Postmodernism for beginners c deakin, 2005

Remember the ‘good old days’! Life was once predictable Things were well structured – mapped out for us We knew who we were – a clear identity We had firm beliefs about the nature of things

From modernity to post-modernity Modern agePost modern age production Community life Social class Family A belief in continuity and situation A role of education A one-way media Overt social control Nationhood Science aided progress and finding the truth consumption fragmentation (individualism) Identity from other sources Families (many options) Breakage with the past/tradition Education for what? Duality of media (choice/interchange) Covert control (CCTV etc) Global Science is only one source of knowledge – plurality of truths now Structure/security/place/stability YOU KNEW WHO YOU WERE Confusion/lack of structure/ incessant choice YOU CREATE WHO YOU WANT TO BE

Key features of post-modernism Truth is relative Consumerism is all Transformation of the self (‘pick ‘n’ mix’) Disillusionment with the idea of progress Uncertainty Fragmentation of social life Incessant choice Globalisation The impact of ICT on social life

postmodernism Modern age has lost the enlightenment Search for truth People less likely to follow rigid ideology Greater pluralism is modern life No absolutes Culture and structures are fragmented Less predictable Traditional labels and categories lose relevance We recreate the past, blend with the present Globalisation has narrowed time and space

Further thoughts… Science no longer has the answers Progress is now a questionable enterprise Post modern society feeds upon itself..recreating the past, entwining it with the present, with some self mocking humour Cultural cohesion comes from sharing the same media Accepting many realities and that all the big explanations are only bigger stories Each cultural identity can co- exist…giving the individual many ways of being

10 points of post-modernism & style 1.Emphasis on the centrality of style, at the expense of substance 2.Recycling past cultures and styles – pastiche 3.Playful use of ‘useless’ decoration 4.Celebration of complexity and contradiction. Mixture of high and low culture. 5.Sensitivity to the subtleties of image, language and signs 6.Intermixing – different styles – collaging 7.Accepting the collapse of distinction and difference 8.Rejection of monolithic definitions of culture – celebrate pluralism and diversity 9.Scepticism towards metanarratives and ‘absolutism’ 10.Decline of the idea of only one source of meaning –truth.

Faith could re-emerge as scientific thinking loses significance Science and progress always undermined faith (see Comte and the demise of the theological stage) As technical and bureaucratic (Weber) thinking/living lose favour Think about the acceptance of the alternative ‘spiritual’

Jacques Derrida Modernism = logocentrism Post-modernists rejected this and argue that trying to tell the ‘big story’ now is impossible Social structure is in a state of flux All meaning is now relative and socially constructed Reality is fragile and confusing

Jean Francois Lyotard (1984) Science has helped destroy the metanarratives All metanarratives are simplistic and reductionst We should focus on playing language games to explore the many narratives that exist Knowledge is no longer a tool of the authorities – we have choice/freedom Actions/ideas are now judged on how useful they are..rather than how true they are.

Jean Baudrillard ‘we are constantly surrounded by an ecstasy of communication and that communication is sickening’ We are now just customers whose desires are created by the media. We pursue the images attached to the products ‘simulacra’ - make believe goods which bear no relationship to the real world We live in hyper-realities in which appearances are everything. IMAGE IS EVERYTHING !

Post-modernism illustrated – ‘reality TV’ Reality TV illustrates the interchange between the consumer and the media They are ‘real people’ who people can be observed and scrutinised. They do not entertain – rather than exist…they are a mish-mash of cctv surveillance and gameshow In the real world they are talentless nobodys who are treated as stars

Post-modernism ilustrated – ’Disneyland’ Disneyland is a simulacra. It is a simulated reality. It is artificial – yet ‘real’. It is a place that exists and is accepted because our imagination makes it so. The fine line between reality and fantasy is ‘greyer’. The power of the symbol over substance.

Post-modernism illustrated - diet The high street is global. Look at the choices and combination that we now have. What is the impact on traditional culture? Identity? People are also driven by to change their body shape through diet..a control..choice. People are constructing themselves and designing their individual identities

Religion in a post-modern age Faith could re-emerge as scientific thinking loses significance Religious symbols have new life in new contexts Faith is now ‘up for grabs’ in the absence of absolute truth People can blend elements of various faiths to suit their lifestyle Globalisation has divorced faiths from locations and cultures fundamentalism is a response to a moral vacuum People can make choices which are more personal and meaningful Collective worship no longer needs to be based on ‘face to face’ interaction

Religious symbols have new life in new contexts How have traditional religious symbols been recycled. Where can we find crucifixes, pentangles, kaballah bracelets, buddhas etc

Faith is now ‘up for grabs’ in the absence of absolute truth We can now make spiritual choices that fit in with our identity and our own version of ultimate truth and meaning.

People can blend elements of various faiths to suit their lifestyle Many people are finding greater freedom to ‘pick ‘n’ mix’ faiths to suit their lifestyles. This is about individual interpretation and incorporating elements, ie, buddhist philosophy with Christian morality (Yuppie Buddhist experience in early 1990s)

Globalisation has divorced faiths from locations and cultures Religion is now more universal and there are less barriers to hold people back from joining faiths that differ to tradition

fundamentalism is a response to a moral vacuum There has been a revival of ultra traditional ideas and ‘strict morality’ with some religions which many have found inviting and a source of ‘security’

People can make choices which are more personal and meaningful Almost an extension of individuation and the search for individual meaning. the control and oppressive elements of religion can be edited (see Rastafari)

Collective worship no longer needs to be based on ‘face to face’ interaction Organised religion may be suffering – but faith is still alive. Structures/institutions are melting away as they now existing within individual minds and action.