education

1. Postmodernism
Postmodernism isn’treallyasingle theory atall;it’smore a setof ideasusedtodescribe the way
inwhichculture and cultural artefacts(art,music,fashion,film,TV,literature andeven
architecture) have beenproducedinthe late twentiethandearlytwenty-firstcenturies.Whenwe
talkabout somethinglikeafilmorpaintingora piece of musicbeing postmodern,we are usually
givingitcertainqualitieswhichsome thinkerssee croppingupagainandagain inthe culture of
the worldaroundus.
What makesthisevenmore confusingisthe term itself:postmodernismimpliesthatmodernism
(whateverthatis) isover,butas we will see,it’smuchmore problematicthanthatsuggests.
Modernismisthe name we give to some of the definingcharacteristicsof culture inthe firsthalf
of the twentieth century.Duringthistime there wasawhole explosionof ideasaboutthe wayart,
music,filmandliterature shouldbe made.Ona simple levelthisismostobviousinthe waya lot
of cultural artefactsfromthistime lookandsound.Poetrydidn’thave to rhyme,paintingsno
longerhadto be representational,musicdidn’tactuallyhave tosoundlike music,andbooks
didn’thave touse propersentencesorinsome cases,properwords.So paintingsbyPicasso,
booksby JamesJoyce andpoetrybyT.S. Eliotmightall be considered modernist.
What modernisttextsdidwastotake the traditional materialsof culture suchasimagesand
wordsand re-organise theminattempttoexpressthe uncertaintiesandanxietiesof modernlife.
Theoristsbelievethere are manyreasonswhy modernismbecame prevalentatthistime.One is
the fact that the worldwas goingthroughsucha violentupheaval (WorldWarOne,The Spanish
Civil Warand WorldWar Two) that art and culture had to reflectthe uncertainty,tragedyand
messof the time.
Postmodern,then,isthe termthatisusedto describe whatcomes aftermodernism.Itisdifficult
to pinit downto a strict definition,butitcertainlyseemstobe verydifferent.Where modernist
textsare verydense,seriousandcomplicated, postmodern textsorartefactsseemlessserious
and more playful. The FontanaDictionaryof ModernThought saysthat:
Postmodernismisoftenassociatedwitharevoltagainstauthorityandsignificationanda
tendencytowardspastiche,parody,quotation,self-referentialityandeclecticism.
A complexdefinition.Sowhat does it mean?Well:
– ‘revoltingagainstauthorityandsignification’ wouldsuggestthatpostmodern textstendnotto
reflectthe establishedorderof things,butrebel againstmainstreamideasaboutwhatis
appropriate andfashionable.
– italsomeansthat theytendnot to expressanyspecificmeaningorintention,suchasa social or
political agenda. Ratherthese texts ‘playaround’withideas throughthe waytheylookandsound.
– ‘pastiche,parodyandquotation’ meansthatthese textsoftenreferto,borrow fromand
sometimesjustoutright copy otherolderorcontemporarytexts.
– ‘self-referentiality’ meansthatpostmodern textsoftenrefertothemselves –thatis to say,that
oftenthese textsknowtheyare textsandmake funof themselves.A goodexample of thiscomes
fromthat most postmodern of TV programmes The Simpsons.Duringanepisode inwhichHomer
and Bart setout to filmanalienthattheybelieve isoccupyingthe woodsinSpringfield,Bartasks
whatwill happenif theydon’tmanage tofilmanalien.Homerreplies:

2. Postmodernism
Thenwe’ll fake it,andsell ittothe Fox Network –they’ll show anything!
Thisjoke isdeliberatelyself-referential,as The Simpsons ismade anddistributedbyFox TV.
We mightsumup the characteristicsof the postmodern inthe followingway:
Postmodernism…
… is ironic– the assumptionthatthe audience knowsone thingaboutacultural product butthen
saysanother.
… is playful –it maysubvertor breakthe rulesof particularstylesorgenres.
… is nostalgic– a desire forretroculture.
… chops thingsupand rearrangesthem (styles,narratives,genres).
… borrows from otherstyles (intertextuality,eclecticismandpastiche).
… makesfunof othergenres,textsandnarratives (parody).
… concentratesonthe small detailsratherthanthe bigpicture,andlookstoavoidanythingthat
providesananswertoall life’squestions,forexamplereligion,politicsandsoon.(Thisiscalled
the destructionof the Grand Narrative.)
Goodexamplesof postmoderntextsmight be:
Film:PulpFiction orScream
TV: The Simpsons orThe Sopranos
Music: The Streets or The Darkness
Art: AndyWarhol’sCampbell’sSoupCan
But can you explainwhy?
There are a numberof keypeople whoare responsible forthese ideas:the Frenchphilosophers
Lyotard andBaudrillard (see page 39) and the AmericanFredericJameson.Theseandothersare
the people whobegantogrouptogetherthese observationsaboutculture underthe umbrellaof
postmodernism.