Postmodernism and Contemporary Literature

Summary

Dr. Michael Greedy's lecture delves into the complexities of post-modernism in contemporary literature and culture. He defines post-modernism as a movement emerging after modernism, characterized by its experimental and often controversial nature. The talk explores key post-modernist techniques such as nostalgia mode, intertextuality, meta-fiction, and the concept of the 'death of the real,' using examples from literature, film, and art to illustrate these concepts. Greedy encourages audience interaction, inviting them to consider the value of novelty in art and the implications of a reality that may not be as authentic as perceived.

Takeaways

• 📚 Post-modernism is a term describing art and culture that emerged after the modernist movement, with broad implications in literature, architecture, painting, cinema, and more.
• 🔍 The term 'post-modernism' is controversial, with disagreements on its definition and whether it is a positive or negative development in art and culture.
• 🕰 Modernism, a precursor to post-modernism, was characterized by experimental writing and art from the late 19th to early 20th century, with notable figures like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.
• 🖼️ The contrast between traditional and modernist art is stark, with modernism pushing boundaries through abstraction, fragmentation, and innovation.
• 📖 Modernist literature often employed complex and cryptic styles, such as the stream-of-consciousness technique exemplified in James Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake'.
• 🎭 Post-modernism often grapples with the 'postmodern dilemma', questioning how to innovate in the shadow of modernism's extreme experiments.
• 🔄 The 'nostalgia mode' in post-modernism involves drawing on past styles and genres, as seen in George Lucas's 'Star Wars', blending samurai, western, and fairy tale elements.
• 🔗 'Intertextuality' is a post-modernist technique where one literary text includes or references another, creating a dialogue between works and challenging the notion of originality.
• 🎨 'Meta-fiction' is a form of writing where a story is about the process of storytelling itself, often blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
• 🌐 The concept of the 'death of the real' in post-modernism suggests that reality may not be as authentic as perceived, often explored in films like 'The Truman Show' and 'The Matrix'.
• 🤔 The script invites reflection on the value of novelty and originality in art, the role of nostalgia, and the implications of questioning reality's authenticity.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Dr. Michael Greedy's talk?

The main topic of Dr. Michael Greedy's talk is post-modernism and contemporary literature, focusing on defining post-modernism and introducing key post-modernist techniques.

What is the time frame of the modernist movement as mentioned in the talk?

The modernist movement is said to run roughly from 1890 to 1940 in the talk.

How does post-modernism relate to modernism according to the script?

Post-modernism is presented as an umbrella term for styles of art and culture that appeared after the modernist movement, broadly in the aftermath of the Second World War.

What are some of the characteristics of modernist writing mentioned in the talk?

Some characteristics of modernist writing mentioned include complexity, fragmentation, and aggressive innovation.

Can you provide an example of a modernist artwork from the visual arts?

An example of a modernist artwork from the visual arts is not explicitly named in the script, but a painting from 1913 is described as abstract, fragmented, and experimental.

What is the significance of the excerpt from James Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake'?

The excerpt from 'Finnegans Wake' is used to illustrate the cryptic, semi-nonsensical, and stream of consciousness style of modernist writing, which is experimental and challenging to read.

What is the 'postmodern dilemma' as described in the talk?

The 'postmodern dilemma' refers to the challenge faced by writers and artists working after the modernist movement, questioning how to create art that is both new and innovative without simply imitating or being overshadowed by the extreme experiments of modernism.

What is the 'nostalgia mode' in post-modernism?

The 'nostalgia mode' in post-modernism is about artists and writers drawing on past styles and genres to create something new, often revisiting older cultural elements with a 'back to the future' quality.

What does 'intertextuality' mean in the context of literature?

Intertextuality refers to the presence of part of one literary text within another, which could be through direct quotations, indirect references, or shared characters or storylines.

Can you explain the concept of 'metafiction' as introduced in the talk?

Metafiction is a form of fiction that is about books or storytelling itself, often involving elements that make the reader aware of the fictional construct, such as characters being aware they are in a novel.

What is the concept of the 'death of the real' in post-modernist culture?

The 'death of the real' is a post-modernist concept that questions the authenticity and substantiality of reality, often explored in works that blur the lines between reality and illusion, such as in films like 'The Truman Show' or 'The Matrix'.

How does Dr. Greedy suggest we engage with the talk's interactive elements?

