ABSTRACT
To what extent can one identify parallels between the modernist and postmodern 'decadent' mentalities, and to what extent do these mentalities inhibit our understanding of technological cultural mutations? Pursuing this question still further, it seems evident that the blindspots of both modernist and postmodern 'decadent' mentalities inform and deform such seemingly quintessentially contemporary accounts of postmodern culture as the writings of Jean Baudrillard - or at least, do so up to those turning-points at which they advance 'beyond decadence', towards more pragmatic approaches to media culture.
