Postmodernism evolved from Modernism, much like Modernism developed from the Enlightenment movement of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, artists, musicians, architects, and intellectuals began to challenge the limitations of traditional forms and methods. Architects started designing buildings with a focus on functionality; composers invented novel techniques for organizing musical sounds to create innovative music; writers felt similarly confined by old styles and formats in poetry and fiction, prompting them to seek new directions. This period saw the emergence of figures like Bauhaus architects, composers Arnold Schoenberg and Anton von Webern, poets T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, and writers Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, and James Joyce.

After World War II, a fresh wave of creativity in the arts and philosophy led to the rise of Postmodernism. Writers were wary of falling into the same patterns of conventionalization that modernists had opposed a generation earlier. They perceived the modern movement as having become the "old guard" through canonization and sought something more invigorating. Novelists like Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Pynchon, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. began experimenting with their storytelling. Poets, such as Ishmael Reed, introduced new forms and styles of poetry. Composers like John Cage explored innovative methods and approaches to music-making, often employing unique sound-generating techniques. This era also saw growing dissatisfaction with traditional perspectives on reality, language, knowledge, and power.

Jacques Derrida stands out as a pivotal and contentious figure among postmodern critics. His 1967 works, Writing and Difference and Of Grammatology, laid the foundation for the concept of deconstruction. Another influential French philosopher, Michel Foucault, introduced his first major work on the topic, The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences, in 1966. They were followed by Marxist critics like Fredric Jameson and Terry Eagleton, who examined Postmodernism through its social and economic impacts.

The 1950s and 1960s also brought a new perspective on popular cultural arts. Artists such as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Rolling Stones made significant contributions to their art forms by experimenting with new sounds and blending entertaining lyrics with those carrying political or social messages. In the 1960s and early 1970s, folk rock musicians like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Pete Seeger led the charge with their powerful political lyrics. In cinema, attitudes evolved, transforming films from a purely entertainment medium to one with social or political themes. New genres, including "art films" and sexually explicit films, rejected the traditional need for continuous narratives in favor of more fragmented and nonlinear storytelling.

During this period, television transitioned from being merely "radio with pictures" to becoming a significant medium in its own right. The 1950s introduced the situation comedy with shows like I Love Lucy and the variety show with The Ed Sullivan Show. By the late 1960s, these formats began to evolve into more informal programs, paving the way for postmodern television with series such as All in the Family and Laugh In. Concurrently, news programming became more engaging with the advent of the news magazine show, 60 Minutes.

As these innovations and new methods of storytelling emerged, the boundaries between reality and fiction started to blur. Television entertainment began to intentionally reference current events, while rock music transformed into a medium for political commentary. Fiction became less about linear storytelling and more about abstract concepts, becoming less realistic and more intellectually imaginative, distinct from children's fantasy worlds.

The convergence of skepticism, fragmentation, and unpredictability has ushered in the current postmodern era. Global social issues are accessible with a simple mouse click, and the demand for personalized products has fragmented the...

Schizophrenia

A significant feature of Postmodernism in literature and entertainment is the loosening of strict timelines, often referred to as discontinuous time. Authors frequently create a series of events that lack chronological connections. In literature, this approach requires readers to piece together a timeline, which the author might later disrupt. This technique is crucial in some TV shows, especially when two events occur simultaneously. Writers might present one event and then showcase another event happening concurrently. Jameson refers to this kind of temporal disruption as "schizophrenia."

Recurring Characters

Certain authors introduce the same character across multiple works. Vonnegut exemplifies this with Kilgore Trout and the Tralfamadorians, who appear in several of his stories.

Irony

Irony involves using language to convey the opposite of its literal meaning. Traditionally, irony was meant to prompt a change in behavior among those targeted. However, for postmodernists, irony serves mainly to mock its subject without intending to instigate any social or other changes.

Authorial Intrusion

At times, authors directly address the audience or characters within a story, not as a character but in their role as the writer. Vonnegut employs this technique in several of his books, including Breakfast of Champions.

Self-Reflexivity

Many literary works comment on themselves, reflecting on the writing process or the "meaning" of the work. These pieces are self-aware and occasionally critique themselves, offering a self-reflexive commentary on the processes of writing, reading, or interpreting literature.

Collage

This style involves the often random assembly of unrelated objects, lacking intentional connections or a specified purpose. For example, the quick succession of clips from old news tapes often featured at the start of news programs is a collage. While intended to introduce the news, it neither constitutes the news nor hints at upcoming stories.

Prose Poetry

Though seemingly contradictory, prose poetry is an effective writing style. It appears as a paragraph of prose but uses poetic language and structure. Instead of making a literal statement, the language is more figurative.