Dr. Greedy suggests pausing the recording at certain points to reflect on questions, discuss with others if possible, and jot down thoughts or ideas to engage with the interactive elements of the talk.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Post-Modernism and Interactive Lecture

Dr. Michael Greedy introduces his lecture on post-modernism and contemporary literature, aiming to define the term and explore its key techniques. He encourages interactive learning, inviting the audience to pause and reflect on their understanding of post-modernism and its impact on art and culture. Post-modernism is described as a movement that emerged after modernism, characterized by a broad range of styles in various creative fields. The lecture promises to delve into the controversial nature of post-modernism, challenging the audience to consider its merits and demerits.

05:02

🎨 The Contrast Between Traditional Art and Modernism

The script contrasts traditional art with modernist art, using two paintings as examples to illustrate the shift from representation to abstraction. It discusses the characteristics of modernist literature, such as complexity and fragmentation, with notable authors like James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, and Joseph Conrad. The audience is invited to consider their preferences between traditional and modernist styles, reflecting on the appeal of abstract and experimental art forms.

10:02

🌟 The Challenge of Post-Modernism: Following Modernist Innovations

This section delves into the 'postmodern dilemma' faced by artists and writers after the extreme experiments of modernism. It questions how to create art that is both new and compelling without simply imitating or surpassing modernist techniques. The script introduces key post-modernist techniques such as nostalgia mode, intertextuality, meta-fiction, and the death of the author, suggesting that these are ways to navigate the challenge of creating original work in the wake of modernism.

15:02

🔄 The Nostalgia Mode in Post-Modernism

The concept of the 'nostalgia mode' is introduced, where post-modernist works draw on past styles and themes to create something new. Using the example of 'Star Wars', the script explains how George Lucas combined elements from samurai films, westerns, and fairy tales to create a nostalgic yet innovative film. The audience is encouraged to consider the role of nostalgia in originality and the prevalence of this technique in various cultural forms.

20:03

🔗 Intertextuality: Weaving Texts Together in Post-Modern Literature

Intertextuality is defined as the presence of one text within another, and its prevalence in post-modern literature is discussed. Examples are given, such as 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and works by Carol Churchill and Carol Ann Duffy, to illustrate how authors reference or borrow from other texts. The audience is prompted to consider the reasons behind intertextuality, such as paying tribute, showing off knowledge, or exploring universal themes.

25:03

🎭 Meta-Fiction: Books About Books in Post-Modern Literature

Meta-fiction is introduced as a post-modernist technique where a work of fiction is about the act of writing or books themselves. Examples like Muriel Spark's 'The Comforters' and Martin Amis's 'Money' are given to show how characters can be aware of their fictional nature, creating a sense of paranoia and self-referentiality. The script invites the audience to reflect on the intellectual intrigue of meta-fiction and its exploration of identity and reality.

🌐 The Death of the Real: Questioning Reality in Post-Modern Culture

The final section discusses the post-modernist theme of 'the death of the real', where reality is portrayed as illusory or manufactured, as seen in films like 'The Truman Show', 'The Matrix', and 'Inception'. The script explores the implications of this concept, presenting two contrasting reactions: one calling for a return to authentic reality, and the other suggesting a relaxed attitude towards the concept of authenticity. The audience is left to contemplate their own views on this topic.

📬 Closing Remarks and Invitation to Learn More

In the closing paragraph, Dr. Greedy thanks the audience for their attention and provides a brief overview of the key points discussed in the lecture. He invites those interested in English literature to visit the university's website and get in touch for more information, providing the web address and department email for further inquiries.

Keywords

💡Post-modernism

Post-modernism is an art and culture movement that emerged after the modernist movement, roughly after World War II. It is characterized by its rejection of grand theories and ideologies, and its embrace of pastiche, irony, and the blending of high and low culture. In the video, post-modernism is the central theme, with the speaker defining it and exploring its various facets such as its controversial nature and its techniques in literature and other art forms.

💡Modernism

Modernism refers to the cultural movement of the late 19th and early 20th century characterized by a break from traditional styles and an emphasis on innovation, such as in the works of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. The video script uses modernism as a precursor to post-modernism, highlighting its complexity, fragmentation, and aggressive innovation as contrasts to the post-modern techniques discussed.

💡Nostalgia Mode

Nostalgia Mode is a post-modern technique where artists draw upon styles, themes, or elements from the past to create something new. The video uses the example of 'Star Wars' to illustrate this concept, showing how George Lucas combined elements of samurai films, westerns, and fairy tales to create a nostalgic yet innovative science fiction epic.

