Created:
2010-12-09 17:58:18
There's a 'Partei' at the end of this title... stupid character limits.
Style:
Essay/Academic Prose
Can I just start out by saying that I dislike modernism, a lot? Not just a little, but a whole lot. Modernists are the reason prose poems ‘exist,’ they’re the catalysts behind mustard on a wall being considered ‘priceless artistic expression,’ and they invented Virginia Woolf, for god’s sake. I mean COME ON. What sort of self-respectin
g movement of the early 20th century comes up with something like stream-of-consciousness and tries to pass it off as anything remotely coherent? Okay, okay, To the Lighthouse wasn’t entirely mismatched and jumbled about, but it certainly wasn’t the literary masterpiece that I was promised early in my Sophomore year. However, for all my passionate hate of modernism, its values, and its followers, I must say I dislike postmodernism almost as much, if not even more. Is there anything I do like? Scientists theorize no, but that’s not saying much.
Postmodernism. Even the term gets under my skin. What’s after the modern? Are we suddenly getting images from the future that we’re structuring our literature, art, and furniture after? If that’s the case, and if post-modern art is the representation of what’s to come, I sure hope I’m dead and buried by then. Before I get jumped myself, I know that’s not the reason it’s called postmodernism; the real reason is that it’s a rebellion against the ‘modernist’ movement (which isn’t a bad idea if you think about it) that’s based on several similar concepts. And, even though there’re worse things than a rebellion that gets it wrong, in postmodernism’s case I have to wonder if even that’s true. Admittedly though, its definitely been on everyone’s mind since it came around.
There’s a little moment on page 83 when Barry explains an astounding similarity to another idea I’ve come across: “’Grand Narratives'... are no longer tenable, and the best we can hope for is a series of 'mininarratives'... which provide a basis for the actions of specific groups in particular local circumstances" (Barry 83). Sound familiar? Of course it does! Canons : mini-canons; narratives : mini-narratives. Anyone else just get the shivers? Postmodernism is happening! It’s already infiltrated the classroom, disguised as a simple argument about canon formation in the modern world. And here I was almost on board with Gates thinking we weren’t trying to push craziness onto the masses. Of course I was wrong, but what could I expect with a system that has ideals as messed up as postmodernism does?
I guess, as far as ideas go post-modernists always have this: “Everything is a model or an image, all is surface without depth” (86). What’s up with that load of honkey? May as well just paint my nails and get myself some plastic surgery then because it ain’t getting any deeper than skin, baby! If that wasn’t ridiculous enough, post-modernists also delight in disorder and feel that the disjointed nature of the universe is something to be celebrated. I’m all for imperfection being cool (after all, if I wasn’t I’d be highly religious), but celebrating the chaos of the universe is a little bit out there. Oh, and then there’s Samuel Beckett No, really, who invented postmodernism? Because I’m just about ready to CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION. I mean, if you love the disjointed world, then why not love the ‘modern’ art that predated your movement? Ever heard of Picasso? Yeah, he was a modernist. I’d think that Post-modernists would celebrate that. I mean, if you don’t care about anything other than the surface of things like art, literature, and even history, then get off my brain lawn! One of the most extremist of the species even went so far as to make the impossibly absurd claim that the Gulf War didn’t happen. I’m sure that they loved hearing that over at the veteran’s home: “If we accept the ‘loss of reality’ and the collapsing of reality and simulation into a kind of virtual reality, then what of the Holocaust?” (86). Yeah, what about the Holocaust, postmodernism? Didn’t happen, right? It might be an extreme viewpoint now, but if we let them win this could become our reality! Postmodernism is a joke at best, and a complete disregard for socio-economic trends at worst (not entirely true, but I’m going with it). But, hey, at least it’s not poststructuralism.
P.S. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I might be getting something wrong, but I’ve read this section twice now and it doesn’t look any better than it did the first time I read it. If I’m wrong, so be it, I’m not about to rewrite this whole manifesto just because of facts. My gut tells me what to write, and that’s what I do.
