Postmodernism & Postmodernity: Various Meaning of Both
The terms "postmodernism" and "postmodernity" have emerged as buzz words in recent years and are often used interchangeably. While they are related in certain ways, it is important to understand each term's contextual implications. In this essay, we will explore the various meanings of both postmodernism and postmodernity, specifically in reference to Don DeLillo's novel White Noise, which is in many ways emblematic of both phenomena. Thus, while beginning with a delineation between postmodernism and postmodernity, I intend to show how the two concepts unite within the course of White Noise, a postmodernist novel encompassing the postmodern condition. Postmodernity can be thought of as a social or historical condition, whereas postmodernism is meant to refer to a period in art, culture, and philosophy that follows upon the heels of modernism. Postmodernity, or "the postmodern condition," as it is often called, is often used synonymously with "late capitalism" to describe the era we have been in since the Cold War. Jean-Francois Lyotard, one of the leading theorists of postmodernity, has characterized the era as being synonymous with the dissolution of master narratives. 1 Postmodernity simultaneously charts the problem
Not only is God dead, but the individual is dead as well. " 4 As postmodernity has been used synonymously with advanced capitalism in describing the condition that we currently exist in, it is no surprise that the supermarket plays such a key role in White Noise. Of course, the sources for pastiche need not be strictly other works of art; as discussed above, they can also come from popular culture. The formerly subversive works of Modernism, which were believed to be shocking or disruptive during their time, were quickly subsubmed and institutionalized into academic and intellectual discourse, thus losing a lot of their initial bite. White Noise in many ways embodies both the postmodern condition and postmodernist discourse in the arts and humanities. Thus, while history has traditionally represented an objective truth, postmodern theorists have been keen to point out that history is actually a biased interpretation of events. They ask profoundly important questions about death, the afterlife, God, worlds and space, yet they exist in an almost Pop Art atmosphere. As it is impossible to be original, to have a unique style because "everything has been done before," postmodernist discourse is concerned with using previous styles in a playful fashion, almost like a performer might try on different masks in order to "become" different characters. " 5 Postmodernity asserts that we are all consumers; in such an environment, in an era when the Nietzschean assertion that God is dead has been taken for granted, it is only natural that the supermarket should become our common church. It was the black billowing cloud, the airborne toxic event, lighted by the clear beams of seven army helicopters. In the realm of philosophy and criticism, the lines have also been blurred by postmodernism since the 1960s. According to Jameson, this moment occurred when there was a shift from reality into images.
Common topics in this essay:
Popular Culture,
According Jameson,
White Noise,
Jean-Francois Lyotard,
Andy Warhol,
Pop Art,
Roland Barthes,
Michel Foucault,
,
Hitler Studies,
popular culture,
white noise,
postmodern condition,
postmodernist discourse,
postmodernism postmodernity,
hitler studies,
postmodern artists writers,
artists writers,
god dead,
postmodernism reaction,
unique style,
elements popular culture,
department popular culture,
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