💡Intertextuality

Intertextuality is the presence of one text within another, often through direct quotations, shared characters, or storylines. It is a technique used by post-modern authors to create connections between different works of literature. The script explains this concept with examples such as 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and the use of characters from Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' in a play by Carol Churchill.

💡Meta-Fiction

Meta-Fiction is a type of fiction that is self-referential, often about the process of writing or storytelling itself. It is a key post-modernist technique that questions the nature of reality and fiction. The video provides examples like Tom Stoppard's play 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,' which reimagines Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' from the perspective of minor characters, thus creating a new narrative while referencing the original.

💡Stream of Consciousness

Stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or technique that presents a character's thoughts as a continuous flow, reflecting the natural, often illogical progression of a mind at work. In the video, it is mentioned in the context of James Joyce's writing style, particularly in 'Finnegans Wake,' which is described as cryptic and experimental.

💡Death of the Real

The 'Death of the Real' is a post-modern concept that questions the nature of reality, suggesting that what we perceive as real may be an illusion or construction. The video illustrates this with examples from films like 'The Truman Show,' 'The Matrix,' and 'Inception,' which all deal with characters realizing that their reality is not as authentic as they once believed.

💡Originality

Originality refers to the quality of being novel or innovative in creation, often valued in art and literature. The script discusses the importance of originality in art, questioning whether it is necessary for artists to always create something new or if revisiting and reimagining old stories can be a form of originality itself.

💡Paranoia

Paranoia, in the context of the video, is a theme often associated with post-modernist writing, where characters may become aware that their reality or identity is manipulated or scripted. This theme is exemplified in meta-fiction, where characters realize they are part of a fictional world, as seen in the novels 'The Comforters' and 'Money' mentioned in the script.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity is the quality of being genuine or real, without any deception or pretense. The video script discusses the post-modern suspicion of reality's authenticity, suggesting that what we consider 'real' might be manufactured or illusory. It raises questions about how we measure realness and whether we should be concerned with authenticity, especially in the context of art and music.

Highlights

Introduction to post-modernism as a cultural and artistic movement emerging after World War II.

Post-modernism's controversial nature due to its varying definitions and opinions on its value.

Modernism described as an experimental movement with key figures like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.

Modernist literature characterized by complexity, fragmentation, and innovation.

Visual comparison between traditional and modernist art to illustrate the shift in artistic styles.

James Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake' as an example of cryptic, stream-of-consciousness modernist writing.

The 'postmodern dilemma' for artists and writers following the extreme experiments of modernism.

Introduction of 'nostalgia mode' in post-modernism, exemplified by George Lucas's 'Star Wars'.

Intertextuality as a post-modernist technique, involving references or quotations from other texts.

Tom Stoppard's 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' as an example of intertextuality with Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'.

Discussion on the importance of novelty and originality in art, and the acceptability of retelling old stories.

Metafiction defined as fiction about fiction, with examples from Muriel Spark and Martin Amis.

The concept of 'the death of the real' in post-modernism, questioning the authenticity of reality.

Films like 'The Truman Show', 'The Matrix', and 'Inception' illustrating the theme of reality's illusion.

Debate on the implications of reality not being as authentic as believed, and the response to this notion.

Invitation for listeners to engage with the study of English literature at Lancaster University.

