Postmodernism
• Evolved from modernism, and also rebelled against it
Modernism
- Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of World War 2
- Came about as people rejected the old Victorian standard of how art should be
made, consumed, and what it should mean
- Rebelling against the ideal of portraying reality accurately and objectively, artists
and writers focused more on impressionism and subjectivity
- Emphasis on how seeing takes place rather than on what is perceived
- Trend of thought which affirms the power of human beings to make, improve
and reshape their society, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and
practical experimentation
- Encouraged the re-examination of every aspect of existence with the goal of
finding that which was “holding back” progress, and replacing it with new,
progressive and therefore, better, ways of reaching the same end
- Looking for a solution, an absolute truth / Grand Truth or Grand Narrative
- Aimed to break classical and traditional forms and explored new and original:
- Topics and themes
- Use conventional artistic elements in a new and original way
- Used new material and techniques
- Stripped away the trappings of Realism to more minimalist designs
- Utilised simple, geometric shapes and unadorned facades and which
abandoned any use of historical reference
Postmodernism
- A cultural, literary, artistic, theatrical, social and philosophical movement
- Emerged in the 1970s following the modernist movements of the 19th and 20th
century
- Everything is relative, there is no fixed meaning or absolute truth
- Deconstructs the ‘truth’ and ‘meaning’ and tries to make sense of the many
uncertainties, ironies, contradictions, and multiple points of view that exist in the
world
- Aims to challenge ideologies that modernism upholds
- In general, the postmodern view is cool, ironic and accepting of the
fragmentation of contemporary existence
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, - In the 20th century, there was a blurring of boundaries between different art
disciplines, and also between “high” and “low” art
- Arts and performances are characterised by:
- The incorporation of historical details in a hybrid rather than a pure style
- The use of more personal and exaggerated style
- References to popular culture and media
- More than one meaning or interpretation of the artwork and the artist does not
give answers to the questions the audience might ask
Postmodern Theatre
- In America, the mainstream is represented by Broadway, while Off-Broadway
was more experimental
- The Off-Off-Broadway theatre movement was driven by artists who pushed
boundaries because they were dissatisfied with the mainstream which was
unlikely to take risks
- Many of which are now considered postmodern plays came out of this spirit of
testing new frontiers
- Such plays are considered avant-garde, experimental, conceptual or alternative
Death of the Author
- In postmodern theatre and literature, the interpreters of the written text
(director, designer, actor and audience) are the creators of meaning, and the
author cannot be said to hold any ultimate truth about the product created
- Scripts are often only a starting point, and the performance itself is layered with
images, soundscapes and other multimedia experiences not captured in a script
- The director may interpret, add images or choose styles in their staging of the
script
- The playwright does not offer one point of view and the audience also
constructs their own meaning from their own frame of reference — therefore
meaning is not fixed and shifts
- This concept, known in literature as ‘reader response theory’
Structure and Plot
- Doesn’t trust the idea of “one truth” or one version of the story — NO absolute
truth
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