Postmodernism in Society and Culture

“The World Around Us”

“A central feature of postmodernity is the breakdown of cultural traditions all over the world.”
Postmodernism 101 (White, 2006)

Introduction

It is important to look at Postmodernism's influence on our culture, not only because it defines human activity and behaviour, but also because culture is a ‘particularly sensitive aspect of social life’. Cultures are constantly changing, however, the effects of these changes may take several hundred years before people agree the change has occurred.

What is Culture?

“The complex of socially produced values, rules, beliefs, literatures, arts, media, penal codes, laws, political ideas and other such diversions by which a society, or any social group, represents its view of the world as its members believe it is or ought to be.”
Postmodernism Is Not What You Think (Lemert, 2005)

Postmodernism itself could be considered a culture that believes there is a better world than the ‘modern’ one. In our society today, cultural change and convergence is evident everywhere. Stereotypes and traditional ways of life are frequently challenged and altered in our culture.

Media

“A combination of kung fu movies, Japanese pop samurai cinema, Chinese wuxia films, spaghetti westerns, female blaxploitation flicks, along with revenge movies in general”
Quentin Tarantino on Kill Bill (2004)

Popular culture (television, cinema, fashion, music etc.) has always recycled its own history. We see this evident in remakes, cover versions etc.

Television

While movies have beginnings and endings, television shows immerse the viewer in a series of chaotic, loosely linked images. The nature of television in our culture has played a large role in the discourse of our lives. Television is sometimes seen as a symbol for Postmodernism itself, not only for reproducing reality, but also because TV itself has now turned its back on reporting reality. This notion is explored in Umberto Eco's 1984 essay 'A Guide to the Neo-Television'. He argues that TV is 'self-absorbing' and this is evident in chat shows, award ceremonies and TV shows about TV celebrities etc. TV is now fascinated with itself and has the ability to make history. Often, being caught on camera is news itself.