Transcripts

hi everyone my name is dr michael greedy

i teach english literature at lancaster

university and what i have for you today

is a talk on post-modernism and

contemporary literature

what this talk is going to do is to

define post-modernism and to introduce

you to some key

post-modernist techniques and along the

way there's going to be some interactive

elements so there'll be some moments

when

where i invite you to to pause the

recording to have a thing

to have a chat if you're with other

people or to jot down some notes or

jot down some ideas um

okay so what is post-modernism this is a

term that refers to a style of art and

culture

that appeared in the aftermath of the

modernist movement so the modernist

movement

runs roughly 1890 to 1940 so

post-modernism is a kind of umbrella

term for

styles of art and culture broadly in the

aftermath

of the second world war it's a term that

can be applied to literature but also

to architecture to painting cinema

television and music and it's worth

knowing that postmodernism is a

controversial term and is controversial

in at least

two ways people don't always agree on

precisely what it means

and people can't agree on whether it is

a good thing or a bad thing

and my hope is that by the end of this

talk you'll have a clearer sense of what

i think it means

whether post-modernism is a good thing

or a bad thing obviously that's for you

to decide so

post-modernism to break it down

post-modernism implies that we're

dealing with something that comes in the

aftermath of modernism so

this begs the question what was

modernism

it's a term we use to describe the work

of a generation of experimental writers

and

artists of the late 19th and early 20th

century

in literature it's associated with

people like james joyce virginia woolf

t.s eliot and joseph conrad and some of

the characteristics of modernist writing

were complexity fragmentation

and aggressive innovation

to flesh out some of those

generalizations a bit and to introduce

you to to modernist culture i thought it

would be helpful

just to take a very quick look at the

visual arts so i want you to take a

quick look at an example of what i'm

going to call traditional art this is a

painting from 1762

and here is an example of modernist

answer this is a painting from

1913 so write slapback bang in the

modernist period let's put them together

um and what i'm going to invite you to

do now is pick a favorite

think of which one of these you prefer

think of which one of these

you'd like to hang on your wall you

might want to to pause the recording at

this moment and just think about that

and think about which you prefer

and why you prefer it

okay so clearly clearly this is a

question of taste there's no right and

wrong answer to to the question which of

these should you prefer

but i suppose one obvious point perhaps

that i'd like to underline about the

contrast between these two paintings is

whether you prefer the traditional

painting or whether you prefer the

modernist painting

the most obvious contrast between the

two is that it is

very obvious what the traditional

painting

is about it's a picture of a horse the

modernist painting is a picture of

well of what exactly it's abstract

it's fragmented it's experimental

it might though it might look great on

your wall you might like that kind of

almost not quite a jigsaw puzzle feel

but almost a kind of

random dynamic abstract feel that it has

to it so that's something as i say you

might like to hang on your wall can you

imagine

reading a book that had some of those

seemingly random

abstract scattered qualities to it

because this is what

the most experimental modernist writers

were trying to achieve so here is an

example

of modernist writing this is just a an

excerpt from the first page of james

joyce's monumental experimental novel

finnegan's wake i'm not going to read

this out to you

and it will become clear why as you cast

your eyes

over these words so just take a moment

perhaps to pause the recording

and just to read this excerpt to

yourself

okay so when you look at this quotation

what do you see

some of the terms that i would use to

describe joyce's writing

one is cryptic it's not immediately

clear

what he's writing about uh there is a

kind of

an affinity i think with with nonsense

poetry with the poetry of someone like

edward lee where you get this uh strange

kind of style which almost

is is semi-intelligible and semi

unintelligible almost like a picture

that comes in and out of focus

and joyce's style is often described as

a stream of consciousness style so

stream of consciousness is a kind of

uninterrupted tumble of thoughts as they

come out

almost unedited from the mind onto

the page so you get something that is

cryptic that is semi nonsensical

and that is stream of consciousness and

what you get is something that is

extraordinarily experimental and a real

challenge to read so can you imagine

here's a talking point can you imagine

now having seen a sample of finnegan's

weight of thinking yeah i'd like to sit

down

and read several hundred pages of that

style do you find it

intriguing and compelling or do you find

it off-putting

again that's something to pause over and

to think about

now whatever you think about that what

i'm calling a hyper

experimental style associated with

people like joyce

associated with the modernist movement

which kind of staked everything on being

abstract and innovative and new and

different and unexperimental whether you

whether you love it and you're inspired

by it or whether you find it off-putting

what it did was it raised a real really

difficult question

for for the next generation of writers

who came up

came up in the aftermath of modernism

which is how on earth

how on earth do you follow that so i'm

