Postmodernism(s)

Against Modernism “Postmodernism” in the 1950’s and 1960’s began as a revolt against “Modernism” “Modernism” was characterised by a deep suspicion of the popular which it considered “conventional” and “bourgeois” By mid-century, modernism had become established in academia and art institutions

Modernism Postmodernism Master Narratives (Nations, Western Civilization, Progress) Sense of unified, centered self;  "individualism," unified identity Faith and personal investment in big politics (Nation-State, party) Dichotomy of high and low culture (official vs. popular culture);  Binary ordering of sexual difference, Clear generic boundaries in art/literature the book as sufficient bearer of the word;  Distrust of Master Narratives and Scientific Progress (Neo Ludditism) Sense of fragmentation and decentered self;  multiple, conflicting identities. Trust and investment in micropolitics, identity politics, local politics Mixing of popular and high cultures. Disruption of high culture’s dominance. Androgyny, queer sexual identities, Hybridity, pastiche, bricolage Hypermedia, Internet, as transcendence of physical limits of print media

Postmodernism rejects both the “Civilization” view of culture, defined by Matthew Arnold as “The best that has been thought and said” as well as the “high/low” divide exacerbated by modernism. Postmodernism embraces mass culture and commercialization. (Andy Warhol/Pop Art) Generational: Clear distinctions between high and low culture belonged to the older (modern) establishment.

Collapsing Distinctions: Album covers

Jean Francois Lyotard Wrote The Postmodern Condition Argues that postmodernity is characterized by a “crisis of knowledge” Involves “an incredulity towards metanarrratives” the rejection of totalizing truth stories (Marxism, Christianity, Scientific Progress) Knowledge is no longer an end in itself, but a means to something else. Intellectuals have lost cultural authority.

Jean Baudrillard Wrote The Political Economy of the Sign Switch from production to information based economy closed separation between economics and culture/ideas. Postmodernism is a culture of the “simulacrum” or of ‘copies’ without originals “the generation by models of a real without origins or reality: a hyperreal” The distinction between “real” and “simulation” ceases to matter. (ex. Movie versions of history/Soap opera characters treated as real people) Media shapes reality, not just represents it.

Frederic Jameson Marxist perspective: Frankfurt School Folk cultures have been assimilated by commercial culture Postmodernism is associated with “the cultural logic of late capitalism. (multinational capitalism) Postmodernism is the dominant cultural mode in capitalist societies Postmodern art relies on “pastiche”, instead of creativity. (‘a culture of quotations’) Pastiche: nostalgia films, false history, timelessness

But... Other critics also dispute Jameson. Jim Collins argues that “pastiche” is not simply “copy and paste” but involves conscientious rearrangements that contribute to the “perpetual circulation and recirculation of signs that forms the fabric of postmodern cultural life” Example of Quentin Tarantino films: these “bring back to life” the elements they use, turn “nostalgia” into an active rather than passive process

Pop Music and Television Both Pop Music and Television resist attempts to make distinctions between “modern” and “postmodern” Some suggest “sampling” and “tech innovations” as the dividing line. However “sampling” is not the same as “blank parody”, There is a “historicization” process taking place. Some also suggest the emergence of “indie music” separates “modern” from “postmodern”.

Television is “quintessentially postmodern” On the negative side, TV “reduces the complexities of the world to an ever-changing flow of depthless and banal visual imagery” On the positive side, TV can encourage active creative engagement, the “sophisticated bricoleur”. Shows (Twin Peaks, Lost) force audiences to think through the complexities of the images.

Conclusion Postmodernism forces us to question cultural distinctions and attributions of value.

Questions for Discussion After working through all of these definitions of postmodernism, can you think of any artwork you have experienced recently that you could categorize as postmodern? Describe it and what makes it postmodern?   How would you describe the relationship between postmodernism and changes in technology? What are some positive aspects of the shift towards postmodernism? What are some of the negative aspects of it? How does good art distinguish itself in a postmodern milieu?

Do you agree with Jean Baudrillard’s concept of “hyperrealism” (the lack of distinction between reality and fiction)? Where do you see evidence of this? Where do you see counter-evidence of this? How does social media exacerbate hyperrealism? What are some potential problems with applying postmodernist theories to a Latin American context?