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Transcript of 102737668 Modernism Postmodernism
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MODERNISM
• Using rational, scientific, logicalmeans to know the world. Optimism
that we can understand and controlan objective world
POSTMODERNISM
• A reaction against rationalism,scientism, or objectivity of
modernism.
• There is an absolute, universal truth
that we can understand throughrationalism and logic.
• There is no universal truth.
Rationality by itself does not helpus truly understand the world.
• Humans are material machines. Welive in a purely physical world.
Nothing exists beyond what our
senses perceive.
• Suspicious of such dogmatic claimsto knowledge.
• Humankind is progressing by usingscience and reason.
• "Progress" is a way to justify thedomination by European culture of
other cultures.
•
Time, history, progress•
Culture on Fast Forward: Time andhistory replaced by speed,
futureness, acceleratedobsolescence.
• history as a "narrative of what
happened" with a point of view andcultural/ideological interests.
• Postmodern historians and
philosophers question therepresentation of history and
cultural identities: history as "what'really' happened" is from one
group's point of view
• Faith in "Depth" (meaning, value,
content, how things work) over
"Surface" (appearances, thesuperficial, how we use things).
• Attention to play of surfaces,
images, things mean what we
make them mean, no concern for"depth" but with how things look
and respond
• "disenchantment with material truthand search for abstract truth."
• "There is no universal truth,abstract or otherwise."
• Faith in the "real" beyond media and
representations; authenticity of "originals"
• Hyper-reality, image saturation,
simulacra seem more powerful thanthe "real"; images and texts with
no prior "original"."As seen on TV" and "as seen on
MTV" are more powerful thanunmediated experience.
TIME LINE
• (Renaissance?) Enlightenment >1750s > 1890-1945.
• Post WWII, especially after 1968
GENERAL
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• Attempt to acheive a unified,coherent world-view from the
fragmentation that defines existence
• Attempt to overturn the distinction
between "high" and "low" culture
• High Modernism 1920s & 1930s,following WWI -- outmoded political
orders and old ways of portraying theworld no longer seemed appropriate
or applicable; reaction againstexisting order
• Eclecticism, a tendency towardparody and self-reference, and a
relativism that knows no ultimatetruth; no distinctions between
"good" and "bad"
• Classification of the world; order;
hierarchy
• The way we understand the world
is relative; it depends on ourculture, position, class, gender,
age, time period, beliefs, etc.
• Mastery and progress Historicaldevelopment; past affects present
and future. Universalizing Linear (likea novel) Works of art, science are
windows to the truth.
• "Localizing", pluralizing Non-linear(like the Web) Works of art, science
are only texts, can only beunderstood in themselves.
COMPUTERS
• PCs/UNIX/command line
environments Stand-alone mainframecomputers
CULTURE OF CALCULATION
• Macintosh/Windows;
Internet/WWW Computer networks
CULTURE OF SIMULATION
• Hierarchy, order, centralized control. • Subverted order, decentralizedcontrol, fragmentation.
CULTURE
• High culture vs. low culture -- strictlydivided; Only high culture deserves to
be studied, analyzed
• Everything's "popular" culture -- it
all deserves to be studied;pluralizing Commodification of
culture -- everything can be boughtor sold
• Humans are self-governing and free
to choose their own direction• People are the product of their
culture and only imagine they are
self-governing.
• reality can be discovered through
science and can be expressedabstractly (equations)
• "the transformation of reality into
images" (Britney Spears is not aperson but an image; Nike is not
about shoes but about an image,etc.)
• Mass culture, mass consumption,
mass marketing.
• Demassified culture; niche products
and marketing, smaller groupidentities.
STYLE
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• Pastiche and parody of multiple
styles: old forms of "content"become mere "styles"
• "in a world in which stylisticinnovation is no longer possible, all
that is left is to imitate deadstyles... (retro, bell bottoms,
resurect old styles periodicallybecause there is nothing else new--
we can only remix what's been
done.)
• stylistic masks, image styles,without present content: the
meaning is in the mimicry
• postmodern attempts to provideillusions of individualism (ads for
jeans, cars, etc.) through imagesthat define possible subject
positions or create desiredpositions (being the one who's cool,
hip, sexy, desirable,sophisticated...).
