
conditions, which have to be passed before
reaching this friendship of excellence, as
Aristotle calls it. Even if pure friendship
is, according to him, really rare, Aristotle
sees a possibility for the establishment of
true friendship and states that if men
feel goodwill for each other () and be
aware of each others goodwill, and [if ] the
cause of their goodwill [is] one of lovable
qualities (). (Bryan, 2009, p.762).
In contrast to Aristotle, Nietzsche who
lived in and experienced a total diferent
time, provides in his philosophical works
a more unorthodox view of friendship.
He basically values friendship in terms
of () how well the relationship
improves the friends. (Kinsella, 2007,
p.9). Considering his works in a broader
context, Nietzsche argues that friendship
is the way towards the becoming of a
bermensch (human superior). He
believes that in order to bear the eternal
recurrence of the same
2
, one has to apply
self-mastery and self-awareness to him
or herself. Describing a friendship as a
relationship in which the friends challenge
2
Nietzsche claims that in an infnite period of
time, every possible combination would at
some time be attained and only reoccurs again
and again.
and criticise each other with the purpose
to achieve these desirable characteristics,
Nietzsches view of friendship is merely
linked to self-interest. He claims that
persons can, and also always do, use their
friends as means to become a bermensch.
A healthy form of friendship includes,
according to him, the acceptance of the
risk to maybe someday be forced to end a
friendship if it seems to limit ones ability
towards personal growth. Tis clearly
points out that it is the personal self-
interest which matters in a friendship and
not the others well-being, as proposed
by Aristotle in order to establish a
true friendship (Ryan, 2007).
Taking into account these opposing
perspectives, which were also afected by
a diferent spirit during these times, it
is interesting to consider recent studies
which relate to the impacts of social media
on our behavioural structures applying to
friendships. For instance, in the course
of a study about the connection of a
relationships quality and the use of media,
the participants were asked to refect on
their use of emails and its impact on
their friendships. In contrast to probable
expectations, it was mainly observed that
writing emails even led to an increase of
contact with friends. Te quality of the
friendship was, however, not valued as
highly as friendships which were mainly
based on communication via face-to-
face-contact or contact via telephone.
A diference according to the quality
between these last-mentioned two forms
of communication was not indicated
by the participants (Baym et al., 2007).
9
Putting friendship through its paces
Another study reporting on the
experience of undergraduate students in
the area around London about the use
of Facebook referring to its impact on
friendships revealed further observations.
Te results indicated that the social
platform is merely seen as an additional
form of communication, which, however,
may have the efect of changing the course
of friendships. It is especially emphasised
that Facebook is used as an informal mean
to keep up superfcial friendships but
may also endorse the natural decline of a
friendship that existed before the begin of
its use. Friends which formerly maintained
a deep intimate friendship may lose their
mutual interest by
exchanging superfcial
conversations via the
social platform since
these most of the
time do not contain
proper interest for the
other person. Among the respondents
it was generally agreed that Facebook
was useful for keeping in touch with a
certain category of friend. Someone who
can be shortly asked for a favour or even
for a night out but probably no one with
whom the person can talk about severe
personal issues. Tis sort of friends can be
attained without investing much, neither
time nor efort. A friend like this can be
described as someone who is kept as such
by utility. In comparison with Aristotle,
the ties, identifed as merely meaningless,
compose a security blanket, on which
people can have recourse to, if wished
or needed (Lewis & West, 2009).
Collecting friends, writing comments,
sending messages just to keep yourself in
someones mind all this seems sort of
natural to us. As the results of the studies
surveys show, we seem to know that we
add people, write on their walls and like
their photos for a certain purpose. Te
respondents provided answers that gave
clear insight on the principles we follow
and are aware of, during our interaction
with social networks. Te purpose for
which we add people to our ever-growing
collection of friends, acquaintances and
strangers, may vary. Sometimes we think
that we could proft from the other person,
may become a bermensch or just are in
expectation to have
some fun. Highly
likely, Nietzsche did
not think of social
networks such as
Facebook when
he thought of the
process of becoming a bermensch
but however, it can be interpreted that
this proft-thinking which may have
increased throughout the heavy use of
Facebook and other social networks, are
based on the grounds already Nietzsche
has observed in our human nature.
