Barth- La Sagrada Familia

Barth- La Sagrada Familia


Before entering this class, I had no idea how what it was going to be about. Honestly, it’s been one of the only classes that has actually made me completely engaged and hypnotized with all of the topic and reading we discuss. I never imagined how important and intersectional language is in our world. Usually, when reading, I just try to go really quickly to finish the texts. But Barthe’s idea and essence of language has made me change my perspective and intentions when reading texts. 

Ever since I took Intro to Film, I had this strange feeling of intrigue and passion while watching films, and since then I always have it when I watch new films  I’ve never seen before, or films I’ve watched in the past. After reading Barth, I can now understand that feeling is ‘tmesis’. All of this time I’ve been experiencing this feeling  that has made me realize what my passions are and what I would like to do in my future. 

“the pleasure of the text is that moment when my body pursues its own ideas for my body does not have the same ideas I do” (111)

After comparing the two buildings in class, and analyzing its modernist and postmodernist characteristics. It made me think about the beautiful basilica ‘La Sagrada Familia’, that I visited while traveling around Spain last semester. ‘La Sagrada Familia’  is an iconic jewel in Barcelona’s architecture. Design by Antoni Gaudi, the basilica is one of the most architecturally diverse building I have ever seen in my entire life.  It was created back in 1866, and its ideology followed The Spiritual Association of Devotees of St. Joseph and its built in 12,800 square meters. Gaudi was only 31 years and had no experience in creating and developing a project of this magnitude. He rejected the old Neo-Gothic style (which was the modernistic approach to architecture at that time), and created his own style. Still to this day, the basilica is still under construction, and it still is following the  original projects’s plan and design. If you compare  Gaudi’s style to the Neo-gothic architecture that was popular at that moment, one can say that his style is definitely post-modernist.