POSTMODERNISM

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POSTMODERNISM
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Are postmodern and experimental different
terms/things?

• No, not necessarily. Some people prefer the term
  experimental simply because the term
  postmodern is often defined as experimental
  writing occurring after a certain time (1940s and
  1950s). In truth, there are no real time
  constraints to most literary movements.

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From the Routledge Companion to Experimental
literature
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Traits of experimental/postmodern literature

• Self-reflexive
• Eclectic approach
• Parody
• Pastiche
• Play in at least one of the following ways play
  with genres (like horror), storytelling modes,
  elements of fiction, other formal traits of
  fiction writing, and sometimes even the visual
  formatting of texts. (By play, I mean
  experimentation.)
• Lack of belief/commitment. Commitment to
  questioning art and nonsense.

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Self-reflexive

• By this, we mean a text shows self-awareness of
  itself as a text, as a piece of art.
• Ex The movie titled Synecdoche, New York is
  about characters making a movie about characters
  making a movie about characters making a movie,
  etc.
• In order to understand self-reflexivity,
  visualize a snake bending back on itself.

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Eclectic (also sometimes termed bricolage)

• Experimental texts are eclectic in pulling from
  many different sources.
• You may, for example, find a reference to the
  story of Noah and the Ark right next to a
  reference to The Matrix.

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Parody

• Parody is the result of audiences being saturated
  with a certain form or genre. At this point,
  audiences become aware of art as art. This where
  irony comes into play. Parody ultimately
  transforms the original work or form/genre
  through irony.
• Ex If youve seen Scary Movie I, II, III, IV, or
  V, you understand what parody is.

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Pastiche

• Pastiche is referencing a formula/genre without
  any ironic intentions.
• The Marxist academic Fredric Jameson has examined
  the functions of postmodern pastiche. He
  describes pastiche as the random cannibalisation
  of all the styles of the past, the play of
  stylistic allusion. Jameson also says that
  pastiche is blank parody.
• Ex Star Wars. The original Star Wars movies
  utilized older techniques from shows like Flash
  Gordon from the 1930s with no ironic intent.

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Genre Play

• Youll often see experimental texts blending
  genres.
• Ex Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
  blends science fiction with detective fiction
  with literary fiction.

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Play with storytelling modes

• Storytelling modes range from different types of
  stories, like myth and legend, to different types
  of writing, like fiction and poetry.
• Ex Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko contains
  myths, legends, family stories, fiction, and
  poetry.

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Play with Elements of Fiction

• The core elements of fiction are plot, character,
  and point of view. Often, experimental fiction
  takes a radical approach to these.
• Ex A story titled After I Was Thrown in the
  River and Before I Drowned by Dave Eggers
  utilizes first-person point of view, but the
  first-person point of view belongs to a dog!

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Play with visual formatting

• An experimental piece of fiction may play with
  the visual nature of the book or the text on the
  page.
• Ex Nox by Anne Carson comes in a box and all of
  the sheets are connected in accordion style.
  Also, within the book, she includes a lot of
  pictures/visuals.
• See the 2 next slides for a picture of Carsons
  book and for another example.

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Nox by Anne Carson
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Example of play with visual formatting from
Lorrie Moores short story titled Real Estate.
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Whats the difference between modernism and
postmodernism/experimentalism?

• Modernists believed the world had become chaotic
  and that the individual had to assert his/her
  individuality to have power. This
  struggle--individual against the world--is tragic
  for modernists.
• Modernists believed the old values and ideas,
  especially those of the Victorian era, were
  flawed.
• Modernists believed the old narrative forms
  werent adequate anymore.
• THE MODERNISTS BELIEVED IN SOMETHING..

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Whats the difference, cont.

• Modernists believe that the new forms they
  presented were representative of a new world.
  Postmodernists are just playing.
• Modernists believe in the power of their modern
  narratives. Postmodernists are anti-narrative.