Postmodernism is a philosophy and an aesthetic that has become increasingly popular in both mass culture and academia alike. It is characterized in its style by pastiche, self-referential humor, and often parodies the art form it is attempting to create. Writers in the postmodern genre are hyper-conscious about the fact that they are creating something, and deliberately 'show the seams' of their work, forcing the reader to question what is fiction and what is real. This highlights the constructed nature of the written word. But while postmodernism may be fairly obvious in art, to understand what postmodernism 'is,' philosophically speaking, the definition of modernism must be clarified, given that it was this philosophical movement to which postmodernism was reacting against. First and foremost, modernism advocated the idea that there was the "existence of stable, coherent 'self', independent of culture and society" (Drake 2012). This self might feel alienated or unhappy, but the self was fundamental and unchanging. In stark contrast, postmodernism stresses that there is no self or 'I.' Instead,...
Postmodernists would point out that people often behave very differently, depending on the context in which they find themselves. The notion of the unchanging 'I' is, postmodernists claim, itself a product of Romanticism and Western culture and does not have a corresponding parallel in all cultures around the world. There is also a denial of the strong Christian emphasis in Western culture on the soul. Although postmodernism lacks a theological orientation, its tenants resonate much more with the Buddhist notion of non-self and the impermanent nature of reality rather than the Christian, permanent view of the soul as something that stands apart from history, culture and the body.
Postmodernism Discovering Postmodernism in Advertising For the sake of this task, an advertisement from a company called Patagonia will be used. Patagonia is a company that provides an array of sporting and outdoor equipment, along with a huge variety of sports and active apparel. Patagonia is an American company that has been in business for more than three decades. This is a company that began as a very small company that provided
Postmodernism Post Modernism and Individualism and Responsibility Introduction and Postmodern Definition Understanding the postmodern paradigm is a little like looking in to a bowl of spaghetti, and without using any utensils, trying to determine how many individual pieces of spaghetti are present, and what is their average length. The postmodern thought process which now dominates our culture is inter-twining, complex philosophy which is the combination of failed modern thought, along with the new
" (Gibbs 226) Alvardo de Campos is a naval engineer by profession and while his earlier writings are positive, his work develops characteristics of existential angst. Furthermore, what is intriguing is that all of these fictive authors created by Pessoa interact with one another and even translate each other's works. (Gibbs 226) One critic notes that "Fernando Pessoa invented at least 72 fictive identities. "His jostling aliases...expressed his belief that the
Many critics consider the name Godot to be a hidden name for God. Godot in the end is a paradox. The dramatist described in his play the person at the end of the World War II. It is a person who can be characterized as master and victim of will. The characters have a will but their wishes destroy them. The characters are waiting for someone or something to
93)." That the post modernists rejected the psychotherapy of the modernist era is by no means suggestive that the artists of the era have escaped psychological analysis. Because of the extreme nature of the pop culture, it has presented a psychological windfall for study in excessiveness. It is represented by an excess of economic affluence, drugs, sex, and expressions of behavior. The excessiveness is found not just in the music
As a result, it gives off the appearance of being somewhat economical in its use of space. In spite of its enormity, it does not loom like a shadowy giant in a city of low-register structures. Rather, it somewhat gracefully stretches lengthwise, taking on a majestic but unassuming centricity in the otherwise modest Milan skyline. This is an important feat because, as with most of Europe's older urban centers, it
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