Parody and Pastiche

Writers often adapt another's work to create a different impression than the original. Some authors even copy entire passages verbatim, resulting in a piece that diverges significantly from the original writer's work.

Parody involves mimicking different styles with a critical perspective. Its main purpose is to mock the quirks or unique traits of the original work.

Pastiche is similar to parody, but it lacks the humorous element. It involves imitating or combining the characteristics of another's work without any satirical intent or humor. According to Jameson, since there is no longer a "normal" language system, only pastiche can be achieved.

Simulacra

Originating from Plato, this term means a "false copy" or an inferior reflection of the original. Jean Baudrillard argues that a simulacrum is a perfect imitation that lacks an original. Postmodernists use this method of copying or imitating without hesitation, treating it as a standard part of their creative process.

Many science fiction films explore characters that are simulacra. In Alien, one crew member, Ash, is an android so realistic that its true nature is only revealed when cut, showing white liquid instead of blood. The "replicants" in Blade Runner are simulacra yearning for a longer lifespan. Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation is a simulacrum character who exhibits many human traits and desires to experience human emotions.

As is typical with emerging philosophical movements, there are numerous interpretations, suggestions, and approaches that reflect the unique interests of the writers and thinkers contributing to the new philosophy. Postmodernism's emergence after World War II was not a coordinated event. By the time Derrida and others were delivering their seminal papers on Postmodernism's core ideas, many individuals were already exploring these concepts in their own ways. As time progressed and Postmodernism became a recognized field of discussion, its foundational ideas began influencing various aspects of contemporary life. These offshoots include areas like Marxism and political studies, Poststructuralism, feminism and gender studies, as well as Gay/Lesbian studies.

Feminism

Feminist interpretations within Postmodernism began as a deliberate effort to analyze and dismantle notions of social norms, language, sexuality, and academic theory across all disciplines. Feminist scholars and authors (not all of whom were women; for instance, Dr. Bruce Appleby, Professor Emeritus at Southern Illinois University, is a long-time contributor to feminist literature and theory) focused on how society perpetuated male bias either actively—such as through unequal pay for women performing the same work—or passively by using the term “man” to refer to all humanity. In both scenarios, women were marginalized. Even the modernist tendency to use binary oppositions like good/bad or white/black implied a hierarchy that favored the first term over the second. Similarly, the "male/female" dichotomy suggested that women were less significant or inferior to men. This notion was unacceptable to feminist writers and activists. They sought to distinguish between sex (a biological concept) and gender (a social construct) and employed these distinctions to critique and deconstruct language, societal norms, economic policies, and historical practices.

Marxism

Transitioning from discussions of gender discrimination to class discrimination is a logical step, which many Marxist critics focus on. While some issues differ, the harmful effects of gender bias are comparable to the class-based elitism found in society.

Political Marxism often provokes strong emotions, particularly among those who perceive it as a threat to Western political systems. Nonetheless, the fundamental issues that motivated Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to develop their theories in the 19th century remain relevant in discussions about literature, art, and the interplay between class and the arts in society. Marxist critics argue that artistic creations are shaped by historical forces, which are themselves influenced by the material and economic conditions present at the time the art was made.

Art becomes the creation of those who hold power over the economic and intellectual production in society. As a result, how an era in human history is described depends on the ruling class at that time. The current era, known as postmodern, is named by the dominant class. (It's important to note that since this era hasn't fully matured, its eventual name might change if the ruling class shifts. What that shift might entail is currently uncertain.) This idea is often simplified to the saying that the victor writes the history of the battle.

A compelling example of this process is found in The Wind Done Gone. This novel retells the American Civil War story from the perspective of an African-American slave in the southern United States. It offers a different viewpoint on Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. Although these are two novels, their factual foundation is the historical events of the Civil War. For Mitchell, the story is seen through the eyes of a white southerner, while for Alice Randall, it is told from a slave's perspective in the same southern society.

Poststructuralism

Poststructuralism is a term often used interchangeably with Postmodernism. While both terms share several philosophical ideas, some differences need clarification. Structuralism is based on a theory of language derived from the teachings of Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, published as the Course in General Linguistics (in 1913 in French and in 1966 in English). These works are reconstructions of his teachings from the class notes of various students. As the philosophy's name suggests, it focuses on the fundamental structures of language and meaning. According to Steven Best and Douglas Kellner in their book, Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations, structuralists "confined the play of language within closed structures of oppositions." Saussure argued that language operates in a self-referential way and lacks a "natural" connection to external reality. This movement also holds, as per Claude Levi-Strauss, that texts are universal (even if their meanings are ambiguous) and that texts are present in all activities. This concept extends to the personal life histories of individuals, referred to as their "texts."

