Postmodernism- an artistic philosophy which revolves around distrusting theories/ideologies and drawing attention to conventions- a rejection of any notion of objective truth.
It is about 2 things:
- Recognising that everything is constructed; nothing is real, we can play with it.
- Recognising that we all see the world in different ways- different ways to read a text- polysemy.
Jean- Francois Lyotard defined the postmodernism condition as one- faith in master narratives and claims to a universal truth are lost. The’ postmodernism condition’ is an ‘incredulity towards meta-narratives’- distrust of universal theories of knowledge. The postmodern condition is an “incredulity towards meta-narratives- distrust of universal theories of knowledge.
Jean Baudrillard stated we live in a world in we’re constantly bombarded with signs and information. He wrote the book, Simulacra and Simulation in 1985 to explain key aspects of post-modernism; the blurring boundaries. Mainly with what is real and what is a simulation of reality- simulacra. Baudrillard stated that the border between reality and its representation has collapsed into what he calls ‘simulacrum’. We do not experience the real world but only the world we see in media texts (‘implosion’). This means that these mediated signs become more real for us than reality itself. Indeed, Simulacrum can be described as a copy without an original. Reality has been replaced by a hyperreality in which we cannot distinguish signs from what they are supposed to represent – we cannot distinguish reality from a simulation of reality.
An example of hyperreality texts are when Christmas adverts on TV or the publicity material for Paris or Disney Land look better than the real thing. A magazine will use Photoshop to manipulate someone’s image (removing blemishes etc.) but still present the photo as ‘real’. For the audience, the image/simulation of the star seems more real because we have never met the star.
Mediation- when media takes something which is real and represents it in a particular way. We understand our reality through the mirror of media. Postmodernists question the representation of history, reality and cultural identities – they seek to challenge who/what is represented, by whom, from what ideological point of view.
Reflexivity & Self- consciousness- the media text is aware of the fact that it is a text. Therefore, a lot of postmodern texts play with their own status as constructed texts. They play with their own conventions, boarders and realities and reference itself and its characters.
Fragmentation and discontinuity- when texts are constructed, their boundaries and structures can be broken up and redistributed. Storylines and characterisations are broken up, disturbed and don’t follow the usual pattern.
Pastiche- a copy of something which is intended to be a tribute to the original text.
Parody- a copy or thinly version of something that makes fun of the original.
Irony- When a piece of art or literature is self- consciously doing the opposite of what it appears to be doing.
Kitsch-produced in mass- usually tacky, sentimental and cheap.
Bricolage- When smaller fragments are stitched together to make a larger whole. It’s a collection of images and ideas; to make a new piece of art or literature.
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