Postmodernism and Jean Baudrillard

How can we define we live in some age? Who can define the age? Most of us who study modern industry and culture, have heard that we live in postmodernism. Why? Because of the modernism age has simply gone, so, now is postmodernism? Postmodernism is still defined unclearly. This has appeared since 1960-70s in which subjects of literature, architecture and art, however, it has been used different meaning of concept in each subject. This essay will explore the general ideas of postmodernism, focusing on the idea of French philosopher, Jean Baudrillard, which is analysed through his book, The Evil Demon of Images (1987) and defined his thoughts from other philosophers.

Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) had been known as a French philosopher, sociologist and cultural theorist, was famous through his theories, such as public and mass communication, and mass media and consumption, which are associated with postmodernism.

Baudrillard claimed that people, who have lived in modern age, have consumed their likings rather than functionally use of objects (The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures, 1970), and advocated theories; simulation – reproduction images alternate the real (Simulacra and Simulation, 1981 and hyperreality – if there is no more objects that can be reproduced, then hyperrealty that seems to more real rather than real objects, instead of the real (The Perfect Crime, 1995).

Though theories about public, mass communication, mass media and consumption society, Baudrillard stated that modern society is consumption culture and the people, who live in its culture, have bought the products without its usefulness, because the meaning of buying conveys getting power and authority. They have thus consumed their tastes or likings. In addition, the real, we have believed in, is no longer real because of reproduction images by the Simulation theory. In his view, the Gulf War was not exist in 1991, because no one can say they won and the war did not change anything, thus, it was nothing.

The Evil Demon of Images
In Baudrillard’s book, The Evil Demon of Images (1987) at the University of Sydney, he portrays his ideas about methods of media, such as TV, film and photographs that deliver facts to the public.

Through this book, Baudrillard developed his thoughts – simulacra – as the significant illustrations of the simulacra; "images precede the real to the extent that they invert the causal and logical order of the real and its reproduction (Baudrillard 1987, p. 13)". The author (Baudrillard 1987) demonstrated that images, we have been seeing, such as, photographic, movies and on television, deliver the facts to us and we believe it is the happenings in the today's world. However, it is just showing some things "to resemble reality, events and faces" to the public. Moreover, it takes on their appearance to resemble the other and makes them "enter the realm of metamorphosis despite themselves". An illustration of this is an animal's own being; animals do not know how they conform, but if they know about that they become individual being (pp. 14-15).

In addition, the images are not simply reflecting the real. It could reflect reducing and distorting facts from the real or making better than the real. Since that time, the real is not real anymore, it is just thing to be belonged or taken by the just "real" – not the real. For example, many of us did not touch the battle field during the Vietnam War, but we have become an expert about the war: we have known what kind of helicopters were there and weapons were used, and how the feeling in there, etc. – sunset colour, Vietnamese faces and children are crying. How do we know, even though some of us were born after the war? Yes, Apocalypse Now. We have believed it is exactly the same between the movie and the real war, because we have simply seen the movie which is created by real people within real happenings. All right, now, the War at South Vietnam is replaced on your television at the living room. And we would be crying, because it is a sad story of the war. True or fake and cause and effect do not matter at that time and "TV is also an implosive nuclear", because of chain-reactive process (pp. 16-19).

Baudrillard defined the "Simulacrum and reality, it is clear that the real so arranged itself, in the image of the film, as to produce a simulation of catastrophe (p. 20)". It is the logic of simulacra: the images must have its purpose against or related to the real. It also affect memories of people, but after replaying it makes opposite results from people’s memories to people connected memory (pp. 20-23).

The author also defined between TV as media and cold war: "To reheat this cold event via a cold medium, television, for masses who are themselves cold (p. 25), TV, the veritable final solution to the historicity of every event. In a word, we dream of our disappearance and of seeing the world in its inhuman purity (p. 26)".

Baudrillard did not believed in pedagogy of images and dialectic between image and reality, because of respect of images, in pedagogy of message and meaning. He thought it is collusion between images and life. (p. 27). It is just a kind of "primal please, of anthropological joy in images, a kind of brute fascination unencumbered by aesthetic, moral, social or political judgements, because of this it is their fundamental power lies in this immorality" (p. 28).
Therefore, "there is something more than that which is peculiar to our modern media image" and the images are sites of "the production of meaning and representation" - it is on the contrary because they are sites of the disappearance of meaning and representation – which "we are caught quite apart from any judgement of reality", thus sites of a mortal approach of denegation of the real and of the reality principle (p. 29).