Structuralists primarily employ semiology, the study of signs and symbols, to analyze language. They argue that language is arbitrary, and cultural context dictates the connection between the signifier (a word) and the signified (the object it represents). For instance, the word book is arbitrary and lacks any inherent or undeniable link to the object it describes; this link is solely established by cultural norms. Structuralists also focus on understanding the fundamental framework of language, aiming to identify what they call the meta-structure—a universal pattern present in all language systems.

In contrast, poststructuralists challenge these ideas with Derrida's concept that no universal structure exists, and that language structures are as indeterminate as the language (text) itself. They prioritize the signifier over the signified, which leads to the exploration of the indeterminacy found in other postmodern theories.

1920s–1930s: The modernist philosophical outlook can be summarized as follows: the pursuit of truth.

Today: The postmodernist philosophical perspective is characterized by the notion that truth cannot be distinctly identified.

1920s–1930s: Modernists view artists not as guardians of culture, but as its creators. Their art is experimental, innovative, and structurally intricate. Art is seen as a singular, complete work, validated by the artist and recognized by established standards. “The Photograph never lies.”

Today: Art often involves repetition and utilizes familiar or pre-made objects, or mechanical reproductions. Artists no longer see themselves or their work as holding an exclusive place in society. Art is viewed as a process, performance, or production, often employing mixed media. There are no universally accepted standards. In the postmodern era, with digital imaging, photos and videos can be entirely altered or created, raising the question, “What is reality?”

1920s–1930s: Writers are acutely aware of the writing process and aim to leave a lasting impression on readers. The novel is the primary form of fiction, and the author dictates its meaning to the audience.

Today: Postmodern authors recognize that language lacks the permanence modernists once believed it had, and their work is not fixed. As Derrida suggests, spoken language is more reliable than the written word because the speaker is present to convey its meaning. Since meaning is uncertain, the interpretation of a novel remains open-ended.

1920s–1930s: Art aims to shock its audience. Picasso’s cubism and Joyce’s provocative novels exemplify this intention. Once completed, art is considered a stable entity.

Today: Art is less about shocking and more about being an incomplete expression of the artist. “Performance art” is an example, where individuals 'live' in a store window or glass-walled house, showcasing their daily lives to onlookers.

1920s–1930s: Factory work is the domain of men, while women manage the home and raise children.

Today: Both men and women engage in similar jobs, including roles like firefighting and construction, although wage equality for women is not yet achieved in all sectors.

Beloved

When Fredric Jameson remarked in “Postmodernism and Consumer Society” that postmodern culture has lost its historical consciousness, he ignited considerable debate. Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved (1987) explores a similar theme regarding society’s grasp of history.

Beloved centers on the life of a former slave and her interactions with her children, herself, and the world around them. The novel’s historical accuracy is questioned in two ways. First, through the use of accounts from the time of slavery, and second, through Morrison’s creative depiction of slave society. The tension between these elements stems from the belief that the historical narrative crafted by the dominant white class is flawed, and that fiction, by its nature, lacks authenticity.

Two notable events in the novel highlight this issue: the first is when Paul D sees a newspaper clipping of Sethe and comments, “That ain’t her mouth.” If news reports, including images, are inaccurate, then the novel is based on flawed information, compromising its integrity.

The second event occurs when Beloved seduces Paul D in the shed, where a pile of newspapers symbolizes the intersection of reality and imagination. These scenes challenge the poststructuralist idea that reality is shaped by discourse. Since the sources of discourse, such as newspapers, photographs, and fictional narratives, are unreliable, the conclusion is that there is no dependable explanation of “reality” in these scenes, and by extension, in the novel as a whole.

Cat’s Cradle

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is an author who resists easy classification, although he might be best described as an eclectic postmodernist. However, pinpointing his work within a specific trend or movement is challenging. If any of his works encapsulates his philosophy, it would be his 1974 book Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (Opinions). (These concepts appear in Cat’s Cradle.) While not his most acclaimed or significant collection, it highlights the three key themes in his writing. Wampeters are central objects around which unrelated individuals’ lives revolve, such as The Holy Grail or the National Championship in college football. Foma are harmless falsehoods that comfort, like “Prosperity is just around the corner” or “Everything’s going to be all right!” Granfalloons are proud yet meaningless groupings of people, such as “The Veterans of Future Wars” or the “Class Colors Committee.”

