A Postmodern Paradox Essay Example for Free

A Postmodern riddle EssayA Postmodern Paradox Post contemporaneity, a paradox in itself, ch wholeenges conformity in multitudinous ways. Taking place after World War II, this movement is primary(prenominal)ly characterized by its rejection of social constructs and its ch tout ensembleenges to traditionalistic forms of philosophy, literature, art, and religious authority. Ironically, while it defied categorizing, it became a category itself. N invariablytheless, this movement has had a profound impact on immeasurable literary, cinematographic, art, and philosophic works.Two works that demand been profoundly influenced by post modernism includes Slaughterho habit 5 by Kurt obstructer, and the elm and book The Hours, by Michael Cunningham. While both works have been influenced by modernism in dismantle ways, they ultimately sh ar its key themes an abstraction of time, a rejection of law, and a search for high employment. by dint of the expenditure of postmodernism the mes and literary techniques, both the movie and book were able to convey that absolute truth does not populate because it is relative, intricate, and blurred.Occurring in the post-World War II era, postmodernism can be considered an intentional departure from previously dominant modernist approaches such(prenominal) as scientific positivism, reliableism, constructivism, formalism, and tapestries. Through its emphasis and use of power relations, binary classifications, fragmentation, paradox, dark humor, rejection of existence, sociology, linguistics, and subjectivism it constantly attacks contemporary life, art, literature, philosophy, religion, and ethics.In addition, it is characterized by a rejection of naturalism, claiming that transmutable validity cannot exist since reality is limited by concepts give care time and sexuality. It is able to achieve its unique goals in literature and fool away through numerous literary devices. In literature, there are several devices oft en used by southernism writers to convey some of the main ideas of the movement. Of these devices the use of fragmenting, dark humor, satire, paradox, allusions, mixed point of view and interruption of form are the most frequently used.These devices allow writers to deal with topics standardised the fatuousness of moral, philosophical, political, and authoritative relativism in addition, these devices provide for a blurring of classifications and boundaries of societal structuring. Ultimately, postmodernists thirst to condemn contemporary life, reject reality, and accept relativity and complexity in indefinite answers. The movement of postmodernism came approximately through a series of meaner.An important factor that contri unlessed to the development was that it followed World War II. Before the struggle, modernism dominated the current literature of the time. This movement pertain rationalism, reason, the scientific approach, optimism for piece potential, and a pursuit of absolutely certain knowledge. However, in the wake of both World Wars, the climate was set for postmodernism as confidence in human progress, autonomy, and optimism were destroyed in battle.This permeating and predominantly pessimistic aura of thinking exulted in a series of books, films, artworks, and musical pieces that rejected reality, worldly concepts like time, renounced individuality, and questioned the purpose of life. These themes clearly reflect the toll that war had on society many people desired to marginality the horrors of war in a rejected reality, toss away human error through a pitiful purpose of existence through fragmented viewpoints.The wars essentially brought about a pessimistic form of modernism that relished in the repudiation of absolute answers for postmodernists nothing could ever be easily or fully explained. As postmodernist ideals began to develop and conglomerate they were influenced by unfathomable individuals. One extremely influential individual was Linda Hutchison. Hutchison, who wrote several postmodernist works like A speculation of Parody, expressed a great deal of interest in self-reflexive approaches to texts through parodies that both legitimate and upset that which it parodies (Introductory Guide to Critical Theory).Hutchison as well coined the enclosure historiographer metrification, which describes literary texts that assert an interpretation of the past further are also intensely self- flexi these texts allow a double process of installing and ironing, parody signals how demo representations come from past ones and what ideological consequences derive from both continuity and difference (Introductory Guide to Critical Theory).With historiographer metrification, writers can speak constructively about that past in a way that acknowledges the falsity and military force of the past without isolating the present. Many other writers, artists, composers, and directors have had a significant impact on the ontog eny of postmodernism as well. Key incepts of postmodernism have also developed and evolved through the influence of society and individuals.For example the term kitsch or stratification, which can be defined as the reduction of aesthetic objects or ideas into easily vendible forms, has a more widely accepted definition adopted by famous postmodern philosopher denim Baudelaire The kitsch object is commonly understood as one of that great army of trashy objects, made of poultice of Paris stuck or some such imitation material that gallery of cheap Junk?accessories, nubby knickknacks, souvenirs, emphases or fake African masks?which proliferate everywhere, with a preference for holiday resorts and places of leisure (Consumer Society 109-10). blue jean Baudelaire also offered a definition for simulacrum, defining it as Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality a hyperbole. It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real (The Precession of Simulacra 1-2). Postmodernism, like any literary movement, was molded and defined by society and intellectuals involved in its progression.The profound impact postmodernism had on Kurt Evensongs Slaughterhouse 5, through its use of frame-breaking, criticism of worldly concepts like time and war, exploration or reality and truth, simulacrum, and rejection of reality, satire, allowed for the overbold to express its ultimate renunciation of an absolute truth in exchange for intricate and in determinable answers. In addition, it was able to express key concepts of post modernism through its use of postmodern iterate devices many of these concepts included a search for a higher purpose, a renunciation of social structuring, and a rejection of reality.By expressing these concepts, foeman follows the postmodernist ideals of historiograp her metrification, and questioning the absurdity of contemporary life and