Baudrillard pointed out the "Simultaneous with this attempt at absolute coincidence with the real, cinema also approaches an absolute coincidence with itself”. And he also claimed movies plagiarise and resemble it, "remakes its classics, retro activates its original myths, remakes silent films more perfect than the originals, etc.": he emphasised that all this is logical. "Cinema is fascinated by itself as a lost object just as it (and we) is fascinated by the real as a referential in perdition and these things including cool promiscuity, asexual engagement of two cold media which evolve in asymptotic line towards one another (p. 33-34)".

Through this book, Baudrillard conveyed the example of object of simulacra in modern life. That is the media – TV, movies and photographs, we have called and deliver of facts we believed in. It could be defined through his thoughts; we are just seeing the images on those media. It is just images, not more and not less. The real is always there behind them.

Postmodernism
The definition of postmodernism is vague, because this movement of age is also not clear. According to Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1988), a French philosopher and literary theorist, in his book, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (1979), the postmodern condition is in which a quintessential feature of modernity, such as mental dialectic, a movement for the emancipation of working class, an accumulated capital, demolishing the distinction of classes, does gather any confidence.

Postmodernism, this is a cultural movement and a concept of culture, politics, economy and society in today’s age. This was begun by a student's political activity, women's liberation movement, antisegregation movement in the United States and France in 1960s and then through 1970s, to today. Through the features of postmodernism below, it could be recognised closer. Firstly, postmodernism is indeterminacy meant several features including vagueness, discontinuity, voluntariness, treason and etc. That means accept naturally no regret world's dissolution. Because postmodernism has no absoluteness, it can accept variety and coincidence of life. Secondly, fragmentation, modernist had desire about some rules and units, and then they had used the method based on fragment. Postmodernism, however, have showed its self form the fragment, and that is all. In the modernism, it tried to gather within whole system that can make human life all the same in capitalism. Therefore, the products of art were rejected by the capitalism, but those products have come into the consumption system in postmodernism. Finally, decanonisation. Canonisation means that somebody is stated officially now a saint. It was realisation of universal value, but it is now professed ruling ideology, Western civilisation and an androcentric society. "In a universe where no more explanations are possible, all that remains is to play with the pieces. Playing with the pieces, that is postmodernism (Baudrillard 1987, p. 29)". As a result, decanonisation comes into the world. Postmodernism rejects high social class culture and elitism. It comes together with the public. Thus, in the literature area, new genre stories came such as, a detective story, Sci-Fi fiction, women's literature, and in art area, used bottle of Coca-Cola and the Superman images by Andy Warhol.

"Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives. This incredulity is undoubtedly a product of progress in the sciences: but that progress in turn presupposes it (Lyotard 1970)". Postmodernism that has these features is progressive. It reflects previous sense of value, rejects the art for the one class and aims the art that all classes enjoy, so it uses materials and topics that the public touch friendly. Moreover, postmodernism is very reality. It shows directly what world we live in. However, the meaning of "showing directly" is not the same, "realism". Its self of realism could not be real; it is following new method up and against pleasure of good method. These features state that postmodernism is non political and historical movement, but it does not matter of postmodernist who has no interested in politics and realise the history is discontinuity being.

Conclusion

This essay explored the concept and features of postmodernism so far. Postmodernism is not a clearly defined subject. Postmodernism is progress movement and tries to get over the limits of the previous literature level. Also, it denies the art for only one class and makes the public join together. However, the most important is postmodernism is the concept which is formed and indeterminate. It is not the social responsibility. Therefore, it is unnecessary that "postmodernism is like that".


References
Baudrillard, J. 1981, Simulacra and Simulation, trans. S.F. Glaser, University of Michigan Press, 1995, Ann Arbor.

Baudrillard, J. 1970, The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures, 1st edn, Sage Publications Ltd, 1998, London.

Baudrillard, J. 1987, The Evil Demon of Images, Power Institute, Sydney, pp. 13-34.

Baudrillard, J. 1995, The Perfect Crime, Verso Books, 1996, London.

Lyotard, J.F. 1979, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Manchester University Press, 1984, Manchester.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

A good essay, thought it needs a lot of work in terms of your grammar and expression.

