Excerpted from "Beyond Simulation: Production and the Nostalgia Industy"2. The concept of postmodernism.
2.1. The general features of postmodernism."What is the nature of our present?" (Foucault, 1983:206)Prior to carrying out any critical analysis on the work of Baudrillard, I shall identify the key tenets of postmodern theory. Postmodernism is a movement which encapsulates the arts, science, society, and culture. Indeed postmodernist influence infiltrates every aspect of what we as individuals experience in our day to day lives. It is argued that the postmodern era represents a clean break from the era of modernity1, that is to say that it is an era that is as distinct from modernity as feudalism is from capitalism. What then are the key features of this way of interpreting the social world? It is suggested that the tenets of postmodernism fall into six equivocal categories (although postmodernists would deny this for reasons which will become apparent in the following paragraphs.).
2.2. Postmodernism as pastiche.
Firstly, postmodernists take an eclectic view of the world. They see the social world in particular as a pastiche of different styles and cultures from different contexts and historical eras, hence the illustration on the cover of this paper. The singer Madonna has oft been quoted as the epitome of the postmodern artiste. Madonna is born of a Roman Catholic family with Italian roots and lives in the United States. Her home culture is undoubtedly Italian and she fiercely emphasises these roots in her music, films, and video. On the other hand she is eager to stress her Americaness for without this it is arguable that she would not have reached the position as an artiste that she holds now. Madonna's style of dress and semblances are postmodern because they bring together a clash of styles which enforces the notion of simulation. At various points in her career she has used imagery which has varied from the whore to the virgin, the diva to the girl next door, the mother to the daughter, the dominatrix to the subservient woman, with historical references from many eras, past, present, and future. Now, this example may seem to have little relevance to social theory, yet theorists (particularly Baudrillard) employ pastiches of culture and context in order to explain social phenomena. Postmodernists would examine phenomena such as the theme park in order to identify the pastiche of influences and discourses that make up our experience of what a theme park really is2.
2.3. The reflexivity of postmodernism.
Secondly, there is an important element of reflexivity within postmodernism, ie. the theory must be capable of referring to itself, it must have an inbuilt cogency and logic. Another aspect of reflexivity is a capacity for self awareness, the ability for people to reflect on their own situations. It follows therefore, that knowledge is not rationally or logically extracted from existing knowledge, rather it is a contingent product of social processes (Woolgar 1988:1)3.
2.4. Postmodernism and relativism.
The third tenet of postmodernism is a tendency to favour relativism rather than appealing to an empirical and objective ontology and epistemology. That is to say, there is no appeal to objective standards of truth, thus it follows that one phenomenon can only stand in relation to another phenomenon. As an example of this approach we take the phenomena of gender and sexuality. Now, the male can only stand in relation to the female, if there was no female gender it would make the existence of the male gender impossible. That is to say that what we can know about male gender, and therefore male sexuality, can only be defined in terms of what we know about female gender and sexuality. In addition it is therefore fair to say that heterosexuality amongst both male and female can only exist in relation to homosexuality. To take this discussion a step further we could argue that the only reason we know that a table is a table is because of its relationship to us. We call it a table because of its particular properties and what we can objectively know about it; ie. it has legs, a top, and it is used to place other items upon. Postmodernist theorists would emphasise that all we can know about any object is what discourses surrounding that object tell us. If one takes such a philosophical stand-point, there can therefore, be no way of validating the truth of ones own theoretical models, thus, all theory is of equal status. This argument does not differ significantly from the structuralist arguments of, for example, Claude Levi-Strauss.
2.5. The rejection of meta-narrative.
Fourthly, there is a tendency to object to the use of techniques such as narrative (as used in post-structuralist thought) and meta-narrative which are aimed at depicting reality. This stand is taken because any such meta-narratives, such as the Bible, are socially constructed, they exist only in discourse and are therefore not part of the realm of reality. The discourse is of course real, however its contents are, more often than not, falsehoods which are created by individuals or institutions as a simulation of some underlying reality which may or may not exist. Let us take the example of Marx and capitalism as an example of a meta-narrative. The theory expounded by Marx begins with an explanation of social relations arising from the relations of production (ie. ownership of means of production). Marx gives substantial evidence to support his assertion, and finally concludes that revolution will happen and a socialist society will come about. The postmodernist would reject this and ask, 'who says so - Marx?'. 'How does Marx know all this? It is merely his interpretation and construction surrounding a theme which has interested philosophers for many years, and anyway, it depends on concepts which cannot be proved to exist; it is a mere story'.
2.6. Postmodernity and the breakdown of cultural borders.
The fifth tenet of postmodernism involves the crossing of the borders between traditionally distinct boundaries such as those between music, art, and culture. The example of Madonna as a postmodern artiste is closely tied to this fifth tenet. Culture was, until the coming of postmodern theory, traditionally seen as distinct from it producers, ie. people (Williams 1961:passim), as transcending whilst embracing the individual, a sort of collective conscience (but not strictly in the Durkheimian sense). The rise of phenomena such as hip-hop has given postmodernists the evidence to argue their point cogently. Within the bounds of hip-hop culture, music and art become inseparable. The musicians are also the artists and they create music which reflects graffiti art, which in turn, reflects an indistinct (dis)satisfaction with their host culture. A process which at once reproduces and destroys itself, hip-hop is a evolutionary phenomena which is ever changing and thus blurring boundaries between itself and other phenomena. This is part of the reason why, according to postmodernists, hip-hop art, culture, and music has shifted from a socially unacceptable phenomena (graffiti covered trains in New York and loud ghetto blasters) to a socially acceptable phenomena (graffiti art in major galleries and hip-hop music in the charts).