SYMBOLISM
• Symbols & meaning: hammer andsickle = world communism
• Symbols drained of meaning:
hammer and sickle in advertising
(e.g., beer commercials)ARCHITECTURE
• "Form follows function"; Le Corbusier,"machine aesthetic"; Mies van der
Rohe; International style (eg,airports): straight, clean lines
• Multiple, historical refs.; "playful"
mix of styles, past and present. LasVegas, Pompidou Center; Venturi,
Robert Stirling
BODY
• Clear dichotomy between organic andinorganic, human and machine
• cyborgian mixing of organic andinorganic, human and machine and
electronicPOLITICS
• Big ideas/big, centralized political
parties rule
• Fragmented ideas, decentralized
power; "micro-politics": interest
groups rule (minority factions,NRA, business groups); Foucault,
"everyone has a little power" TV
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politics -- clash of images: "howwill it play on the six o'clock news?"
• Door-to-door politics; big rallies • "Late capitalism" rules
• Capitalism vs. communism: clash of
ideologies "The Making of thePresident" Parody: Dr. Strangelove;
Orwell's Animal Farm
• "The Selling of the President"
Pastiche: Wag The Dog
IDENTITY
• Sense of unified, centered self;
"individualism," unified identity.
• Sense of fragmentation and
decentered self; multiple,
conflicting identities.
ARTS
• Artist is creator rather than preserver
of culture Impressionism, Cubism,abstract expressionism, suprematism
(Malevich's "Black Square")"Photograph never lies" -- photos and
video are windows/mirrors of reality
• Artist plays with different styles;
aesthetics; pastiche all-importantPop Art, Dada, montage
• Art fights capitalism • Photoshop: photos and video canbe altered completely; montage
(where's the reality?) Art is
consumed by capitalism
• Art as unique object and finished
work authenticated by artist and
validated by agreed upon standards.
• Art as process, performance,
production, intertextuality. Art as
recycling of culture authenticatedby audience and validated insubcultures sharing identity with
the artist.
• Art as one unique object created by amaster artist.
Analog media: quality deteriorates
the farther removed a copy is fromthe original
• Art as copies (Andy Warhol'sFactory)
Digital media: there is no
distinction between an original anda copy
• Seriousness of intention and purpose,
middle-class earnestness.
• Play, irony, challenge to official
seriousness, subversion of
earnestness.
• Sense of clear generic boundaries andwholeness (art, music, and
literature).
• Hybridity, promiscuous genres,recombinant culture,
intertextuality, pastiche.
FICTION/LITERATURE
• Novel is the dominant form; movies
Author determines meaning; the• TV, WWW; Meaning is
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"canon"; of great works:Shakespeare, Kafka, Joyce, Some can
tell "good" from "bad" -- art criticsimportant
indeterminate. Thomas Pynchon,Cathy Acker, William Gibson. Rise
in importance of "popular" culture;we can't tell good from bad; it's all
relative
• Interpretation of a text; there is an
ultimate meaning hidden insidemaster literature
• Non-interpretation of a text; there
is no ultimate meaning, insteadmeaning emerges from what the
audience brings to the text
• the book as sufficient bearer of the
word; the library as system forprinted knowledge
• hypermedia as transcendence of
physical limits of print media; theWeb or Net as information system
MEDIA
• Knowledge mastery, attempts toembrace a totality.
The encyclopedia.
• Navigation, information
management, just-in-timeknowledge.
The Web.
• Broadcast media, centralized one-
to-many communications.
• Interactive, client-server,
distributed, many- to-many media(the Net and Web).
• Centering/centeredness,
centralized knowledge.• Dispersal, dissemination,
networked, distributed knowledge
MUSIC
•
Mozart, Beethoven, Schoenberg Ideaof creating an artistic "piece"continued through to rock'n'roll era.
•
"World music"; Djs mixing of stylesSampling John Cage, David Byrne
KEYWORDS
depth surface
optimism cynicism
analog digital
linear multi-pathed
control-design chance
cause-effect synchronicity
logical spiritual
centered dispersed
uniformity diversity
hierarchical anarchical
authoritarian democratic
patriarchy non-patriarchy; feminism
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monism pluralism
Difference between Modernism and
PostmodernismThe Modernism of the late 1800s was followed by postmodernism after
the Second World War. What characterized these movements? What isthe difference between modernism and postmodernism? To know it all,
read on…
According to some theorists, the 20th century can be divided into two
distinct periods; one characterized by the modernism movement andthe other by postmodernism. Some believe that postmodernism was a
response to modernism and hence consider them as two aspects of the
same movement. There are some major differences betweenmodernism and postmodernism. These distinctions make clear, the
basic difference in the ways of thinking that led to these movements.The difference between modernism and postmodernism highlights the
difference in the approaches towards life.
