P-Modernism

When I was in my late teens and early 20's (my high school and college years), the hallowed word of postmordernism was one heard all over the place. Articles and books that taked about this topic in length were plenty then. The city I was living in, Thrissur, called the cultural capital of Kerala (my state) was overpopulated with beard-sporting, khadi kurta-clad intellectuals, often jibed by the public as 'buji', short for 'budhijeevi, a word in vernacular signifying a pretentious erudite. I had a secret desire to be part of that clan. I knew I had no literary skills, but it wasn't really necessary for membership.

Some of the requirements where:

You must correctly pronounce "Sartre", "Camus" and "Heidegger".
You must user the word "Andardhara", which means innner current, wherever you could.

And, of course you had to know what postmodernism was. Atleast you had to be convincing. Internet was still nascent and we're talking about pre-google days here. Moreover the dial up connection from home was not viable, as it incurred STD (equivalent of long distance in the US, but varies with distance) charges to the nearest city with an internet gateway. So magazines and books were the only refuge left. One the first books I read that talked about about Postmodernism was "The Marriage of Sense and Soul" by Ken Wilber, considered by many as one of the greatest thinkers of modern day. This book was NOT about postmodernism. The intention of the book was the integration of religion and science, a formidable endeavor few would even attempt. Like the people who had ventured before him, Wilber fails too. He essentialises religion into the 'Great Nest' as in Eastern mysticism and completely fails to capture the emotions of fear, guilt and desire for everlasting afterlife that are at the core of the religions of the Judaistic origin. Science is misinterpreted as entirely of empirical and reductionist nature. The only opinion Wilber has to offer postmodernism is ridicule. Do not read it to know postmordernism. If you are one of the many who could read through Tao of Physics in less than 6 months, I think he might be interesting to you. My present knowledge of Postmodernism, is through the internet (thanks to google), which I think is itself truly a postmodern phenomenon. Let me break it down in very simple terms what I understand of all this stuff.

Modernism - Focussed, rational and close to science and technology. Rejects sentimentality. Stresses on utility, meaning and direction. Believes everthing should be directed toward the "good" of the human society. And the "good" is always expected to be defined by the elite few (like the few who have experienced the outside in Plato's allegory of the cave) and the majority expected to accept that definition. Tries to potray poeple, events and ideas in black and white. Judgemental. Promotes univalence in everything. Howard Roark (the superhero in Ayn Rand's FountainHead) is the epitome for mordernism.

Postmodernism - Eclectic and accommodating. Is pluralistic and cosmopolitan. Instead of
trying to be normative, it tries to explain and shed a nuetral light on the subject. Can be accused of being playful, aimless and irresponsible. Extreme Postmodernism views science and even reason, as just different paradigms. It doesn't frown at recognizing pop culture and its importance and influence. Postmodern art forms tend to be part of a genre and also talk about the genre. They are conscious of their shortcomings, their failure to portray reality. Postmodernism tries to debunk the notion of high and low culture and sees diffent cultures as diferent areas on the same plain.

Again, don't get the impression that postmodernism is all anti-modernism. It is critique of modernism.
Most people today have been influenced by Postmodernism heavily. That the same person enjoys the catchy beer commercial as much as Don Giovanni is proof enough that the field has been levelled (well, the Don Giovanni part may be a little far fetched, but I hope you get the point).

To be continued..( I've just finished my second drink of a really good Jamaican Rum. I should go to sleep now)