Del Sal Beatrice Classe 5 A A.S. 2010/2011 POSTMODERNISM Del Sal Beatrice Classe 5 A A.S. 2010/2011

CONTEXT women’s inequality After World War II Mass protests against : mass culture, materialism, consumerism women’s inequality black’s segregation and racism Review of Existentialism (a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will) Flourishing of Neorealism.

From MODERNISM to POSTMODERNISM

MODERNISM When? First half of the 20ieth century (1910-1930) Characteristics: Reason is sufficient to understand the nature of life and man Emphasis of impressionisms and subjectivity in writing A tendency towards self-consciousness Modern Science (Einstein’s theory of relativity) Universal truths

POSTMODERNISM When? Second half of the 20ieth century Characteristics: It is still alive  it can not be defined It has been growing from Modernism (the return and review of Modernism) It emphasizes parody, chaos, irony and pastiche It does not believe in one single truth It favors reflexivity and self-consciousness, discontinuity and ambiguity Texts are the product of intertextuality

DECONSTRUCTION of the Subject Postmodernism adopts a post-structuralist and deconstructive method: The character/the subject has got a multi-faceted identity Any character/subject adapts her/his identity according to the situation he is living.

CAPITALISM Frederic Jameson  It provides a connection between Modernism and Postmodernism, WHAT IS CAPITALISM? An economic and political system  business belongs mostly to private owners, not to the government. Modermism and Postmodernism go together with some stages of capitalism: Technological development and Realism Electric and internal combustion motors and Modernism Nuclear and electronic technologies and Postmodernism