Modernism describes a collection of cultural movements of the latenineteenth and early twentieth century. It consists of a series of reforming movements in art, architecture, literature, music and applied
arts. Modernism was characterized by a dramatic change of thought,
whereby human intellect sought to improve their environment. Therewas a trend of improving every aspect of life by involving science and
technology into it. Modernism brought about a reform in all spheres of
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life including philosophy, commerce, art and literature, with the aid of technology and experimentation. It led to progress in all the aspects of
life by changing the approach of mankind of looking at them.Postmodernism means, 'after the modern’. It was a reaction to
modernism and was influenced by the disenchantment brought about by
the Second World War. Postmodernism refers to the state that lacks acentral hierarchy and one that is complex, ambiguous and diverse. The
developments in society, the economy and the culture of the 1960swere impacted by postmodernism.
Difference between Modernism and Postmodernism
Modernism began in the 1890s and lasted till about 1945.Postmodernism began after the Second World War, especially after
1968. Modernism was based on using rational, logical means to gain
knowledge while postmodernism denied the application of logicalthinking. Rather, the thinking during the postmodern era was based on
unscientific, irrational thought process, as a reaction to modernism. Ahierarchical and organized and determinate nature of knowledge
characterized modernism. But postmodernism was based on ananarchical, non-totalized and indeterminate state of knowledge.
Modernist approach was objective, theoretical and analytical while the
postmodernism approach was based on subjectivity. It lacked theanalytical nature and thoughts were rhetorical and completely based on
belief. The fundamental difference between modernism andpostmodernism is that modernist thinking is about the search of an
abstract truth of life while postmodernist thinkers believe that there isno universal truth, abstract or otherwise.
Modernism attempts to construct a coherent world-view whereaspostmodernism attempts to remove the difference between high and
low. Modernist thinking asserts that mankind progresses by using
science and reason while postmodernist thinking believes that progressis a only way to justify the European domination on culture. Modernist
thinking believes in learning from past experiences and trusts the textsthat narrate the past. On the other hand postmodernist thinking defies
any truth in the text narrating the past and renders it of no use in thepresent times. Modernist historians have a faith in depth. They believein going deep into a subject to fully analyze it. This is not the case with
postmodernist thinkers. They believe in going by the superficialappearances, they believe in playing on surfaces and show no concern
towards the depth of subjects. Modernism considers the original worksas authentic while postmodernist thinkers base their views on hyper-
reality; they get highly influenced by things propagated through media.
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During the modernist era, art and literary works were considered as
unique creations of the artists. People were serious about the purpose of producing art and literary works. These works were believed to bear a
deep meaning, novels and books predominated society. During the
postmodernist era, with the onset of computers, media andadvancements in technology, television and computers became
dominant in society. Art and literary works began to be copied andpreserved by the means of digital media. People no longer believed in
art and literary works bearing one unique meaning; they rather believed
in deriving their own meanings from pieces of art and literature.Interactive media and Internet led to distribution of knowledge. Music
like Mozart, Beethoven, which was appreciated during modernismbecame less popular in the postmodern era. World music, Djs and
remixes characterized postmodernism. The architectural forms that
were popular during modernism were replaced by a mix of differentarchitectural styles in the postmodern times.
A relatively slow paced life that was driven by grounded principles
became fast paced and lost its calm. Has pace killed peace?
A L IST O F P OSTMODERN
C HARACTERISTICS .
Irony, playfulness, black humor
Postmodern authors were certainly not the first to use irony
and humor in their writing, but for many postmodern
authors, these became the hallmarks of their style.
Postmodern authors will often treat very serious subjects— World War II, the Cold War, conspiracy theories—from a
position of distance and disconnect, and will choose to depict
their histories ironically and humorously.
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http://books.google.com/books?
id=Xfze51E7TEoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=catch-
22&ei=HNsISpu3M5f2MIzRwYYE
Pastiche
Many postmodern authors combined, or “pasted” elements
of previous genres and styles of literature to create a new
narrative voice, or to comment on the writing of their
contemporaries. Thomas Pynchon, one of the most
important postmodern authors, uses elements from detective
fiction, science fiction, and war fiction, songs, pop culturereferences, and well-known, obscure, and fictional history.
http://booksoupbookstore.blogspot.com/2008/05/unfortun
ates-by-bs-johnson.html
Intertextuality
An important element of postmodernism is its
acknowledgment of previous literary works. The
intertextuality of certain works of postmodern fiction, the
dependence on literature that has been created earlier,
attempts to comment on the situation in which both
literature and society found themselves in the second half of
the 20th century: living, working, and creating on the backs
of those that had come before.
http://books.google.com/books?