conventional viewpoints of society. Frame-breaking, the linkage of separate subplots in a novel to unify the intricacies of an perfect plot, contributed to the postmodernist impact on the novel by individuality. Frame-breaking takes place in the novel through the physical exertion of Opponent as one-third characters of differing importance the narrator, the protagonist, and a supporting character.Through frame-breaking, Opponent depicts that even the tell of a war experience does not hold a simple plot it consists of a tissue of intermingled plots, ideas, characters, events, and concepts this adheres to the postmodernist principle of blurred lines of interpretation and absolute truth. In addition, frame-breaking allows for a loss of identicalness. The loss of individuation occurs when Opponent represents an omniscient force narrating the tosh as he simultaneously lays protagonist Billy Pilgrim, and a seemingly inconsequential supporting character.Opponent as an omniscient force demonstrates the renunciation of religion in postmodernist ideals Opponent plays god, yet he is as trivial as any other human being. Furthermore, by telling his own story in the perspective of Billy Pilgrim this demonstrates how war results in a loss of identity, or the adoption of an alias. Rather than personalizing the story in a first base person perspective, Opponent distances himself from the horrors of his past. Finally, by including himself as a prison mate inBilly Pilgrims story, this demonstrates how in postmodernism, all identities unify the man that represented god and the protagonist is nevertheless a supporting character in the larger plot of the story. By disparaging his ultimate role in the novel, Opponent demonstrates that people are all essentially equal in life and in demolition- thus a loss of individualism. Through the use of simulacrum, which involves replacing reality with a repr esentation, Opponent is able to criticize worldly concepts like time and war.For instance, by using the simulacrum of Transformable for Earth, e criticizes the necessity of war. Transformable represents a conglomeration of ideals he believes are optimal in achieving peace. However, instead of directly stating those concepts, Opponent employs a narrative and symbolism this allows for a rejection of reality while criticizing war. Time is also criticized through a simulacrum of time travel. Through time traveling the distinctness of years is blurred and time loses meaning as it is muddled together.This criticism of time is a unique postmodernist concept that is closely related to the criticism of social structuring. As postmodernist writer, Opponent denounces the traditional concept of time and replaces it with a web of linked yet intricate events. Simulacrum is also used in the plot of Billy Pilgrims Journey rather than telling the story in the first person perspective, Opponent ostr acizes himself thus criticizing the worldly concept of individualism and identity.Contrastingly, he links all frames of the story in the end of the novel to demonstrate that personal identity is futile when people are all equal in life and in remainder. In addition the concept of death is abandoned as Opponent accepts omelet equality of the human identity. By employing a plot dedicated to the exploration of reality and truth, Opponent demonstrates that the world according to postmodernists is full of blurred lines, undefined edges, and complex networks of relationships.Not only does the novel in its entirety consist of three convoluted interwoven subplots made up of smaller subplots, but it contains episodes of irrationality and science-fiction. This mixture of reality and science fiction represents a renunciation of reality for a confederacy of philosophy and fantasy further mistreating that reality does not exist in a state of definable truth, but in limbo higher purpose is an i mpossibly multifaceted path that nevertheless ends the analogous as all others do everything is connected and personal identity is trivial.The Hours, written by Michael Cunningham and directed by Stephen Deadly, has been manifestly impacted by postmodernism through its use of fragmenting, stratification , satire, and renunciation of worldly concepts like death to express postmodern ideals like a loss of identity or interconnection of all things. Through expressing these ideals, Cunningham was able to reject characteristic social and literary construct and ultimately convey that answers are not simple or absolute.Frame- breaking is employed in the hours through the eventual amassing of all three subplots in spite of appearance the novel to demonstrate the interconnectedness of all human identities. The novel is formatted in three separate spheres to demonstrate how as humans search their lives for purpose, they are unable to see how individualism and identity are inane. The three plots are eventually connected through death- another worldly concept denounced by postmodernists. Through death, the characters die linked to one another and the reader becomes aware of their unity this demonstrates how death provides enlightenment and is not solo the end of a life.Additionally, frame-breaking allows the criticism of the concept of time. All three subplots take place in completely different eras, yet they have profound impact on one another despite this harm this demonstrates that time is merely a concept, rather than an obstacle, and cannot overcome the unity of humanity identity. Stratification and loss of identity are expressed through a variety of literary devices n The Hours to demonstrate that superficiality and identity are ultimately trivial in life.Stratification most chiefly occurs in the novel and film when the concept of love is reduced to a ships company and flowers this becomes a criticism of superficiality upon the death of Richard when the party goes to waste. It signifies that the superficial form of love was powerless and inconsequential to Richards death and that death encompasses all. In addition, both Richard and Virgins death represents a loss of identity in that his life and accomplishment were evidently meaningless to them. In he end, they chose the namelessness of death as their path rather than a quest for a higher purpose or discovery of self-identity.Their deaths are a demonstration of the interconnectedness of life in that both writers shoot down suicide, creating a full circle to the complex web of relationships. Postmodernism, contradicts itself in its essence. Yet its use of paradoxes, satire, criticisms of the conventional, and quest for answers have had a profound impact on the development of literature, art, and society. While postmodernism will be phase in the history of writing, it will not cease to remind rites to question the norm, look past what is conventional, and defy typical form and constructi on.