going to call this the postmodern

dilemma this is the dilemma broadly for

for writers working and artists working

in in the post-second world war period

and the dilemma on the question is this

where can art go

after the extreme experiments of

modernism

on the one hand we can't simply pretend

modernism never happened we can't maybe

ignore it and just go back

to the old-fashioned ways of doing

things so think of that

that picture of the guy with the horse

could we go back to producing paintings

like that it would seem

very very retrograde potentially

at the same time how do you compete with

or how do you surpass the absolute

novelty

of modernist art how can you be more

experimental than james joyce he seems

to have almost

set a kind of limit an unsurpassable

limit for

absolutely crazy uh innovative

experimental writing that is impossible

to exceed

so this is what post-modern artists in

different ways are grappling with the

post-modern dilemma

and when i talk you through as i'm about

to do some post-key

post-modernist techniques in different

ways they are they are a solution to

that dilemma of

what happens next where does art go next

after the

the modernist moment so i'm going to

talk about the nostalgia mode

intertextuality meta-fiction and the

death of the realists

key techniques and preoccupations

in modernist uh sorry post-modernist art

let's start with the nostalgia mode i'm

going to introduce this

using an example i want to to imagine

you're a film director

and you want to make a film and you

think i want to do something new but i'm

going to

draw on the films that inspire me and

i'm inspired by and i love

i love samurai movies but also

one aspect of culture i love is is myth

and

fairy tale rapunzel in the tower that

kind of storytelling

and i love westerns gunslingers i'm

really big on western so

so what can i do with those we could

take maybe the

uh the samurai uh and give him a

lightsaber and i could call him

a jedi knight and i could take the

the trope of the princess in the tower

and i could maybe update that a bit and

i could have a princess

in a space station and i could take the

gunslinger with his um

his black waistcoat that trademark look

and i could give him a kind of laser

blaster and i could call him

han solo and i put those together and

there you have it i have created star

wars

so this this is in a way me looking into

the way george lucas's imagination work

the director the creator

of star wars the star wars was a

revolutionary spectacular

science fiction film big on special

effects one of the first great modern

blockbusters so it was something

absolutely new

but as you peel below the surface of

star wars what you get

all right is is is actually something

that is a bit of a nostalgia trip it's

going back to

the samurai movies it's going back to

cowboy movies and it's going back

even further to myth and fairy tale so

this is one of the

the curious things about post-modernism

is it sort of goes forward

and backwards at the same time it wants

to do something new

but it does so with a kind of back to

the future

nostalgia quality to it

so the nostalgia mode isn't about

wanting to live

in the past it isn't wanting about

wanting to live in the good old days

it's more about wanting to bring back

the good old styles

and it's something you can see in

fashion so at the moment i think there's

a bit of a 90s revival

uh in fashion at the moment and fashion

is always reviving it's always going

back

excuse me to earlier decades for

inspiration

it's something you can see in television

so so some of the

popular tv shows at the moment like

stranger things or cobra kai

are revivals of 1980s tv shows and 1980s

film franchises or just 1980s styles

they're very kind of

steeped in 1980s nostalgia

and it's there in literature as well so

a famous example would be what is known

as a neo-victorian text so a

neo-victorian text

is a modern novel written in a victorian

style there are many examples and one of

the pioneering ones

is a novel by john fowles called the

french lieutenant's woman

it's a novel that was published in the

1960s but it's written in the style

of a novel from the 1860s so again it's

very much a back to the future

or a nostalgic approach to originality

and novelty

so this brings me to my next talking

point my next thinking point my point

for discussion

how much importance do you attach to

novelty and originality

in art is it okay for writers to tell

the same

old stories you know back to rapunzel

back to the story of

the seven samurai tell that let's tell

that again or back to the story of the

cowboy and the gunslinger let's tell

that again so is it okay for writers to

tell

the same stories over and over again or

should we always insist

on novelty would should we always demand

from art

something fresh and something new so

there we have a talking point you might

want to pause and think about that

okay the next postmodernist technique

that i want to describe in some detail

is the technique known as

intertextuality so intertextuality is

the presence of part of one

literary text in another literary text

excuse me

this could be a direct quotation it

could be an indirect reference

or a shared character or storyline so

for example

the title of ken key sees novel one flew

over the cuckoo's nest

that's an example of intertextuality

because the phrase

one flew over the cuckoo's nest is a

quotation from a children's rhyme

so that point where two texts overlap

the children's rhyme and piece is novel

it's a point of intertextual connection

or intertextual

overlap uh in a play like top girls by

carol churchill one of her characters

is called criselda that's a point of

intertextual overlap

because priselda is a character borrowed

from chaucer's clark's tale in the

canterbury tales

