postmodernism

=Postmodernism= toc

The definition of postmodernism is “an inverted millenarianism in which premonitions of the future, catastrophic or redemptive, have been replaced by senses of the end of this or that” (Jameson). In other words, postmodernism is movement that criticizes modernism’s sense of having one absolute truth and answer for all things. This is the "movement" that our society is currently living in.

Modernism
Before we exploring the definition any further, an explanation of modernism is in order. Modernism was based on the idea that the human person is a being that is self-aware, unified, and complete. The ideals that this era based itself upon were “rationality, virility, artistic genius, and individualism” (Hartman). Modernism derived itself of the philosophical tradition from Rene Decartes, I think, therefore I am”, which basically meant that because of our consciousness we have established ourselves as individualistic and complete. (Cartwright).

The Postmodern Challenge
This era began in the 1980’s till present time, and is an avid challenger to the ideals of modernism holding their own ideals of being “anti-capitalist, contemptuous of traditional morality, and committed to radical egalitarianism” (Hartman). Post-modernism questions modernism ideals of absolute knowledge and tries to show that we do not have all the answers and we should stop thinking that we do.

One of the primary focuses of postmodernism is the idea of cultural pluralism and diversity. This thought has brought about social movements that question the ideas of gender, race, class, sexuality, and other important social issues out on the table. Another important is the idea of texts having multiple meanings, a term also known as polysemy. It is these themes that are present in this era and help shape social change for the better of for the worse.

Approaches to Pop Culture
There are various ways that postmodernism takes an approach to the media. The following are such examples but are not limited to:

Appropriation
In visual arts, it is defined as borrowing concepts from another work and then piecing it into your own new creation. Such example of this can be seen in Marcel Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q. which appropriates the Mona Lisa into his own work, creating his own social commentary of it.



Parody
Parody is an act of taking something like art or the media and then imitating it and changing the meaning of it to become something rather amusing for the viewers to see. Examples of these are shown everywhere in the media, and one such familiar example can be seen in the cartoon show The Simpsons. For example, in the show they have a television show within the show called Itchy and Scratchy where each and every episode has gore, blood, and violence completely exaggerated of children shows of today.

Pastiche
The term pastiche is “a neutral practice of such mimicry, without any of parody’s ulterior motives, amputated of the satiric impulse, devoid of laughter” (Jameson). In other words it is just a form where a piece of art or media pays homage to an earlier piece of work without making fun of it. Continuing with the example of The Simpsons, in the same episode a famous murder scene from the movie __Psycho__ is re-enacted.

Culture Jamming and Postmodernism
In the context of this course, postmodernism is the era in which culture jamming exists. Postmodernism has a style of “metacommunication in advertisements that often take the form of Anti-ads” (Cartwright, 271). The codes that it uses as a culture jam is hyperrealism, which tries to show the user the true meaning behind an advertisement. These anti-ads have little or no text and are used in magazines for shock value for those casual viewers. These tactics have also been taken into account by real companies such as United Colors of Benetton that do not show their products, but instead show dramatic social issues.



Conclusion
The postmodern era raises many questions but without many answers. However, what it does create is a sense of knowing that not everything is perfect and complete. The main message is that people should continue to strive for knowledge and never settle for less. = =

=References=

Cartwright, L. and Sturken, M. (2001). Practices of Looking: an introduction to visual culture. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

Jameson, Fredric. “__Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism”__. Duke University Press, 1991.

"Postmodernism." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 April 2006. 02 December 2006 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism>.]

"What is Postmodernism?" Naciente. 1996. 02 December 2006 <[|http://www.naciente.com/essay15.htm>.]