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Most of the authors on my reading list discuss the aesthetic implications and social ramifications of modern media, particularly that of cinema. While the works greatly vary, I tend toward those that attempt to locate and reveal the unconscious origins of avant-gardism; these authors suggest anything from early cinematic constructions to communist or capitalistic economies to the very functions of the human mind. Ideally, I desire to understand the need for avant-gardism, and how this need could exist and develop in capitalist America.