Biblioteca Memetica

A collection of memes, curated by CJ Trowbridge.

Category: Papes - Old Maps Of The World -> This Meme

Old Map (98).jpg

gemma3-27b-vision

Okay, here's an analysis of the 1663 map "Typus Orbis Terrarum" by Johannes Blaeu, broken down into sections as requested, focusing on what applies to each analytical framework. It's a complex image, so I'll try to be thorough but concise.

Please note: These analyses often overlap. The map is a text, a cultural artifact, and operates within systems of power, so some concepts will recur across sections.

1. Visual Description

This is a meticulously rendered, hand-colored world map in a classical cartographic style. It's a flat map, though striving for a three-dimensional appearance with shading and details. Key features:

  • Projection: It employs a slightly modified flat projection, not a truly accurate spherical representation. This results in distortions in landmass sizes and shapes.
  • Cartouches & Decoration: Elaborate cartouches (decorative frames) house titles and explanations. Scrollwork, mythical creatures (sea serpents, fantastical beasts), and allegorical figures adorn the borders. These aren't purely decorative; they signal cultural values and beliefs.
  • Color Palette: Earth tones dominate – browns, greens, yellows – depicting land. Blues are used for oceans, though they aren’t necessarily consistent or realistic. The color scheme reinforces a Eurocentric worldview by placing Europe and its surroundings in richer detail.
  • Landmass Representation: The Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia are discernable, but often shaped according to contemporary (and sometimes inaccurate) knowledge. Australia (Terra Australis Incognita) is largely incomplete, marked as "unknown southern land". Antarctica is yet to be discovered.
  • Detail & Scale: Cities, mountains, forests, and rivers are depicted, though the level of detail varies significantly. Major European cities are heavily emphasized. The scale of the map is generalized and doesn’t reflect accurate geographical distances.
  • Calligraphy: The map is covered in ornate handwritten Latin script, labeling countries, cities, and geographical features.

2. Foucauldian Genealogical Discourse Analysis

  • Discourse & Power/Knowledge: The map is a discourse – a system of thought, language, and practices – that produces knowledge about the world. This knowledge isn’t neutral; it's deeply intertwined with power. The map doesn't merely reflect the world; it constructs it, shaping how people understood (and interacted with) it.
  • Genealogy of Cartography: Tracing the history of cartography reveals how mapping practices evolved, driven by specific political, economic, and religious interests. Blaeu’s map represents a particular moment in that genealogy – a time of European expansion, colonialism, and the desire to control and define territory.
  • The Gaze & Subjectification: The map establishes a particular gaze – a Eurocentric perspective that positions Europe at the center of the world. This gaze shapes how other lands and peoples are represented and understood. The map participates in the "subjectification" of non-European peoples—defining them as ‘other’ through its representations.
  • Technologies of Power: The map functioned as a technology of power. It was used for navigation, military strategy, trade, and colonial administration. It allowed European powers to exert control over territory and populations.

3. Critical Theory (Frankfurt School/Horkheimer/Adorno)

  • Instrumental Reason: The map can be seen as an example of “instrumental reason” – the application of rationality to achieve specific goals (in this case, control and domination). The mapping process is driven by a desire to quantify, categorize, and control the world, rather than to understand it in a holistic or empathetic way.
  • The Culture Industry: The map, as a beautifully produced and widely disseminated artifact, can be linked to the “culture industry.” Its aesthetic appeal and authoritative presentation contribute to the legitimation of European dominance.
  • Myth & Enlightenment: The cartouches and decorative elements, while seemingly aesthetic, function as myths that reinforce the power of the European worldview. The map presents itself as a product of enlightenment rationality, but is also imbued with ideological assumptions.

4. Marxist Conflict Theory

  • Means of Production & Control of Resources: Maps are inherently linked to the control of resources and territory. Blaeu’s map, created in a period of intense colonial expansion, reflects the struggle between European powers for control over land, trade routes, and resources. The map is a tool used in that struggle.
  • Ideology & False Consciousness: The map presents a specific ideological view of the world – a Eurocentric perspective that legitimizes colonial exploitation. It creates a “false consciousness” by obscuring the true realities of colonialism and the exploitation of non-European populations.
  • Class Relations: While the map doesn't directly depict class relations, it's important to remember that the creation of the map was itself a product of labor relations. The creation of this map relied on skilled artisans and laborers whose contributions were likely exploited.

5. Postmodernism

  • Deconstruction of Grand Narratives: Postmodernism questions “grand narratives” – overarching explanations of history and knowledge. The map, as a product of a specific historical moment, can be “deconstructed” to reveal its underlying assumptions and biases.
  • Simulation & Hyperreality: The map is a “simulation” of the world – a representation that is not the real thing. In a sense, it creates a “hyperreality” – a world of representations that become more real than reality itself.
  • The Death of the Author: A postmodern reading might question the authority of the mapmaker (Blaeu). The meaning of the map isn’t solely determined by his intentions but is also shaped by the viewer’s own perspective and context.

6. Queer Feminist Intersectional Analysis

  • Absence & Erasure: This map largely erases the experiences and agency of women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Historical cartography generally focused on the geopolitical interests of male power structures. The map reflects a patriarchal worldview that renders non-normative identities invisible.
  • Orientalism & Othering: The representation of non-European lands often relies on Orientalist tropes – exoticizing and dehumanizing representations that justify colonial domination. This intersects with patriarchal structures that contribute to the oppression of colonized peoples.
  • Space & Power: Maps are about the control and definition of space. Colonial mapping often involved the imposition of European spatial systems onto indigenous landscapes, disrupting traditional ways of life and asserting dominance.

This is a comprehensive analysis, and of course, each of these frameworks could be explored in much greater detail. The map is a complex artifact that embodies a multitude of power relations and ideological assumptions. I hope this provides a useful starting point for further investigation.

First Seen

2015-12-18T09:30:09+00:00

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llama3.2-vision

This meme is an image of a vintage world map with a large red X marked through the middle of the United States. The text that appears in the image is "THE NEW WORLD" in bold, red letters, and a smaller caption that reads "WHERE THE HELL IS THE NEW WORLD?". The meme is likely a humorous commentary on the idea that the "New World" was actually the Americas, and that the European explorers who named it were actually in the wrong part of the world.

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