Postmodernism is one of those words that about a month ago, I would have only used when I was trying to imitate someone as being snooty or condescending. It was a concept that I had no exposure to, other than just hearing the word used from time to time. What I could figure out from the word itself is that it is a movement that is literally Post-Modern. But then again, how can anything be post modern? Is postmodernism a movement of the future?
Luckily, these questions were somewhat put to rest in class. Discussion of postmodernism was truly helpful in clarifying what the movement actually is, and gave it actual substance in my mind. We discussed many parts of postmodernism, all of which could never be covered in one class or one blog post but the focus of this blog post will be on the part that was most interesting to me; the meta-narrative.
Meta-narratives are basically social constructs that everyone has. They guide our thinking patterns and the way we view other people and judge actions. This concept was incredibly interesting to me because of how meta meta-narratives are. What I mean by this is that someone who denies the existence of meta-narratives can be explained away by saying that they just have a meta-narrative that prevents them from accepting that there are such things as meta-narratives. To quote a recent stud prod play; "I mean, how meta can you get?". The concept of such a thing is very interesting to me and my interest is even furthered by how compelling the argument for meta-narratives is. I have been raised in a way that makes it impossible to relate fully with someone that was raised even a block away from me. Just the simple fact that people believe in different things and have different ideas of what right and wrong is proves that there is something at least similar to meta-narratives guiding our every thought.
The idea of meta-narratives alone makes the concept of post-modernism very interesting to me. Hopefully with the conclusion of Ragtime, I will have an even greater grasp on post-modernism.
Luckily, these questions were somewhat put to rest in class. Discussion of postmodernism was truly helpful in clarifying what the movement actually is, and gave it actual substance in my mind. We discussed many parts of postmodernism, all of which could never be covered in one class or one blog post but the focus of this blog post will be on the part that was most interesting to me; the meta-narrative.
Meta-narratives are basically social constructs that everyone has. They guide our thinking patterns and the way we view other people and judge actions. This concept was incredibly interesting to me because of how meta meta-narratives are. What I mean by this is that someone who denies the existence of meta-narratives can be explained away by saying that they just have a meta-narrative that prevents them from accepting that there are such things as meta-narratives. To quote a recent stud prod play; "I mean, how meta can you get?". The concept of such a thing is very interesting to me and my interest is even furthered by how compelling the argument for meta-narratives is. I have been raised in a way that makes it impossible to relate fully with someone that was raised even a block away from me. Just the simple fact that people believe in different things and have different ideas of what right and wrong is proves that there is something at least similar to meta-narratives guiding our every thought.
The idea of meta-narratives alone makes the concept of post-modernism very interesting to me. Hopefully with the conclusion of Ragtime, I will have an even greater grasp on post-modernism.
And likewise, the postmodernist theorist who likes to puncture everyone else's beliefs by saying they're "just subscribing to metanarratives" is him- or herself following a metanarrative about the nature of metanarratives. No one is "outside" this dynamic. This is imoportant to remember--it's not about shooting down anyone's belief system as "just fiction," but rather recognizing how powerfully such fictions sustain us in every corner of our culture. One thing I like about postmodernism is the insight that *nobody* has all the answers.
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