2.7. Denying the importance of the author.
Finally, it follows from the discussion above that there is little importance attached to the author of a text as the creator of a text. If postmodernists are correct in their philosophising, then once a text has been created it goes through a myriad of changes which may render it completely distinct from the original4. Thus, we could look at the struggle of an unknown band to get their first single released. Undoubtedly the first rendering of the chosen song will be considered as unacceptable by the record company producers and will have to be re-recorded many times before its final release. The final edit of the song will normally be quite different from the original version. The point here is, that although the authors of the song are the band, it has actually been created by the process of being recorded for general release and its manipulation by producers and a record company5. This aspect of postmodernism is not exclusive to postmodern theorists. Indeed literary critics such as Macheray, a marxist, and Brooks accept the argument.
These tenets are by no means exhaustive of the features of postmodernism and, for those who are interested in a deeper understanding of postmodern thought, a list of useful references are to be found in the appendix of this paper.
Notes to section 2.
1. See Nicos Mouzelis for an in depth exploration of the relationship between modernity and postmodernity. His text Sociological Theory: What Went Wrong? is a good introduction to this debate. Alex Callinicos also looks at this debate in 'Against Postmodernism' and gives a lucid critical account of postmodernist thought.
2. Baudrillard is particularly interested in theme parks and focuses on Disneyworld in the U.S.. In the UK. we can find parallels such as The American Adventure in Heanor and Camelot near Preston which draw on various cultures (the American Cowboy culture and era, and the culture and era of Arthurian legend).
3. This concept has been condensed for the purposes of the paper. Woolgars book provides a more complex explanation of reflexivity.
4. A point which Baudrillard makes explicitly clear in 'Simulations'. Everything in our life is, for Baudrillard, a re-working of some imagined original via the manipulation of the texts contained in discourse.
5. The film Breaking Glass starring Hazel O'Connor provides a good example of this process for it charts the rise of a band from obscurity to popular acclaim. The process of production of a song and construction of an image is shown in graphic detail.
Bibliography.
Baudrillard, J. (1981) For A Critique Of The Political Economy Of The Sign. St. Louis: Telos Press.
Baudrillard, J. (1983) Simulations. Semiotext(e).
Baudrillard, J. (1990) Revenge Of The Crystal. London: Pluto Press.
Cassirer, E. (1981) Kant's Life And Thought. London: Yale University Press.
Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Foucault, M. (1983) Structuralism And Post-structuralism: An Interview. Telos Press.
Hollis, M. (1995) The Philosophy Of Social Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Giddens, A. (1992) Capitalism And Modern Social Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gramsci, A. eds. Forgacs, D. (1988) A Gramsci Reader. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Joll, J. (1977) Gramsci. London: Fontana.
Lyotard, J.F. (1984) The Postmodern Condition: A Report On Knowledge. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Marx, K. (1972) Capital Vol. 3. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Marx, K. (1981) A Contribution To The Critique Of The Political Economy. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
Ransome, P. (1992) Antonio Gramsci: A New Introduction. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Strinati, D. (1995) An Introduction To Theories Of Popular Culture. London: Routledge.
Turner, B.S. (1987) "A Note On Nostalgia" Theory Culture And Society: Vol.4 No.1 pp.147-56.
Williams, R. (1961) The Long Revolution. London: Chatto & Windus.
Woolgar, S. (1988) Reflexivity And Knowledge. London: Sage.
Further reading.
Although not directly referenced or quoted in the paper, these texts have been influential in the formulation of my arguments. Each text is recommended for any reader interested in the debates surrounding modernity, postmodernity, and nostalgia.
Adorno, T. (1991) The Culture Industry. London: Routledge.
Althusser, L. (1971) Ideology And Ideological State Apparatuses. Cited in: Lenin And Philosophy. London: Lawrence & Wishart
Baudrillard, J. (1975) The Mirror Of Production. St. Louis: Telos Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1977) The Production Of Belief: Contribution To An Economy Of Symbolic Goods. Cited in Collins, R. et al (1986) Media, Culture, And Society. London: Sage. (pp. 131-163).
Callinicos, A. (1991) Against Postmodernism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Connerton, P. (1992) How Societies Remember. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Davis, S. (1974) Yearning For Yesterday, A Sociology Of Nostalgia. New York: Free Press.
Handler, R. (1989) Ethnicity In The Museum: A Culture And Communication Discourse. Cited in Scannel, P. et al (1992) Culture And Power. London: Sage. (pp121-123).
Mouzelis, N. (1995) Sociological Theory: What Went Wrong? London: Routledge.
Poster, M. (1984) Foucault, Marxism And History. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Turner, B.S. eds (1990) Theories Of Modernity And Postmodernity. London: Sage Publications.