What we probably, however, always
have in the back of our minds is the
fear to be without our security blanket,
barely to be alone. Alone in our ever-
demanding environment, without
persons we can rely on, without a friend.
Why people rely on contacts easily found
and maintained in the Internet to create
a sort of security blanket, may be the
10
What we probably, however,
always have in the back of our
minds is the fear to be without
our security blanket, barely to
be alone.
question which arises in the frst place.
Is it our lack of time which causes this
behaviour as the only solution? Did the
era of technological integration lead to
this process of isolation? Which role does
the ever increasing number of potential
competitors in various felds such as work
or social recognition play in the recurring
combats throughout a persons life? Tese
are only some questions which may be
asked in order to get a slight insight on
how the friending-process actually works
disregarding the possibility that fnite
answers may ever be found.
Pia Sombetzki (1992) studies
European Studies at Maastricht University.
11
Putting friendship through its paces
Reference List:
Baym et al. (2007). Relational quality and media use in interpersonal relationships. Retrieved
on January 10, 2013, from http://nms.sagepub.com/content/9/5/735 | Bryan, B. (2009). Approaching
Others: Aristotle on Friendships Possibility. Retrieved on January 10, 2013, from http://ptx.
sagepub.com.ezproxy.ub.unimaas.nl/content/37/6/754 | Lewis, J., West, A. (2009). Friending: London-
based undergraduates experience of Facebook. Retrieved on January 10, 2013, from http://
nms.sagepub.com/content/11/7/1209 | Ryan C. Kinsella, R.C., (2007). Nietzsches Conception of
Friendship. Retrieved on January 10, 2013, from http://bit.ly/VQgtFv
13
When Betty discovers Ritas memory
loss she tells her: Come on, it will be
just like in the movies. Well pretend
to be someone else. Betty is pushing
Rita to search for her real identity. Tis
quotation has been taken from the movie
Mulholland Drive, which I interpret as a
metaphor of the culture we are immersed
in; a culture in which Hollywood
movies have altered our memories
and consequently contributed to new
confgurations of personhood and truth.
Mulholland Drive is an American
neo-noir movie from 2001, written and
directed by the eccentric David Lynch.
Te magic of Mulholland Drive resides
in its enigmatic essence, it follows the
logic of dreams. Mulholland Drive passes
over the boundaries of linearity and
rationality and has neither coherent plot,
nor temporal structure. As a viewer you
are given a mysterious key to an unknown
lock. It could be the door of a mansion,
or the lock of a broken bike. David
Lynch always refused to give meaning
or symbolism to Mulholland Drive,
which consequently gives rise to diferent
interpretations, like the one I will propose
here. Te key that Lynch gives us might
not open anything, but it defnitely
empowers our imagination to fy.
Betty and Rita are the main characters
of Mulholland Drive. Rita sufers from
amnesia after an accident and cannot
remember anything. When Betty asks her
name she is in the bathroom, she looks
around until her eyes rest on a poster of
the flm Gilda starring Rita Hayworth.
Rita, she says. Te newly named Rita does
not have a prominent personality; she is
just a beautiful brunette. Her newly found
friend Betty is a nave blonde young girl
who just arrived in Los Angles to become
an actress. Betty does not sufer from
amnesia but her memories are exclusively
cinematic experiences, which allows her to
demonstrate her talent: play roles. Teir
relationship will be the means by which
I will explain the infuence of Hollywood
imagery in the design of personhood.
However, the movie is not just about
Betty and Ritas relation, it consists of
other unconnected stories too, or that is
what it looks like at frst glance.
Mulholland Drive is a meta-movie:
a movie that depicts the recording of a
Is that a mirror or
a screen?
Alejandra S. Moral
film review
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