Van der Merwe, Johann2010-07-132010-07-132000Van der Merwe, J 2000, 'The sur-reality of contemporary semantics.' South African Journal of Art History, vol. 15, pp. 115-124.0258-3542http://hdl.handle.net/2263/14425Article digitised using: Suprascan 1000 RGB scanner, scanned at 400 dpi; 24-bit colour; 100% Image derivating - Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Image levels, crop, deskew Abbyy Fine Reader No.9 - Image manipulation + OCR Adobe Acrobat 9 (PDF)This article is a response to both Bert Olivier's article "'Natural Born Killers', violence and contemporary culture" (this journal, last issue) and the accompanying report by Amanda du Preez. Based mainly on two issues derived from du Preez's report, this article argues the points raised from a social structuration perspective as against the report's perceived postmodern perspective. The question of the absence of a role for narrative in the social sense is discussed, as well as the schizophrenic "normality" that can be created by the non-presence of such a normative structure. The article ends by looking at Stone's supposed criticism of violence, and questioning what is really being criticised.Journal articlePdfenArt Historical Workgroup of South AfricaOlivier, BertNatural Born KillersDu Preez, AmandaSocial structuration perspectivePostmodern perspectiveFilm violenceArt -- History -- 20th centuryViolence in motion picturesViolence in popular cultureSocial structureSocial normsPostmodernismSocial problems in motion picturesStone, Oliver -- Criticism and interpretationViolence -- Social aspectsSerial murderers in motion picturesArticle