Postmodernism

Postmodernism is difficult to define because it is intended as a rejection of conventional reality and conventional forms. It refers to ideas after modernism. It rejects the boundaries of between high and low forms of art and favours self-consciousness.

5 key points that identify a postmodernist text:

Ø Intertextuality- This is the way that one text may make use of a different text, in order to add a further layer of meaning. An example is Spiderman.

Ø Bricolage- This is when something is made or put together using whatever materials that happen to be available. An example is a reality show which is a combination of game show and documentary..

Ø ‘Hyperreality’- This was said by Baudrillard. He said that a post-modern society is comprised of *simulacra, not originals. Examples of ‘hyperreality’ are a sports drink of a flavour that doesn’t exist (wild ice zest berry), gulf war or computer games.

Ø Metanarrative- This was argued by Lyotard that society maintains stability through metanarratives.The prefix meta means "beyond" and is here used to mean "about", and a narrative is a story. Therefore, a metanarrative is a story about a story, encompassing and explaining other 'little stories' within totalizing schemas.

Ø Capitalism- Jameson identified the stages of capitalism which have led to the development of the postmodern culture and society. His focus was on the commodification of culture as economic pressures begin to shape culture.

*Simulacra= image or representation