Modernism and Postmodernism

Classroom Discussions and Experiences:


Genre Transition

(1914 to 1945) Modernism                                                (1946 to Present) Postmodernism

Modernism and Postmodernism Introductions:

Modernist Hero - "The Moment of Truth"

The concept of the Modernist Hero says that for most of our lives we are entirely unheroic, but it is possible, for a single moment to be heroic. Every protagonist faces a critical moment in their stories. A "moment of truth" in which a characters skill, character, courage, and virtue will be put to an extreme test. Rather than have an entire person be labeled as heroic, the Modern heroism is the decision of a single moment. A clear decision merging the doubts, thoughts, logic, and emotion of the internal with the threats, needs, and potential death of the external.

Postmodernist Hero - The Antihero

The simple way to explain this is to say: heroes are good guys fighting bad guys, and antiheroes are bad guys fighting worse guys. Antiheroes possess major flaws and are not idealistic. Antiheroes might be criminals and otherwise terrible people and are usually not the sort of person that makes a quality role model. Antiheroes have been around for a long time but became a trend in post-1950s storytelling. Stories featuring rebellious teenagers, bad cops, gangsters, murderers, and serial killers as main characters arose. 

Postmodernist Hero - The Existential Hero

Existentialism was a strange thing. Existentialism believes that meaning is empty, there are no objective truths, life sucks, and there's nothing we can do about it. An existential hero believes that the world is meaningless and nothing we do matters or really helps. An existential hero in spite of knowing this, still tries to make a difference in the world and does the most good they can with their lives. They choose to be heroic knowing that it will not bring them reward or salvation. Existential heroes grasp the absurd pointlessness of life and embrace it rather than despair. 

Postmodernist Hero - The Superhero

The behavior of a superhero is much the same as existing antiheroes and idealized heroes. The differences are in the abilities and origins of the protagonists and antagonists. Main characters will often be non-human, mutant, alien, or otherworldly. Main characters will have abilities, strength, and speed vastly beyond what the best human could achieve. The plots and conflicts center around large-scale consequences such as the end of the world, the destruction of an entire city, or the enslavement or genocide of a people. Superhero stories fill the gap of the older epic stories like Gilgamesh, Heracles, and Samson who have godly, demi-godly, or inhuman power.

View of Soldiers Through Genre - Ernest Hemingway and the Rise of the Antihero

View of Soldiers Through Genre - Tim O'Brien and the Breakdown of Traditions and Institutions

How War Has Changed Over Time

Enfranchisement of Previously Subjugated Groups - The Harlem Renaissance

Enfranchisement of Previously Subjugated Groups - The Feminist Equality Movement

The Problem of Advertising and the Future of Storytelling

Suspension of Disbelief

Design for Advertising Windows - Chapters of Varied Size

The Vault

!! In development

AP Works - American Literature - American Modernism - 1914-1945 CE (Very Few in the Public Domain)

AP Works - American Literature - American Postmodernism - 1946-Present (None in the Public Domain)

Link Holding

Topic: Species Advantages and Disadvantages

Topic: Automation

Topic: AI Defeating Humans

Topic: Small Wars and Stresses Caused by the Big War that Cannot Happen

Topic: Legal Problems for Postmodernism

Topic: Athletics and Physical Specialization

Topic: Infrastructure

Topic: Labor

Topic: Self-Driving Cars and the Morality of Machines

Topic: Scarcity

Topic: Education

Topic: "Always On" Work Culture

Topic: Millenials

Topic: How Do You Define "Dead"?

Topic: Money Isn't Real

Topic: Economic Classes

Topic: Journalism

Topic: Climate Change

Topic: Genetics and Eugenics

Unsorted Curiosities:

http://rameznaam.com/2016/04/12/how-cheap-can-electric-vehicles-get/

http://overflow.solutions/demographic-data/what-is-the-marital-status-of-americans-by-age/

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/06/rent-is-affordable-to-low-wage-workers-in-exactly-12-us-counties/529782/

www.cnbc.com/2017/06/12/nobody-making-federal-minimum-wage-can-afford-a-two-bedroom-apartment.html

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/20/mcdonalds-hits-all-time-high-as-wall-street-cheers-replacement-of-cashiers-with-kiosks.html

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609091/first-evidence-that-online-dating-is-changing-the-nature-of-society/

https://www.wired.com/story/how-journalists-fought-back-against-crippling-email-bombs

http://www.visualcapitalist.com/timeline-future-technology/


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/army-stressed-decade-war/story?id=11277253


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e68CoE70Mk8


https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/ring-ring-ring-ring/561545/?utm_source=feed

https://flowingdata.com/2019/12/16/occupation-growth-and-decline/


https://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/goldsberry-SUPER-BOWL-0131-1-2.png?w=2048


Popular Culture Dominates High Culture

One of the qualities that makes Postmodernism (now!) different from past isms is that there isn’t a clear difference between low and high culture. In the past high culture was ballet and the symphony and the low was fart jokes, freak shows, and everything the common man loves. The last 80 years has merged the two into one mixture where low and high don’t mean much. Popular culture now dominates high culture. Symphonies aren’t for the rich and exclusive, they are for movie soundtracks and video games. 

I remember playing Ducktales for the NES. This game came out in 1989. All levels had background music, but one level stood out as having a really superior musical jam. The Moon level. This was the age of MIDI and it was really a professional making music out of bleeps and bloops on the earliest synthesizers. It is amazing where inspiration comes from sometimes. It turns out this song has a fan base and has been remade and remixed and genre shifted all over the internet. I’ll post the original and a symphonic version for you to compare. Imagine the traditionally high style orchestra batons and instruments inspired by a game based on a cartoon based on a comic book.

Ducktales (1989) for the Nintendo Entertainment System (1985-1995)

Hybrids and Combinations

In art, or at least traditionally, there were standards you had to follow. Rules you had to obey. Fences you had to stay within. We don't have any fences anymore. You can have music videos (so many), parody horror comedy movies (Shaun of the Dead), rapping on Broadway (Hamilton), and famously and recently pop rap country music (Old Town Road). You can overlap, mix, and blend genres and styles without limit now. A work of art can change its mind about what kind of art it is every few minutes.