Postmodernist

• Lyotard :

  • Society is continuing to expand with economic expansion + scientific knowledge
  • Out of our control, society can no longer be made sense of (too diverse)
  • Everyone exists as an individual
• Baudrillard :

  • People have become isolated + dehumanised
  • Eg - spending too much time immersed in media
  • Not communicating in public
• Postmodernism :

  • See society as totally changed
  • People lack interest in solidarity + politics
  • People consume superficial culture driven by marketing + advertising
• Superficial culture :

  • where people are more likely to be concerned with surface appearances and trends rather than the deeper meaning of things
  • Eg - love island or soaps
• Postmodernism :

  • Life is only experienced through the media = death of the social
  • Eg - gaming
  • Baudrillard : death of the social theory
• Postmodernism :

  • The media informs people how to behave
  • Eg - money + appearance obsessed
  • Modern afflience + leisure time moves toward consumer lifestyle
  • Material aspects = sign of success
• Postmodernism :

  • Sign object = objects signify success of the owner rather than serve a purpose
• Postmodernism :

  • Concepts exist in society + are named/signed :
  • Eg - celebrity = not necessarily talented
  • Just seen as a celebrity as we see them as one
  • A simulacrum = we decide to label it
• Postmodernism :

  • Now live in a world of hyperreality = a world of image
• Postmodernism criticisms :

  • highlights the failures of other theories instead of replacing it with anything
  • Critics rather than theorists
  • Political rather than sociological
  • People don't spend all their time in hyper real world, they do live in reality (can't afford to be in fake reality all the time)