Postmodernism

This weeks reading is by Mr Dick Hebdige and is entitled, 'Postmodernism and 'The Other Side'. I did find this reading a little bit baffling at times; as i just couldn't see what he was trying to conclude: one minute i thought he found Postmodernism to be a bad thing and the next it seemed like he was a fan.



Main Points

• Many things are referred to as being Postmodern: it's a bit of a buzzword
• Post can be different in different national contexts e.g UK vs USA and London ICA vs Gallic anti-populism of Lyotard
• Postmodernism can fracture through negotiation and be seen as a form of change
• There are 3 negotiations of postmodernism: Against Totalisation; Against Teleology and Against Utopia
• Against Totalisation - the abandonment of universal change; rejection of Marxism. Growth of 'representation' and 'ideology'?
• Against Teleology - use value is completely absorbed into exchange value - knowledge is more important than production.
• Against Utopia - close to 'anti-teleology'; there is no perfect state of being. the sublime is beyond our grasp.
• Gramsci focuses upon the multiple axis' of power and the popular. Importance of ideology and articulated speech.

Method

• There isn't a clear pinpointed method; but Hebdige has built upon other theorist' work and drawn his own conclusions; particularly based around Gramsci.

Conclusions

• Postmodernity is good in some ways as it tends to get rid of Marxism; but the ideas of the lack of Utopia; show postmodernity to be depressing and worse than modernity.
  

My Opinion

• I found the extract to be a little confusing. I like the idea of Marxism and classes being irrelevant in the Post but I don’t believe this will ever happen
• I agree that Utopia is near impossible to achieve and that we are fooling ourselves by believing in it, but am unsure of what was meant by Against Totalisation

Quotes

• 'Postmodernity is modernity with out the hopes and dreams which made modernity bearable'.
• ‘No one owns an ideology because ideologies are themselves in process: in a state of constant formation and reformation’.
• ‘hegemony is a precarious, ‘moving equilibrium’ achieved through the orchestration of conflicting and competing forces by more or less unstable, more or less temporary alliances of class fractions’.