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Impasse? What Impasse?Berlant, de Man, and the Intolerable Present

Impasse? What Impasse?Berlant, de Man, and the Intolerable Present Theories of historical and political change often rely on the idea of a breaking point at which radical action becomes a necessity. Theories of impasse—whether historical, political, or linguistic in focus—respond more or less directly to the assumptions behind this idea. This essay queries these assumptions. Opening with a discussion of how the concept of “the intolerable” features in the work of radical thinkers, the first section examines Lauren Berlant’s project in Cruel Optimism and explores her notion of “the impasse of the present.” The second section then turns to the work of Paul de Man, who, from Allegories of Reading on, develops a complementary theory of the impasse of the present that grows out of his theory of rhetorical reading. Although Berlant and de Man are each preoccupied in different ways with the idea of impasse, both ultimately demonstrate that impasse is best understood as an impossibility. Through readings of KC Green’s webcomics “On Fire” (best known as the source text of the “This is Fine” meme) and “This is Not Fine,” the essay illustrates and considers the broader implications of this impossibility. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Comparative Literature Duke University Press

Impasse? What Impasse?Berlant, de Man, and the Intolerable Present

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Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by University of Oregon
ISSN
0010-4124
eISSN
1945-8517
DOI
10.1215/00104124-8127460
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Theories of historical and political change often rely on the idea of a breaking point at which radical action becomes a necessity. Theories of impasse—whether historical, political, or linguistic in focus—respond more or less directly to the assumptions behind this idea. This essay queries these assumptions. Opening with a discussion of how the concept of “the intolerable” features in the work of radical thinkers, the first section examines Lauren Berlant’s project in Cruel Optimism and explores her notion of “the impasse of the present.” The second section then turns to the work of Paul de Man, who, from Allegories of Reading on, develops a complementary theory of the impasse of the present that grows out of his theory of rhetorical reading. Although Berlant and de Man are each preoccupied in different ways with the idea of impasse, both ultimately demonstrate that impasse is best understood as an impossibility. Through readings of KC Green’s webcomics “On Fire” (best known as the source text of the “This is Fine” meme) and “This is Not Fine,” the essay illustrates and considers the broader implications of this impossibility.

Journal

Comparative Literature – Duke University Press

Published: Jun 1, 2020

References

  • A Moment of Madness: Derrida’s Kierkegaard
    Bennington, Geoffrey
  • Foucault and Prison
    Deleuze, Gilles Lapoujade, David Hodges, Ames Taormina, Mike
  • May ’68 Did Not Take Place
    Deleuze, Gilles Lapoujade, David Hodges, Ames Taormina, Mike
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    De Man, Paul
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    Derrida, Jacques Quaintance, Mary 230–98, Gil Anidjar
  • Typewriter Ribbon: Limited Ink (2)
    Derrida, Jacques Kamuf, Peggy
  • On Fire
    Green, KC
  • This is Not Fine
    Green, KC
  • LECTIO: de Man’s Imperative
    Hamacher, Werner Waters, Lindsay Godzich, Wlad
  • Lurid Figures
    Hertz, Neil Waters, Lindsay Godzich, Wlad
  • More Lurid Figures
    Hertz, Neil
  • Allegories of Reading Paul de Man
    Jacobs, Carol Waters, Lindsay Godzich, Wlad
  • Reification and Utopia in Mass Culture
    Jameson, Fredric
  • Beiträge zu einer Phänomenologie des historischen Materialismus
    Marcuse, Herbert
  • Repressive Tolerance
    Marcuse, Herbert Wolff, Robert Paul Moore, BarringtonJr. Marcuse, Herbert
  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants the Country to Think Big
    Morris, Alex
  • The Man Who Created ‘This Is Fine’ Now Says ‘This Is Not Fine.’
    Plante, Chris
  • Review of Allegories of Reading: Figural Language in Rousseau, Nietzsche, Rilke, and Proust by Paul de Man
    Sabin, Margery
  • Paranoid Reading and Reparative Reading; or, You’re So Paranoid You Probably Think This Essay is about You
    Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky
  • Looking at the Stars Forever
    Terada, Rei
  • Allegory and Impasse: Revolutionary History and Revolutionary Modernity in Marx and Engels
    White, Deborah Elise
  • ‘This is Fine’ Dog Would Like to Offer an Important Corrective to His Previous Statements
    Wickman, Forrest
  • A Moment of Madness: Derrida’s Kierkegaard
    Bennington, Geoffrey
  • Foucault and Prison
    Deleuze, Gilles Lapoujade, David Hodges, Ames Taormina, Mike
  • May ’68 Did Not Take Place
    Deleuze, Gilles Lapoujade, David Hodges, Ames Taormina, Mike
  • The Rhetoric of Temporality
    De Man, Paul
  • Force of Law: The ‘Mystical Foundation of Authority’
    Derrida, Jacques Quaintance, Mary 230–98, Gil Anidjar
  • Typewriter Ribbon: Limited Ink (2)
    Derrida, Jacques Kamuf, Peggy
  • On Fire
    Green, KC
  • This is Not Fine
    Green, KC
  • LECTIO: de Man’s Imperative
    Hamacher, Werner Waters, Lindsay Godzich, Wlad
  • Lurid Figures
    Hertz, Neil Waters, Lindsay Godzich, Wlad
  • More Lurid Figures
    Hertz, Neil
  • Allegories of Reading Paul de Man
    Jacobs, Carol Waters, Lindsay Godzich, Wlad
  • Reification and Utopia in Mass Culture
    Jameson, Fredric
  • Beiträge zu einer Phänomenologie des historischen Materialismus
    Marcuse, Herbert
  • Repressive Tolerance
    Marcuse, Herbert Wolff, Robert Paul Moore, BarringtonJr. Marcuse, Herbert
  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants the Country to Think Big
    Morris, Alex
  • The Man Who Created ‘This Is Fine’ Now Says ‘This Is Not Fine.’
    Plante, Chris
  • Review of Allegories of Reading: Figural Language in Rousseau, Nietzsche, Rilke, and Proust by Paul de Man
    Sabin, Margery
  • Paranoid Reading and Reparative Reading; or, You’re So Paranoid You Probably Think This Essay is about You
    Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky
  • Looking at the Stars Forever
    Terada, Rei
  • Allegory and Impasse: Revolutionary History and Revolutionary Modernity in Marx and Engels
    White, Deborah Elise
  • ‘This is Fine’ Dog Would Like to Offer an Important Corrective to His Previous Statements
    Wickman, Forrest