Postmodernism—(Rutledge’s Jam.)

POST- After Modernism- TS Eliot, Conrad, Yeats, etc. DEFINITION POST- After Modernism- TS Eliot, Conrad, Yeats, etc. Clear, right?

Oh, that totally clears it up. “The tendencies of the modernist to construct intricate forms, to interweave symbols elaborately, to create works of art that, however much they oppose some established present order create within themselves an ordered universe, have given way since the 1960s to a denial of order, to the presentation of highly fragmented universes in the created world of art, and to critical theories that are forms of phenomenology” --A Handbook to Literature 10th ed. Oh, that totally clears it up.

Cool French dude…what’s a grand narrative? “I define postmodern as incredulity toward Grand narratives”— Francois Lyotard (The Postmodern Condition) Cool French dude…what’s a grand narrative?

Let’s ask the homie, Shrek.

Shrek(New) VS The fairy tale (old)

So let’s think about fairytales as grand narratives So let’s think about fairytales as grand narratives. A grand narrative is simply a big story that in some way help us create order, or build knowledge. With that in mind, what do fairy tales do? Why do we tell them? Why has the “3 Little Pigs” been around forever?

This is the part where you talk to each other… So if fairy tales are small examples of grand narratives, what does shrek do to the genre of fairy tales? Does it accomplish anything? This is the part where you talk to each other…

For forever literature was mostly written by folks like those below. Anything wrong with that? What kind of grand narratives might they push?

What kind of changes might you think would result from people like in the previous slide telling the stories? What kinds of narratives might they tell?

Postmodernism is strongly linked to a mode of critical thought called deconstruction popularized by the writings of Jacques derrida. Essentially derrida argues that everything is constructed. Because we are so far removed from pure truth, things lack meaning. Everything from political structures to language. You can probably see why some people really, really, really, hate postmodernism.

Here’s how I make sense of Postmodernism. More voices. More stories. More types of stories. More ways of telling stories. The author must acknowledge in some way that narratives can construct reality. These types of stories often expose us to the margins of society. Often this deals with race, socioeconomic factors, and other marginalized groups. The goal is to show the multiplicity of voices in the world and the way in which these groups and situations are created.

Postmodernism’s beef with truth Things are what they are. Structure Rules and regulations Norms Set by dominant group Inherent Nah, they don’t have to be Sounds more like a straitjacket Who made them? What if they stifle my freedoms? Normal is overrated. And oppressive Change is always created by opposing domination Nothing is inherent, everything is constructed.

Postmodernism tends to view capital t truth as problematic and finds it lacking when measured against life’s experiences. Many Postmodernists believe that The modernists had it right when they wanted to back away from previous traditions. Problem is, they decided that despite the fact that everyone before them had it wrong, they somehow had it right. They didn’t.

So…now what? I'm glad you asked…