Post Modernism & Modernism

Post modern condition refers to our own reality based upon our internalised preconceptions.
Since there is no longer objective truth, we are free to create our own truth.
"There is no right and wrong just an infinite number of equally valid stories."

Modernism and Post Modernism
-Both styles are formalist: as much concerned with how a story is told as the story itself.
-Both feature -Fragmentation -Self referentiality -Irony -Doubling -Pastiche

Modernist
- is usually destroying
- has a sense of ideology
- is critical and attacking

Post Modernist
- is playful
- has no ideologies
- has many questions asked
- is nostalgic and up for interpretation
- deals with identity and the fractured self
- grand utopias/narratives are impossible
- it accepts that reality is fragmented and personal ideantity is an unstable quatity transmitted by cultural factors
- Post modern theorists are usually failed marxist theorists.

Jameson said that..
- We (Western society) live in a perpectual present
- The idea of media allows us to forget to serve as the very agents and mechanism of our historical amnesia
- The idea of nostalgia

Modern Ideas
- Enclose
- Unselfreferential
- Belief In Values (Sincere)
- Single Narrative (Single Coding)
- Suspicion of Disbelief
- Individualism
- History
- Distinction between high and low art
(King Of The Hills, Lost)
At best: meaningful, engrossing, moving
At worst: deceptive, sentimental

Post Modern Ideas
- Open
- Selfreferential
- Disbelief in values (Ironic)
- Multiple Narratives (Double coding)
- No suspension
- Mass produced individualism
- Past and present same
- No distinction
(The Simpsons, Family Guy)
At best: playful, curious, startling, ironic
At worst: detached, nihilistic (belief in nothing), sexist, despairing, homophobic, racist.