Cheap viagra said...

First I would like to greet all the people who like to read this blog, on my part can be congratulated for this great contribution, a few months ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference called "really the human" in this conference spoke on an issue identical to this!

Anonymous said...

I very happy to find this web site on bing, just what I was looking for : D likewise saved to favorites .

Anonymous said...

great work, i enjoy reading it, it gives me insight for my postmodernism paper also : )

Anonymous said...

A shared web hosting service or effective hosting utilization or arrive from assemblage refers to a cobweb hosting service where myriad websites reside on joke trap server connected to the Internet. Each placement "sits" on its own split-up, or section/place on the server, to maintain it detach from other sites. This is customarily the most close-fisted option on account of hosting, as diverse people cut the overall set someone back of server maintenance.
[url=http://hostinghouse.pl]hosting[/url]

Anonymous said...

screened by studying serum immunoglobulins, lymphocyte transformation in response to phytohaemagglutinin stmulation, the formation of T cell rosettes with sheep erythroxytes, yeast opsonisation, and neutrophil chemotaxis and nitro blue http://buyviagraonlineauviagra-au.com#4,8327E+24 buy viagra australia . Delivering character based data to the desktop. People have then migrated towards using G U I typically at departmental level. They'll have standardized on one particular G http://buyviagra100mgcostviagraonline.co.uk#3,33843E+56877 viagra online 644 Drink a lot of water::

Anonymous said...

with Muhammad Ali. He wishes to dedicate this story to his father, Roy L Miller, who died on September 6, 1989. The Spirit of FRANCE by http://buyviagraonlineauviagra-au.com#5,2634E+13 buy viagra online National West Bank; Gerrards Cross v Old Edwardians; Enfield v Hayes; Aylesbury v High Wycombe; Old Tauntonians v Tulse Hill; City of Portsmouth v Sunbury; http://buyviagra100mgcostviagraonline.co.uk#1,93445E+62958 cheap viagra 654 Best Ingredients to Use for Low Carb Smoothie RecipesSmoothie recipes are made up of three primary types of ingredients: a liquid base, fruits and vegetables

Anonymous said...

Chemicals are harsh on your hair lumigan Cynergy TK makes skin smoother, softer, and elastic because it increases the production of Collagen and Elastin
Some victims have described the pain as feeling as if they've been shot in that area cymbalta price Depression, Depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of loss, anger, sadness, or frustration interfere with everyday life
These are a few methods you can use to prevent premature ejaculation buy Viagra for women There are normally three main types of surgical procedures used to treat genital warts
Exercise as often as you can iressa price Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep is crucial for optimal health including reducing the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes and weight loss
2) Eat meals frequently - If we eat sparingly we are basically programming our body that food is in scarce supply and it must look after the food that it currently has thereby keeping us in the survival mode Geodon without a prescription "This client then told me that--of all things--seeing interracial couples makes him angry

Anonymous said...

I know, sounds lovely lumigan The sun gives us free radicals
If you have been diagnosed with COPD, have your doctor monitor vitamin levels as you supplement cymbalta price There is a danger that, in some people, antidepressant treatment will cause an increase in depression.

Strains: Strains are caused by muscular over extension or over use female Viagra uk If you are getting resistance then your child thinks (right or wrong) that you, someone else or other circumstances are not on the same page with them about the possible danger ahead
If you are willing to gain a little fat, your muscle building goal will be easier to reach gefitinib Additionally, many natural health minded parents have found natural cholesterol remedies to be a good alternative to prescription medications for older kids
So if you want the best body lotion for extra dry skin, or any type of skin for that matter, you must expect to pay a little extra for your own good Astelin How motivated were you in the first place, was it just another new years resolution gone stale, maybe you had a group of friends who started a rapid weight loss campaign with you

Anonymous said...

There are many sugar-free varieties that are low in calories to "snack" on throughout the day and the flavors can help satisfy any sweet cravings uk lumigan Imagine yourself as an ex-smoker
Your bank account looks the same because your bank account reflects who you were cymbalta price Depression is a common experience
It might give you weird looks at first, but you'll probably find they'll be gobbled right up and you might hear a compliment or two generic Viagra for women There are lots of folks who have the bad habit of not eating healthy food
In this article I would like to point out certain aspects you should NEVER ignore when jelqing to enlarge your penis naturally iressa online When consumed with tea, it is proven that it helps a great deal in the steeping of the herbs whereby tea will assist in the simulation of the herbs faster
The Renewing Creme Hydrating Wash removed my makeup and left my skin feeling clean but not tight Order Arjuna effects 6

Anonymous said...

