Although the interlectual concept of Postmodernism seems far-reaching and deeply philosophical at first, it brings with it a host of hostility and opposition in its wake. Opposition not only towards the values/era it represents, but also in relation to its credibilty as a label...can postmodernism be defined or is it merely 'a word'?
Charlie Brooker is one of these individuals fighting against its imposing existance. The article, 'Snorting Barley', by Mark Ramey clearly illustrates this point; it discusses Brooker's sitcom (titled 'Nathan Barley') that satires postmodernism as a 'war against' the idiocracy of the 21st century media consumer. In our quest to be new, exciting and different; we have fallen into a vast pit of conformity and mass-production - highlighted in the article by the 'ipod, ipad and iphone' example.
"Man the lifeboats. The idiots are coming."
'The idiots' in question are Brooker's message on the building culture in the UK. That of 'self-regarding consumer slaves, oblivious to the paradox of their uniform identity' who are bound by Style-over-Substance and Materialistic Obsessions. Brooker also expesses a clear fear about the decline of the meta-narrative and the subsequent loss of defined guidence in society. He claims that 'in a world without rules [without religion or grand political ideology], there is only nonsense and then only the idiots make sense'.
In conclusion, we believe that although a loose term for labeling an era of change, 'postmodernism' as a term is largely empty and without substance. Instead, it purely depends on what the individual interprets as pushing the boundries of the new and modern, NOT what a group of academics dictates.
At the end of the day, our opinions are irrevelant...in the true style of postmodernism, if everything is relative, WHAT DOES IT MATTER?
By Jade Sharpe-Welsh, Gemma Sandry, William Kellett and Chris Walker.
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