Postmodernism in Latin America Postmodernism is the 19th and 20th century reaction against the previously dominant western foundationalism, or modernism. Foundationalism is rooted in classic Cartesian philosophy: ontologically, an objective reality exists independent of our perception of this reality and we can gain access to it if our theories are logically based on some indubitable foundation. For Descartes, this indubitable, uncontroversial point of reference aligns with "I think, therefore I am." However, after each stated foundation posited the process of critical undercutting begins; we find no extant foundation upon which to build our ontologically relevant theories. Postmodernism, in brief, alternatively negates the existence of the ultimate reference point. There exists no grand or meta-narrative that explains the world from some objective, disinterested vantage point. Each narrative in based on particular perspectives and is in turn biased by these perspectives. To avoid the seeming inevitable nihilism an extension of postmodern thought leads, the emphasis is then placed on the necessity of agreement. Truth is not an objective statement, but contrarily is a measure of a particular narrative's fit with the set standards in which it is placed. For example, in scientific enterprise, research is performed in the context of traditions that have set up their own standards for establishing successful science. Traditions have established and agreed upon the rules of engagement, the common language, and set of standards by which good science is judged. There are three main themes debated within the postmodern context: (1) extreme relativism (2) philosophy of science (3) Hermeneutics. The extreme relativists are most ... ... middle of paper ... ...uence of event can be assuredly teased from the various testimonies describing the murder. We are even left wondering whether or not it was raining on that fateful day. Each person's own subjective perspective brings a bit of truth while negating the existence of the ultimate foundationalist center. Everybody is right. Works Cited Evans, Richard J. "Postmodernism and the study of History." History Review. Dec 1998: 28. Haber, Stephen H. "The Postmodernism Debate in Latin America." Mexican Studies-Estudios Mexicanos. 13(1997): 363-384, Richard, Nelly. "The Latin American problematic of theoretical-cultural transference: postmodern appropriations and couterappropriations." The South Atlantic Quarterly. 92(1993): 453-357. Rincon, Carlos. "The peripheral center of postmodernism: on Borges, Garcia Marquez, and alterity." Boundary 2. 20(1993): 162.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Pizer, Donald. “’The Red Badge of Courage’: Text, Theme, and Form,” South Atlantic Quarterly: 1985. Detroit: Gale, 1989.
The MTV series 16 And Pregnant and its follow up series titled Teen Mom is a documentary like series that first aired in 2009 on June 11 and since then has had many seasons and sequels to follow it. Each episode in the series focuses on several young girls for 5-7 moths while they have to deal with the struggle of teenage pregnancy and “life after labor”. The initial idea or the show was to promote teen pregnancy prevention but, with many of the girls behaving scandalously and recklessly during the series, the show has become one of the most controversial on MTV.
Postmodernism can be defined as a rejection of the idea that there are certain unequivocal truths or grand narratives (such as capitalism, faith or science) and as a belief that there are multiple ways of understanding anything, whether it be it culture, philosophy, art, literature, films, etc, or even television... Television reflects the mass-produced society we live in and certain shows exhibit many of the archetypes of postmodernism that have become prevalent in other art forms. Postmodernism can be useful for understanding contemporary television it can help us to relate to the ever-changing world we live in. Television shows like ABC’s Lost (ABC, 2004-2010) dabble in matters of intertextuality, questioning of grand narratives and, amongst others, a manipulation of time through use of flashbacks, flash-forwards and, uniquely to Lost, the flash-sideways.
Postmodernism is perhaps the most difficult thing to define at this point in time. That is in large part due to the fact that we are currently still in the movement, political view, or economy (to classify postmodernism as only one of the above is to have already defeated your definition). One of the few things that have been empirically proven is that it indeed focuses on culture. Jameson once argued that postmodernism was a more of a cultural dominant than anything else (Storey, p. 184). This would tend to classify postmodernism as an assimilation of all cultures, with a survival of the fittest effect. Take for example the effects of one culture, regardless of that culture's size, on mass culture ISA's. A battle occurs between the established ISA's and the new subculture ISA's until finally a victor has been declared. Which ever has gained more favor drowns the weaker, and all ISA's of the weaker genre will be discredited. Postmodernism is seen as the cultural dominant of our era, however this has not always been the case. One particular group attempted to attach cultural dominance, or rather cultural understanding, to their already established political body: the Marxists. While the cultural studies that were performed by the Frankfurt School were probably the first studies that ever addressed culture, their findings have not stood the test of time. One of the most important things to understand is that Marxism is generally a political body, while postmodernism is similar to a movement. Marxism has it's own views of culture that were developed through the Frankfurt School, but the movement of postmodernism disregards the Frankfurt school's theories. Postmodernism has in fact taken the...