[url=http://longchampsoldesk.angelfire.com/]sacs longchamps[/url] When you purchase certain types of exercise wear, you Best Sale Women Mulberry Somerset Shopper Bag Light Coffee,Mulberry Outlet For Sale With Up To 60% Off. will also need to focus on purchasing a good pair of shoes for exercising. Depending on the type of sport you are participating in, your choice in shoes can be crucial to the effectiveness of your performance. Each sport has specific options available in protective yet comfortable shoes..
[url=http://saclongchampas.livejournal.com/]sac longchamps[/url] The last holiday reminder, which I seem to always struggle with, is stocking stuffers. Tone Body Wash has three amazing items for the holiday season. Tone Body Wash Soothing Oatmeal and Shea, Blissful Boutique and Fruity Peel 18 oz ($4.99 USD), which you pair with a loofah ($2.00 USD) and you have the perfect stocking stuffer for a guy or girl! You can pick up these holiday gifts and the bags for swag bags at your local drugstore! As Highly Appreciated Mulberry Women's Bayswater Trimming Oxford & Leather Tote Bag Black always, the Makeup Examiner hopes that readers find Manic Makeup Monday to be helpful.
[url=http://longchampsoldesa.webs.com/]sacs longchamp[/url] Recent studies have revealed a rather quirky fact about online designer handbags sales. Replicas may soon outsell authentic designer Outlet Sale Women's Mulberry Bayswater Trimming Oxford & Leather Tote Bag Light Coffee outlet sale, handbags online. Replicas of designs like Chanel and Marc Jacobs handbags are currently outselling the originals online. They are really so lovable and go along with anything. Are you currently wanting to generate a superb present for a bridesmaids? Getting a bridesmaid gift ideas to exhibit the simplest way grateful that you within their help is a good ancient culture that includes lots of excessive pressure on the definitely active lady. Fortunately, you discover stuff like that will definitely often be a reached.. The word handbag was given to a small piece of luggage usually carried by men during the 1900's. Designers like Louis Vuitton and Theirry Hermes began making these fabric bags that had many different compartments, locks, and fasteners that seemed much more complicated. Women took one look and wanted something for them.

Anonymous said...

I consider, that you are not right. I can defend the position. Write to me in PM, we will talk.
Allow to help you?
I am afraid, that I do not know.
Certainly. And I have faced it.
It is a pity, that I can not participate in discussion now. I do not own the necessary information. But this theme me very much interests.

[url=http://www.mvpmichaelkorsoutlet2.350.com/][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://cheapbags8.sosblogs.com/][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://cheapbagmk2.newsvine.com/_news/2013/01/18/16579731-tips-for-using-reusable-shopping-bags][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://shenenmaoyiqwe.livejournal.com/][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]
[url=http://www.purevolume.com/listeners/michaelkorscheap2/posts/332067/Choosing+Your+Evening+Handbag][b]michael kors outlet online[/b][/url]

Anonymous said...

Πωλούνται για Πώς να αγοράσετε cialis Υψηλής ποιότητας φάρμακα Πάρτε Best Buy Πάρτε viagra Ζωντανή Υποστήριξη Online! Αγοράστε Φτηνές

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol overnight delivery tramadol bluelight - buy tramadol online with cod

Anonymous said...

Excеllent article. Keep wгіting ѕuсh
kinԁ of info on youг blоg. Im reаllу imрressed by it.


Hellο there, You have performed a great job. I will ԁefinіtely
digg іt and ρersonally suggest to my frienԁs.

I am sure they will be bеnеfited from thiѕ site.


Take a lοοk at my site coffee pure cleanse gnc

Anonymous said...

Sοmebοdy eѕsentially lеnd a hand to mаke critіcаlly posts I
mіght state. Τhis is the first time
I frequented уour web pаge and up to now?
I amazed with thе researсh you maԁe to make this
particular submіt еxtraordinаry.
Mаgnifiсent task!

Here is my web sitе ... Car Insurance quotes