Quotes from Appignanesi’s and Garrat’s Postmodernism for Beginners, Part 2 of 2
Continuing dumping things I liked in “Richard Appignanesi’s and Chris Garratt’s Postmodernism for Beginners.
Can we speak of a postmodern “history”? Not if we take postmodern theory seriously, which challenges the very idea of a unilinear history. Postmodernism cannot follow in sequence after modernism, because this would be an admission of historic progress and a relapse into Grand Narrative mythology.
But in architecture, postmodernism started in 1972, with the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing development in St. Louis Missouri.
Also in 1972, the American Architect Robert Venturi [...] formulated the postmodern creed. [...] Venturi says we should learn from Las Vegas ... from local street architecture which grows up organically and unplanned. In place of unilateral “glass boxes”, po mo architecture offers the vernacular, an emphasis on the local and particular as opposed to modernist universalism. This means a return to ornament, with references to the historic past and its symbolism, but in the ironic manner of parody, pastiche and quotation.
On reproduction:
The last 25 years of the 20th century will go down in history as unique in one respect. These “postmodern” years are symptomatic of a total lack of originality. Our scanty resources of invention are all parasitically confined to reproduction. Everything apparently “new” [...] is feeding on the originality of the past [...]
On gangsta rap:
What makes gangsta rap truly postmodern is that the gangsta rappers walk their talk: the violent images of the songs are reflected in the life of the rappers themselves. Rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg [...] has been indicted for murder. Rapper-actor, Tupac Shakur, was arrested for shooting two off-duty policemen in Atlanta [and eventually killed in a drive-by shooting]. Flavor Flav of the group “Public Enemy” was arrested for allegedly trying to shoot a neighbour in New York…
On the term modern>
“Modern” was a problem name from the start. It is unsatisfactory in a way different from other earlier period names, such as Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, etc. Modern is a highly volatile term. [...] Modern is a panic term. It swept into history with a sense that a catastrophic change had overtaken tradition. Modernism was defined by a set of innovative artistic practices which became confused with the much wider cultural and historical implications of modernity. [...] Modernist art claimed to be producing works independent of all reference, not representational of reality but pure signs of nothing but themselves.
Fiction vs. history:
The Rushdie affair is a war of non-communication between two entrenched “panic positions”. Muslims object to Rushdie’s blurring of boundaries between fiction and real history which for them enshrines the Prophet Muhammad’s revelation. Westerners defend Rushdie’s right to treat Islam as simply another postmodern “Grand Narrative”.
Finally, telelogy (need to look this up):
Telelogy (from the Greek, telos, “end”) assumes that developments are shaped by an overall purpose or design.
This book shouldn’t be confused with the American one with the same title. Perhaps that one’s better; its average customer review at Amazon is 4.5. I liked this one, however, mainly because of its breadth. It brought together lots of things I’ve been reading about. I’m not sure it’s perfect as an introduction, though, as its title suggests.