In many of his works, Vonnegut humorously critiques the oddities of everyday life and major societal institutions. He injects humor into his novels, with the exception of Slaughterhouse Five, which recounts the bombing of Dresden during World War II.

Cat’s Cradle is a witty and incisive novel that critiques the emptiness and superficiality of major societal institutions: religion, the military, and science. The protagonist, Jonah, resides in the Caribbean, where only Bokononism is accepted. This religion is founded on the teachings and songs of Bokonon, primarily delivered in a Caribbean dialect and set to a calypso rhythm.

Jonah discovers a corrupted process at a chemical plant that alters the formation of ice crystals. Normally, ice forms at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, known as ice-one, but this process was modified to create ice-nine, which crystallizes at 130 degrees. The novel explores the dangers of scientific mishaps, a military eager to weaponize such technology, and a religion that attempts to philosophically rationalize these events.

The central metaphor of the novel, taken from its title, is a cat’s cradle: a finger game played with a loop of string that becomes twisted and tangled. If executed correctly, it returns to its original shape, signifying that “All will be well” (a Foma!).

Conjure: Selected Poems, 1963–1970

Reed’s 1972 poetry collection includes prose poems, didactic verses, and brief poems that comment on specific events. One such poem, “Report of the Reed Commission,” states:

i conclude that for
the first time in
history the practical
man is the loon and the
loon the practical man
a man on the radio just
said that air pollution
is caused by jellyfish.

Not all of his poetry is so straightforward and amusing. Some, like “catechism of d neoamerican hoodoo church,” delve into what he perceives as the oppressive nature of American society. His reference to “Hoodoo” (a variant of Voodoo) is a recurring theme in his work, blending elements of magic and conjuring. He suggests it can help African Americans and people in the Third World overcome the oppressive aspects of modern Western civilization.

The opening paragraph challenges established values: “i refused to deform d works of ellison and wright.” This statement voices his concerns about societal pressures and offers guidance on confronting similar challenges.

Throughout these poems, Reed employs a style that closely mimics everyday speech. In the first stanza of “catechism,” he writes: “we who hv no dreams permit us to say yr name/ all day. we are junk beneath yo feet.” While the text may appear unconventional on the page, reading it aloud reveals the natural sounds of spoken language. Another technique in Conjure is the repetition of lines, phrases, or words to highlight certain passages, drawing from an oral tradition of storytelling, scripture recitation, and hymn singing.

Of Grammatology

Derrida's introduction to his 1962 French translation of German philosopher Edmund Husserl's Origin of Geometry marks the beginnings of Deconstructionism. This idea was further developed in his significant works, Of Grammatology (1967) and Writing and Difference (1967). Of Grammatology, a complex book, lays the groundwork for deconstructive language analysis. Two key issues addressed in the book are the logocentrism of language and the reliance on binary oppositions in Western culture.

Logocentrism prioritizes spoken language over written language. Derrida argues that philosophies suggesting speech as a more natural form of communication elevate it to a primary status, relegating writing to a secondary role. His contention is not that writing isn't secondary, but rather that speech isn't inherently primary, thereby equalizing these two facets of language without creating another binary opposition.

While some assert that writing is simply recorded speech, Derrida claims the opposite: speech is essentially an unrecorded script. Once again, he crafts an argument to prevent the formation of new hierarchies. He introduces the concept of “centering,” which involves assigning more importance to the first term in a pair.

Derrida demonstrates that any text can be interpreted in ways that differ from its apparent meaning, which is the core idea of his book. Communication is a continuous cycle of textual meanings that emerge and are subsequently undermined, only for the cycle to begin anew. This ongoing process of undermining meanings leads to the conclusion that no text remains stable; any perceived stability is merely an illusion.

His discussion is grounded in the signifier/signified relationship, a concept from structuralist theory. Derrida highlights the challenges in understanding the relationship between the signifier (the word) and the signified (the object). This issue arises in writing, where a written word represents a spoken word, which in turn represents an object. The transition from one to the other forms the structure of meaning, but this transition obscures and erases itself, rendering it unstable. He states, “There is not a single signified that escapes, even if recaptured, the play of signifying references that constitute language.” Consequently, since a text can have numerous meanings, it cannot possess a singular meaning. This encapsulates the fundamental paradox of deconstruction: the process itself is unstable, leading to indeterminate outcomes.

Overnight to Many Distant Cities

Barthelme, a renowned minimalist fiction author, showcases his distinct style in the collection Overnight to Many Distant Cities (1983), which features several remarkable short stories. “Cortes and Montezuma” exemplifies Barthelme’s minimalist approach, characterized by the use of minimal text to weave the narrative. This story is composed largely of brief, rapid-fire sentences, some as short as three words, which convey a sense of urgency to the reader. Through this technique, Barthelme revisits the history of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, exploring themes of trust and betrayal.

