Modernism and Postmodernism are both significant philosophical movements that have ties in the societal, economic, and artistic environments of their era. However, the two are not mutually exclusive they are essentially taking the same subject matter and using the zeitgeist to illustrate their own perspective on the subject.
Modernism is a critique of the 19th century bourgeois culture, it rejects the values and styles of realism by moving away from the objective description, the concrete idea, and shifts towards abstraction and embodies the essence of inward consciousness. In film, this is shown through having a narrative with no conventional beginning, middle, and end. A good example of this would be the film Memento, by disrupting this linear narrative it constantly keeps the audience on their toes, forcing a certain perspective in order to communicate the plot throughout the film. Literary pieces that exemplify this come from Faulkner, Hemingway, and Camus, they envision themselves as a sort of self-exiled
hero, not fitting into sociaiety and are constantly in a self state of crisis.
On the other hand, postmodernism focuses on simulacrum. It takes a step back from the situation and becomes reflexive to reveal the reasoning behind the actions. Also, it abolishes the boundary between high and low culture, there is no more hierarchy of culture because as postmodern theorist Santiago Colas said, “We may attempt to forget or ignore mass culture, but it will neither forget nor ignore us.” A distinctive feature of postmodernism is the emphasis on a understanding the metanarrative, and the overarching meaning behind ideas. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard is a good example of this, it takes two seemingly insignificant characters from the classic Shakespearean play of Hamlet and portrays their perspective on everything that is happening. It gives a unique view on what on the plot and allows the reader to have a cerebral and rather disorienting experience alongside the two characters. This novel is distinctively postmodern because it seeks to delve deeper into an established work, and gives a fresh new take on why things are occurring. Stoppard gives an ironic and deceptively simple perspective to the minor characters, there are often hidden meanings behind the words that take a lot of knowledge to recognize and acknowledge. What is distinctive about this film is its direct comparison of a modernist time period in Hamlet, and taking a completely postmodern twist on the whole things. The two ideologies are constantly being contradicted and interwoven throughout the entirety of the novel. At one point Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have an existential crisis in the play, this self-reflexivity is a prominent characteristic of postmodernism. It forces the readers to be mindful of the duality of the two plays on one stage, the whole idea behind the book is really dynamic and engaging which is why it has extended to plays and a film. Artistically, Andy Warhol embodies postmodern ideals. His pastiche representations of average household items are what made him famous, he pushes the boundaries of conventional items and displays them in colorful and beautiful ways that are incredibly unique.
P.S. I know this was late Laura, please don’t fail me…. 🙁