Over the past thirty years, generations understand the world around us is made up of worldly views and patterns of thoughts that inform the culture. Postmodernism informs more of the current culture than of the past, and plays a major role in media, politics, and religion. Postmodernism relies more on experience rather than specific principles, knowing that the outcome of one’s experience will be relative than universal. Postmodernism implies a shattering of innocent confidence in the capacity of the self to control its own destiny. These are some characteristics that researchers find important?
Postmodernism movement started in the 1960’s, carrying on until present. James Morley defined the postmodernism movement as “a rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective anonymous experience.” In other words, postmodernism rejects what has been established and makes emphasis on combined revolutionary experiences. Postmodernism can be said it is the "derivate" of modernism; it follows most of the same ideas than modernism but resist the very idea of boundaries. According to our lecture notes “Dominant culture uses perception against others to maintain authority.”
Lyotard, J.F. 1984. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Translated by G. Benningston and B. Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Post-Modernism, the absence of any certainty, discredits the values of modernism, opposing the fixed principles of meaning and value. It is built on countless theories about society, the media and knowledge of the world, but it is also aware that there is no ultimate way of making sense of humanity. Ondaatje embraces aspects of post-modernism, by creating a novel that breaks away from the traditional narrative, thereby giving readers a greater perspective on the novel. One learns that any story is simply a storyteller's construction, and is never unbiased.
When it comes to the topic of “16 and pregnant," most of us will readily agree that it is a debatable topic amongst teens and adults. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether, 16 and pregnant promotes or discourage teen pregnancy. Whereas some are convinced that it does not discourage, others maintain that it promotes teen pregnancy, because some girls just want to get pregnant to become famous. I agree that the show promotes teen pregnancies because, the show does not show how it really like to be a teen mom.
Also found in the ideas of postmodernism is the idea of relativism. While postmodernism claims that there are no proven absolutes, relativism claims that the reason for no absolutes is that individuals create their own rules. In essence, the idea of relativism says that that which one person believes is only applicable to the life of the next person if he or she wishes for it to be relative to them. John Piper alludes to the topic of relativism in
Here I am, seventeen years old and a senior in high school. The same age my birth mother was when she was pregnant with her third child. Could you imagine how difficult that would be? Planning graduation and what you could do for your child? When my birth mother had me at age 13, there were no shows like 16 and pregnant. In 2009, MTV started the show 16 and pregnant hoping that young viewers would learn and wait to start their families. Four years into the TV show teen pregnancy rates were at a record low. “ Births to teen moms have been steadily dropping since 1991, down to 44 percent in nine years. Rates dropped nine percent from 2009-2010 alone, reaching a historic low of 34.4 births per 100 woman aged 15-19.” Stated the CDC. Shows like
Postmodernism first appeared around the 1980’s, following a hectic and messy period of time. The postmodernist theory that defines a new era describing the world as society is fragmenting, while authority is de-centering, and real truth does not exist; there are only representations of it. Believers of the postmodernist theory, believe that postmodernism is a mixture of present, past, and future, more specifically, the cultural and spatial elements of these different times (Lemert, 2010). The postmodern age is considered the information age, or even, the technological age. Both of these are evident through the changes that have occurred within the typical marriage and family. One of the main emphases of postmodernism is that no real truth exists, demonstrating the grand narrative. The grand narrative states that the “truth” is invented for the sole purpose of selling things. This is clearly shown, in a different manner, in marriages and families in today’s society. No real truth being in existence creates change in the typical marriage and family.
Postmodernism assumes an ontology of fragmented being. Where modernism asserts the primacy of the subject in revealing universal truth, postmodernism challenges the authority of the subject and, thus, universal truth based on it. Modernism and postmodernism, however, draw upon distinctly different epistemological modes: critical and dogmatic.
The term postmodernism is applied to several disciplines which include architecture, art, literature, music, film, sociology, cultural and media studies, visual arts, philosophy, history. Communications and technology. The beginning of postmodernism is quite unclear, however, it emerged as an area of academic study in mid- 1980s. "Postmodernism" is an outcome of the deep changes in social and political life style in post-industrialized societies with an attitude to question the truth and authority put forth by such conditions. Critics have constantly been debating about the treatment of the prefix “post” in "postmodernism". According to some critics, the "post" designates a process of historical succession. For them, "Postmodernism" is something that either follows or replaces what is known as "modernism". A consensus is yet to be reached about whether postmodernism is a break from modernism, a continuation of modernism or even both. Noorbakhsh Hooti offers three uses of the term “postmodernism”. “First, postmodernism represents a number of developments in the arts and culture in the latter half of the twentieth century. The reference point and point of departure for this type of postmodernism are the different forms of modernism that developed in the arts and culture in Europe in the first half of the century. Second, it designates the rise of new frameworks of social and economic organization, again approximately since the end of the 1939-45 war. As such, its reference point and point of departure is the tendency of modernization which specified the early years of the century, with the development of industry, the growth of the mass market, and the speed in automation, travel and mass communication. Third, it indicate...