Another story from the same collection, “The first thing the baby did wrong . . . ,” serves as a humorous parable about the challenges of adhering to inflexible rules. In this tale, a family of three enforces a rule that confines the child to their room for four hours for each page torn from a book. This rule backfires as the child persistently tears out pages whenever possible, eventually accruing a debt of eighty-eight hours. The narrator observes, “If you made a rule you had to stick to it,” highlighting the absurdity of a society governed by rules that are often misunderstood or poorly conceived.

“Postmodernism and Consumer Society”

In his 1983 essay “Postmodernism and Consumer Society,” Frederic Jameson articulates his concept of Postmodernism, its origins, and foundational principles. He delves into what he terms pastiche and schizophrenia within the context of “the emergent social order of late capitalism.” Pastiche refers to the erosion of personal identity, potentially caused by capitalism and bureaucracies that diminish the importance of the individual. This identity loss also suggests that creating new styles may be impossible since “they’ve already been invented.” The essay also examines schizophrenia, the conflict of narratives resulting from merging past and future into the present. Throughout this and other essays, Jameson thoroughly explores capitalism's influence on societal progress and artistic expression during the period.

Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art

In Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art, Julia Kristeva introduces gender politics into the postmodern conversation. She suggests that unconscious drives play a crucial role in communication and language. Kristeva argues that by writing a text, the author liberates unconscious aspects of themselves and dismantles the previous concept of a stable, traditional, logical self. She examines the potential for a formative feminine voice to emerge.

Kristeva examines the issue of the feminine voice within the framework of dissolving binary pairs, a concept discussed by Derrida. She argues that when traditional language use favors one gender over the other, such as in the male/female dichotomy, it risks the marginalized gender being excluded from all discussions. However, this also offers women the opportunity to voice their concerns by leveraging their position outside the dominant discourse.

Conjure: Music for the Texts of Ishmael Reed transforms Ishmael Reed's poetry into musical compositions. The pieces are drawn from Reed's 1972 poetry collection. This adaptation has been highly praised by critics from Absolute Sound and the Philadelphia Enquirer.

Morrison’s Beloved was turned into a movie by director Jonathan Demme in 1998.

Sources

Anderson, Perry, The Origins of Postmodernity, Verso, 1998, pp. 4–5.

Barthelme, Donald, Overnight to Many Distant Cities, Penguin, 1983.

Best, Steven, and Douglas Kellner, Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations, Guilford Press, 1991, pp. 20–21.

D’Andrade, Roy, “Moral Models in Anthropology,” in Current Anthropology, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 402.

Derrida, Jacques, Of Grammatology, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976.

Doctorow, E. L., “Four Characters Under Two Tyrannies,” in New York Times Book Review, April 29, 1984, p. 1.

Duras, Marguerite, The Ravishing of Lol Stein, translated by Richard Seaver, Pantheon Books, 1966.

Eagleton, Terry, “Estrangement and Irony,” in Salmagundi, No. 73, 1987, pp. 25–32.

Grentz, Stanley, A Primer on Postmodernism, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996, pp. 5–6, 146.

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Jameson, Fredric, “The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,” in Postmodernism; or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Duke University Press, 1991.

—, “Postmodernism and Consumer Society,” in Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology, edited by Paula Geyh, Fred G. Leebron, and Andrew Levy, W. W. Norton, 1998, pp. 656–57.

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—, Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons: Opinions, Dell Publishing, 1974.

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Further Reading

Geyh, Paula, Fred G. Leebron, and Andrew Levy, eds., Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology, W. W. Norton and Company, 1997. Postmodern American Fiction is a compilation of significant literary and critical works from the postmodern period. These pieces are presented in excerpts, yet they retain their postmodern character and serve as excellent examples of the genre.

Grentz, Stanley J., Primer on Postmodernism, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996. This concise book provides a straightforward explanation of the key elements of Postmodernism. It is an accessible resource for students interested in exploring postmodern ideas.

Hoover, Paul, ed., Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology, W. W. Norton and Company, 1994. The pieces in Postmodern American Poetry are organized chronologically according to the birth year of each author. The anthology includes a section where many authors discuss their approach to writing poetry and their poetic theories.

Natoli, Joseph, and Linda Hutcheon, eds., Postmodern Reader, SUNY Press, 1993. This book compiles critical writings, some of which are excerpts, by leading authors and critics within the postmodern movement. These are original texts and are not accompanied by any guides or explanations.