or if you think of the poetry of carol

dan duffy just to give you one more

example of intertextuality her poetry

poem sub is one that quotes famous

sayings

from 20th century culture while hippo

the laughter of stafford girls high

school

sorry the laughter of staff of girls

high quotes shakespeare

and william blake so all in all sorts of

ways once you start looking for it

intertextuality is quite a pervasive

phenomenon

in in modern contemporary and postmodern

writing but why is it there why is it so

prevalent so this is a talking point

why would an author decide to quote the

words of another author or the words of

another

literary text there are i think a great

many reasons why someone might choose to

do that

so i'm going to invite you to pause the

recording and write down as many

possible answers to these questions you

can think of

okay so when i was thinking about this

question i came up with various answers

this list isn't definitive

it isn't exhaustive but it can give you

a sense

of the motives for or the reasons for

intertextuality

in literature so why would you quote

some why would you quote another writer

it could be a way of paying tribute if

someone has put something more

eloquently than you believe you could

then you

you pay tribute to them by by quoting

their words

it can be a form of exhibitionism that

quoting someone is a way of flaunting

your knowledge aren't i clever i can

quote

aristotle or dante or shakespeare it can

be a way of showing off

and quoting can be a kind of screen or

mask

if you are reluctant to say something

open and definitive about a maybe a

delicate issue

perhaps you can take refuge behind

someone else's words

you can quote people for purposes of

mockery or parody sometimes the most

devastating way of

of teasing someone is just to quote

something that they've said to them

back to them and quotation can be a way

of making a point about originality

it can suggest that perhaps there's

nothing left to be said there's nothing

new to be said that all we can do

is is recycle and restate and quote

what's already been said and that's

something that's very characteristic of

post-modernist culture is this is

suspicion that the best we can do is

recycle what's already been said rather

than get

get hung up on the idea that there are

absolutely new

unprecedented stories to be told

finally um quotation intertextuality can

be a way of making a point

about universality that if you've had a

feeling or a sentiment or an emotion

or an experience that is there in jane

austen or shakespeare or dante or

wherever you can use that quotation to

suggest that there's something

there's something universal about this

experience it's not just unique to me or

to this moment but something that is

is sort of happens across time and that

perhaps

everyone can see themselves in

so i want to give you an example of

intertextuality

in action in slightly more detail and my

example is

tom stoppard's play rosencrantz and

guildenstern

are dead so this is a play that takes

its title

and its main characters and its

storyline from shakespeare's hamlet so

that line rosencrantz and given stoner

dead

it's a line from hamlet it's a line from

the most famous play

ever written arguably the most famous

work of literature

ever written but it's a play stopods

play what it does is it reimagines the

events of hamlet

as seen from the point of view of two of

its most marginal

unforgettable characters so rosencrantz

and guildenstern are very

kind of peripheral and secondary

characters in the play and they're

almost interchangeable you don't get

much of a sense of

of any difference between them so so

there they are on the edges of the play

and they die

and they're kind of as they say they're

quite marginal and they're quite

forgettable

but rosin cranks and guildenstern as a

play it

centers on them so it re-centers on what

was marginal

and what was almost forgotten

so intertextuality in the context of

star parts play is thus

an ingenious solution to the question of

originality

stop-loss play suggests that we can do

something new

with hamlet something which is almost

over familiar as a text we can do

something new with it

not by abandoning the past but by

revisiting it

with fresh eyes so not only has stoppard

created something new

he's also renewed our appreciation of

hamlet by

by enabling us to see the play just from

such an unexpected

perspective

okay the next key modernist

postmodernist technique that i want to

talk about

is metafiction and meta-fiction

is a concept that i'm going to introduce

once again via the visual arts

so once again i have two paintings for

you the first you'll all recognize

is the most probably the most famous

painting in art history which is mona

lisa by leonardo

da vinci and here we have another

painting

also called mona lisa this time by andy

warhol and he produces this

in 1963 so mona lisa number one mona

lisa number two what's the difference

i suppose the difference is the original

mona lisa

is a painting of a woman whereas andy

warhol's

mona lisa is a painting of a painting

of a woman so leonardo da vinci in his

painting is trying to represent

a human being is trying to represent

reality

whereas warhol is trying to represent

a representation of reality so there is

that

in a way that sense of of layers of

representation that warhol isn't giving

us a window onto the world or a window

onto

reality but using art to represent

art and this is something that is very

prevalent in post-modernist art

is the representation of representation

and a particular form that it often

takes in literature

is the form of what is called meta

fiction

so a meta fictional work is a work of

metafiction is a work of fiction

that is about books it's a book

about books rather than book about life

here are some examples

