Postmodernism follows the modernism era; it is an overarching term for interpretations of art, literature, culture, and philosophy just to name a few. Modern social theorists were concerned with creating grand narratives, stories that suited all of society. Postmodernists on the other hand argue that there are no grand narratives; there is no one single story that fits everyone. They argue that consciousness, identity, and other symbolic representations are historically contingent and they are socially constructed, causing them to vary in time. The definition of a woman has greatly changed over time. For example, the way society views her has changed and her role or job has also changed. A woman’s “job” in the‘50’s and ‘60’s was to take care of her husband, her family, and their house. Today women are expected to work both inside and out of the house, maintain their traditional roles of womanhood, and also take on the new roles society has defined for them.
Postmodernists challenge binary oppositions, meaning there is not absolute truth in anything. The society we live in is not black or white but it is black, white, and gray all at the same time. Postmodernist theory seeks to deconstruct society and social consciousness. Postmodernists would argue that although we are all aware of social consciousness, to what extent what actually matters is debatable; they believe that social consciousness does not guide our behavior. We have different experiences and have different truths. Essentially, what is true to me may not be true to you.
Take the picture at the top of this blog for example. Facial piercings have become quite popular in recent years and there are many different views and stigmas that go along with them. Like the caption in the picture says “to one person the nose ring is a door knocker that you would find on someone’s front door but to the person wearing the nose piercing, it is a piece of jewelry, a piece of art for them”. Those with facial piercings are typically judged by their looks before given the chance to show who they really are. The gentleman in the photograph has a nose ring, his lip pierced, and has gages; does that make him a bad person? No it doesn’t, just different. He may be viewed as “bad” because facial piercings go against the dominate social consciousness. I used to have my ears gaged to quite a large size and I would receive strange looks for people who did not know me based on this so I am able to relate to the photograph. Girls typically did not have their ears gaged and if they were, they were not gaged to large sizes; it wasn’t seen as a feminine quality. Gages, regardless of who wore them, are associated with the alternative scene but as postmodernists point out, there is not grand narrative so not all those who have gages can fit in the same narrative.
Postmodernists challenge binary oppositions, meaning there is not absolute truth in anything. The society we live in is not black or white but it is black, white, and gray all at the same time. Postmodernist theory seeks to deconstruct society and social consciousness. Postmodernists would argue that although we are all aware of social consciousness, to what extent what actually matters is debatable; they believe that social consciousness does not guide our behavior. We have different experiences and have different truths. Essentially, what is true to me may not be true to you.
Take the picture at the top of this blog for example. Facial piercings have become quite popular in recent years and there are many different views and stigmas that go along with them. Like the caption in the picture says “to one person the nose ring is a door knocker that you would find on someone’s front door but to the person wearing the nose piercing, it is a piece of jewelry, a piece of art for them”. Those with facial piercings are typically judged by their looks before given the chance to show who they really are. The gentleman in the photograph has a nose ring, his lip pierced, and has gages; does that make him a bad person? No it doesn’t, just different. He may be viewed as “bad” because facial piercings go against the dominate social consciousness. I used to have my ears gaged to quite a large size and I would receive strange looks for people who did not know me based on this so I am able to relate to the photograph. Girls typically did not have their ears gaged and if they were, they were not gaged to large sizes; it wasn’t seen as a feminine quality. Gages, regardless of who wore them, are associated with the alternative scene but as postmodernists point out, there is not grand narrative so not all those who have gages can fit in the same narrative.