id=RC6JJmB_JEcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=rosencrantz+
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and+guildenstern+are+dead&ei=q9sISoqMMYjYMOqLrNA
D
Metafiction
Many postmodern authors feature metafiction in their
writing, which, essentially, is writing about writing, an
attempt to make the reader aware of its ficitionality, and,
sometimes, the presence of the author. Authors sometimes
use this technique to allow for flagrant shifts in narrative,
impossible jumps in time, or to maintain emotional distance
as a narrator.
http://books.google.com/books?
id=FM4y7N1kM9AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=slaughterhou
se-five&ei=JdwISu7zLZasM4n7jIsG
Historiographic metafiction
This term was created by Linda Hutcheon to refer to novels
that fictionalize actual historical events and characters:
Thomas Pynchon’s Mason and Dixon, for example, features a
scene in which George Washington smokes pot.
http://www.amazon.com/General-Labyrinth-Gabriel-Garc
%C3%ADa-M%C3%A1rquez/dp/0140148590
Temporal distortionTemporal distortion is a literary technique that uses a
nonlinear timeline; the author may jump forwards or
backwards in time, or there may be cultural and historical
references that do not fit: Abraham Lincoln uses a telephone
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in Ishmael Reed’s Flight to Canada. This technique is
frequently used in literature, but it has become even more
common in films.
http://books.google.com/books?
id=4269Rt0vqTIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=flight+to+cana
da&lr=&num=50&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=s9wISs
guk841mYeBow4
Technoculture and hyperreality
In his essay of the same name, Frederic Jameson called
postmodernism the “cultural logic of late capitalism.”
According to his logic, society has moved beyond capitalism
into the information age, in which we are constantly
bombarded with advertisements, videos, and product
placement. Many postmodern authors reflect this in their
work by inventing products that mirror actual
advertisements, or by placing their characters in situations in
which they cannot escape technology.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/01/27/030127fi_
fiction
Paranoia
Many postmodern authors write under the assumption that
modern society cannot be explained or understood. Fromthat point of view, any apparent connections or controlling
influences on the chaos of society would be very frightening,
and this lends a sense of paranoia to many postmodern
works.
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http://books.google.com/books?
id=vp2Sv9KO1VUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=crying+of+lot
+49&lr=&num=50&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=BN0I
SsjXMIvKNdv-tYUC
Maximalism
Villified by its critics for being in turns disorganized,
sprawling, overly long, and emotionally disconnected,
maximalism exists in the tradition of long works like The
Odyssey. Authors that use this technique will sometimes
defend their work as being as long as it needs to be,depending on the subject material that is covered.
http://books.google.com/books?
id=xbeUMn6pi2UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=howl&lr=&nu
m=50&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=IN0IStmwNYvKN
dv-tYUC
Minimalism
Minimalism is a style of writing in which the author
deliberately presents characters that are unexceptional and
events that are taken from everyday life. It is not an
exclusively postmodern technique, as many writers, most
notably Ernest Hemingway, wrote in a similar style, but
some critics claim that Samuel Beckett, one of the mostimportant postmodern authors, perfected minimalism.
http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Godot-Tragicomedy-
Two-Acts/dp/0802130348
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Faction
Faction is very similar to historiographic metafiction, in that
its subject material is based on actual events, but writers of
faction tend to blur the line between fact and fiction to thedegree that it is almost impossible to know the difference
between the two, as opposed to metafiction, which often
draws attention to the fact that it is not true.
http://books.google.com/books?
id=mYC3yRvvXxMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=in+cold+blo
od&lr=&num=50&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=et0ISonVK4a6NarmnKcB
Magical realism
Arguably the most important postmodern technique, magical
realism is the introduction of fantastic or impossible
elements into a narrative that is otherwise normal. Magical
realist novels may include dreams taking place duringnormal life, the return of previously deceased characters,
extremely complicated plots, wild shifts in time, and myths
and fairy tales becoming part of the narrative. Many critics
argue that magical realism has its roots in the work of Jorge
Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez, two South
American writers, and some have classified it as a Latin
American style.
http://books.google.com/books?
id=Jumamrx5UgoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=labyrinths&lr
=&num=50&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=i90ISsCNIoO
gNfGsqOwD
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http://books.google.com/books?
id=W6oIvSR4MQkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=100+years+o
f+solitude&lr=&num=50&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=
p90ISvfjPI3MM7a1uO0B
Participation
Many postmodern authors, as a response to modernism,
which frequently set its authors apart from their readers,
attempt to involve the reader as much as possible over the
course of a novel. This can take the form of asking the reader
questions, including unwritten narratives that must beconstructed by the reader, or allowing the reader to make
decisions regarding the course of the narrative.