POSTMODERNISM

POSTMODERNISM

Postmodernism

An intellectual movement that became popular in the 1980s
Individuals place greater importance on science + rational thought as traditional metanarratives (overall conceptions of history + society) no longer provide a reasonable explanation for postmodern life
Post modern society will have experienced globalisation = more religions integrated into society

Postmodernists suggest that society has become fragmented + individuals are less connected to norms + values than in the past
Modern era = social factors e.g. class, gender, ethnicity were defining characteristics about people's behaviours + life chances
Postmodern era = greater choice over identity/how they present themselves + diversity
Postmodernists have a dystopian view of society - science has created environmental issues and aided capitalists in creating inequality

Why do we have more choice?

More choice in postmodern society because of the growth of capitalism - people are more likely to be seen as consumers (e.g. phone they have/clothes they wear) rather than producers of goods

Process of secularisation - moving away from beliefs in religion + distrust of social institutions have given people more choice

Process of globalisation - increased education + changing social attitudes have given individuals choice over what they believe

Lyotard

Suggested that there has been a rejection of metanarratives (single truths) and people draw conclusions from multiple sources

Scientific knowledge has in fact made the world a more dangerous place e.g. nuclear weapons

People have developed 'incredulity towards metanarratives' - no longer blindly believe that there is one truth +stopped believing the big stories

People try to develop their own perspective on events - 'technical language games'

Baudrillard

We see images that are often an illusion or reality (simulacrum) - e.g. images presented to us of celebrities on social media platforms such as Instagram - these images are an illusion of reality because they have been staged and prepared +we draw meaning from them

E.g. COVID - society broke down into smaller individual narratives + multiple identities which lead to uncertainty + confusion

Hyper-reality

Hyperreality is more important than actual reality, such that it is impossible to get in touch with the real world - individual's cannot free themselves from speech/writing from an authority about a topic

Death of the social and rise of individualism - concerns of individul is much more important than society as a whole

Signs + symbols in society come to have meanings of their own that we cannot distinguish from reality - hyperreality

The role of the media

Evidence by Baudrillard + Lyotard has shown that the role of the media is key in postmodernity

Excessive exposure to media, aka media saturation, helps to create hyperreality + simulacrum by bombarding people with images that are not real until they start to doubt what is reality

E.g. Simulacram, such as social media influencers to guide our opinions + raise questions of legitimate sources

This is evident in anti-vaccination campaigns within COVID - society becomes fragmented/unstable and decide to oppose narratives put forward by the government - leads to inconsistent norms and values within society

Evidence of postmodernism

Criticisms

Deterministic - Do people absorb media image and assume this is reality Do people question what they see?

Structures in society still exist - class, gender, ethnicity are still relevant concepts in contemporary society. Yes, they have become more diverse but there has been evidence that there is discrimination within the media