Thank you, just what I needed to read right now, as I've had a blues refrain stuck in my head. That the train in the blues is a metaphor for spirituality, a better life, or a life passing by, all of this of course so well encapsulated in machinery (the deus ex machina or literal engine).
The idea of the powerless projecting onto technology a kind of power, well, that could be wrapped up in Mark Fisher's slow cancellation of the future: who is the locomotive pilot in such a future?
Anton, your article using the locomotive as a metaphor reminds me of the haunting 1960 Twilight Zone episode titled "A Stop At Willoughby," in which a New York City ad man desires to run away from the hectic, painful, and alienating "push-push-push" life. The protagonist had these dreams of a slower life--as he slept on his commute home to the suburbs--only to die by jumping off the train--as he slept. More than 60 years later, this condition has only worsened under neoliberalism.
Thank you, just what I needed to read right now, as I've had a blues refrain stuck in my head. That the train in the blues is a metaphor for spirituality, a better life, or a life passing by, all of this of course so well encapsulated in machinery (the deus ex machina or literal engine).
The idea of the powerless projecting onto technology a kind of power, well, that could be wrapped up in Mark Fisher's slow cancellation of the future: who is the locomotive pilot in such a future?
Amazing photos and such a great read.
Anton, your article using the locomotive as a metaphor reminds me of the haunting 1960 Twilight Zone episode titled "A Stop At Willoughby," in which a New York City ad man desires to run away from the hectic, painful, and alienating "push-push-push" life. The protagonist had these dreams of a slower life--as he slept on his commute home to the suburbs--only to die by jumping off the train--as he slept. More than 60 years later, this condition has only worsened under neoliberalism.