so there's a novel by muriel spark

called the comforters

and this is a novel in which the heroine

is a young woman called caroline rose

she's been bothered as she goes about

her daily business she's been bothered

by a persistent

tapping sound in the background

in time she realizes that what she's

hearing

is the sound of the typewriter keys on

which this novel

is being written so caroline rose is a

character in a novel

who realizes that she is a character

in a novel so the comforters

is a novel about life and human

relationships

but also it's a novel about novels it's

it's it's fiction about fiction so one

of the

earliest examples known to me of of of

post-modernist

meta fiction another example is a novel

by martin amis called

money so in in this novel the hero of

the novel is called john

self uh he goes to the pub and who

should he bump into

in the pub but martin amis himself so

martin amus is both

the author of the novel and a character

in the novel so john's self

and martin amus in this novel they

strike up an uneasy friendship

but self remains somewhat suspicious

of anus so both of these novels

really raise a question of paranoia the

sense of suddenly realizing that

you're part of the fiction that you're

being

created and you're being manipulated and

that

that paranoia about about your own

reality i think is something that is

quite a common uh experience in

post-modernist

writing and also the way these novels

are books about books fiction about

fiction it's almost as though

it's reading a post-modernist book is

like looking at

a snake eating its own tail there's

something

and critics of post-modernism would say

that it's almost like naval gazing

that the idea of fiction short should

surely to be

to to go out and confront the real world

rather than to

to gaze at itself in this kind of

inward looking way but for me i think

metafiction is always

intellectually intriguing i think the

questions it raises about

about identity about what is and isn't

real about

who tells the story of your life do you

do you get the choice to map it out

yourself or is that story being

sort of scripted for you by by higher

powers

these i think are really fascinating

questions that meta fiction

explores so i've mentioned that that

sense of paranoia that that you know

real kind of

almost systematic suspicion uh of the

world around you as

something that can be very prevalent in

post-modern writing and this brings me

to my

final key technique uh which i want to

talk about which is the idea of the

death

of the real and i'm going to illustrate

this using

movies rather than literature one of the

recurring themes of post-modernist

culture

is the suspicion that reality isn't real

it isn't a substantial

permanent and authentic as we believed

and there are various examples of of

modern cinema which often have

a kind of quite a science fiction flavor

to them

which deal with someone who cottons onto

the fact that the world around them

isn't as real as they thought it might

be so the truman showstone jim carrey is

about

a guy who one fine day realizes that his

entire life has been broadcast to a

worldwide

audience of millions he is the star of

his own

reality tv show so the the the life he

thought was real is actually being

manufactured

by the media and the matrix uh very well

known uh science fiction trilogy

in which people begin to cotton onto the

fact that what they thought was reality

is actually

a kind of high-tech illusion and then

christopher nolan's film

inception about people increasingly

unable to differentiate with any

confidence between what is

hard concrete reality and what is a kind

of dream

or a delusion so this is that moment

where you can't differentiate between

that was which is substantial and

authentic

and that which is synthetic or

manufactured or illusory that that

moment is is known as the death of the

real and it's a moment that you get over

and over again

in post-modernist culture um

what are the implications of the notion

that reality isn't real you know what

how should we react to this news

one way of reacting to it would be to

say well

we need to escape from illusions we

really it's time to wake up

to the real reality it's it's a crisis

that absolutely needs an urgent solution

so that would be one way of sort of

reacting to reports of of the death

of the real another way would be to say

well maybe we shouldn't get too

hung up on the idea of authenticity

and realness after all how do you

measure realness

and and this i think is particularly

relevant to debates

about um things like food or music

so for example people occasionally say i

don't like that music it's

it's manufactured it's synthetic and

when people say that

the implication is that there's some

kind of music which is

natural that just some somehow it grew

on a tree or it

emerged from them from the soil in this

kind of organic way

all music is is manufactured all music

is

is constructed and created by performers

using musical instruments

so when you think about music what

you've not got is is real music and

unreal music but maybe

different kinds of unreality so maybe

and there's a certain school of thought

in post-modernism which which is quite

laid back about the idea of the death of

the real and says that you know we

shouldn't

obsess about authenticity

so i've given you two very contradictory

answers

to this question what do i think well i

think i'm going to leave this

as a kind of cliffhanger because i'm

sure you will have

opinions of your own about the death of

the real and

about post-modernist techniques and

post-modernist culture

in general okay so thank you for

listening i hope that was a useful quick

uh whistlestop

whistlestop tour of post modernist

culture

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