glossary
Experiential Reality
Reality, or authenticity, can no longer be defined objectively. In a contemporary culture that celebrates individuality, the subjective vectors of happiness, memory, and self-actualization are the foundations of an experiential reality. In an architectural context, Anna Klingmann believes that a building's true value "lies in its ability to build significant experiences at different points of contact with its users, in the transformation it brings forth and the activities it evokes.” (55)
Experience Economy
Central to today’s individualized culture is the experience economy, the latest iteration of the economic paradigm. Where the perfection of tangible goods spurred the industrial economy, and the delivery of intangible services to clients dictated the service economy, these are being replaced by the staging of memorable experiences in a personalized economy. Experiences and transformations are powerful because “no two people can have the same experience” (Pine and Gilmore 12).
Individuality
Individuality is the currency of our socio-economic model. Democracy, it seems, is not achieved through universalist social reforms; rather, is a consequence of the refinement of capitalism, which created the impulse for novelty and differentiation—ultimately leading to the marketing of personal identities. This appetite for novelty is one of the reasons why the experience economy is also considered the creative economy. Architectural historian Adrian Forty wrote, “if design was of such great service to capitalism, capitalism has been no less good for design” (Klingmann 167).
Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow presented his Hierarchy of Needs in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation. In it, needs are prioritized sequentially; to ascend to the highest level of the pyramid, self-actualization (to which one’s individuality is of utmost importance), one must first have secured the lower needs, from physiological necessities (sleep, hunger, and thirst), to security (of one’s body, job, and home), to intimacy (friendship, family, and sexual), and finally esteem (the respect and confidence of others) (Wikipedia, “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs"). This hierarchy is a key factor behind the paradigm shift from ideologies to individualities; once the minimum standard was achieved during the Modern era, we wanted more. Indeed, in the words of Earnest Elmo Calkins, “we [demanded] beauty with our utility” (Postrel 34).
Vector
This paper borrows from the terminology of The Invisible in Architecture, in which the lenses of study are considered “vectors”. The term suggests that the influence of cultures and economies on the manipulation of reality in cinema are dynamic and proactive.
Open-Specificity
A term coined by Dutch architects Studio Sputnik in Snooze: immersing Architecture in Mass Culture, open-specificity defines a sort of “soft” objectivity that allows for subjectivity, personal interpretation, and spontaneity. More specific than the absolute flexibility of a vast plaza or warehouse structure, but less specific than the prescribed experience of an amusement park—which Studio Sputnik provides as an example of closed specificity. On the other hand, a beach is an example of an open specific space (48). The concept of open specificity parallels the “staging” of experiences in the experience economy.