Postmodernısm & Jean Baudrıllard
Cihan
Altınbaş
Marmara University, Department of Sociology
Humanity has always improved their
abilities and they have reflection of their ideas. The ideas cover the whole
world and postmodernism is the way of looking to the world, it shapes the
people’s life. In this article, we will try to explain postmodernism in details
and we will discuss this notion by offering examples from media and culture
with the Jean Baudrillard ideas.
First of all, we explain the what
is the modernity and effects of the modernity. Modernity is the way of the
rational thinking and it happened 19th and 20th
centuries. Industrial revolution, enlightenment and positivist activities
shaped the role of the modernity in the world. The world started to think
rational and they threw up the abstract ideas such as religion. This action happened because past includes
the underdeveloped ideas and it is not working for the producing more effective
and real ideas. The way of development can happen with the modernity, also the
secular idea and having better conditions are one of the main points for the
modernity. Capitalism was born when progress in production and consumption was
desired and because of the efficient distribution of capital. For example, the
production of the television is having only one or two options so the producers
can produce more and people find easily so this the efficient and rational way
of the production and consumption. The
general ideas became true for each event and secular, modern person must act
according to his/her nation. Modernity aimed to find the easiest and fastest
way to progress and development together with logic.
Postmodernism is characterized
as an increased disillusionment and detachment from the values and ideals
represented by modernism (Nas, 2020). After the two World War, people start to
question to the modernity and the media tools separated the whole world in
1950s. And in postmodernist idea, mass media and popular culture are most
important role for shaping and control social relations. It is apparent that
developments in technology and communications have had significant effects on
the speed with which information, images and people can be transported around
the world (Dominic Strinati, 1995). Media needs to advertisement for continuing
and this advertisement can be about everything. With these advertisements,
society became more digital and digital world cause the consumption world in
physical or mental. The consumption happens in physical goods and it also start
to exploit the emotions. People start buy something for just image, people
start to be happy when they consume. The rational thinking disappeared and
modernity turned to postmodernity because of the mass media and advertisement.
The images and looking affected to people in a short time badly. The benefit of
the good became less important and goods were just bought by the people.
Another side of the postmodernity is metanarratives and the metanarratives
claims that are making universal, absolute, all embracing to knowledge and truth
(religion, nation, Modernism, Marxism, science, art) (Nas, 2020). People saw
the bad effect of the world war and these wars were rational. For this reason,
the modernity is not including only rationality and progress, it also brings
desire for the people so the understanding of the place and time became
problematic. People turned to nostalgic and supernatural narratives and the
history started to seem as a main driver of future progress. The history was
not a symbol of backwardness, just the opposite victory. For example, the
historical series, movies became more popular and they are watching by the
billions such as Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Tudors, Payitaht and so on. From the
postmodern point of view, contemporary cinema indulges in nostalgia, living off
its past, ransacking it for ideas, recycling its images and plots and cleverly
alluding to it in self-conscious postmodern parodies (Dominic Strinati, 1995).
Modernity aims to secular and materialist world and they seem as an against to
the religion. However, the secular people are doing yoga, despite the religion
because religion is kind of yoga activity but the postmodernism open the way of
mental, soul kinds activity. In modernity, people need to be educated by
someone and it is seeming normal. Postmodernism against this idea, not
conceptual but the idea of giving education from someone is bad thing. On the
other hand, O ses Turkiye is one of the biggest watching programs in Turkey and
it is not teaching anything, it just a popular. The Trt Arşiv shows that the
modernity is require rational thinking and try to teach something to the
people. Or people don’t like the TicToc but after some time, people start to
use it and they attend to watch lots of tictocs because everybody do this
action. Another example is Kemal Sunal’s movies, the character tries to escape
in bad situation with the rational thinking and shows the how to be modern.
But, Recep İvedik movies only aim to laugh to people and there is no teaching
part in the movies. Also, even Recep İvedik movies include historical issues so
it is shows that the importance of the history in postmodernism. Modernist idea
aims that the conceptual, determine to identity of people so people have
identity with belongs to groups which modernist fragmentation. With the postmodernism
people start to define themselves with their own perspectives. The traditional
collective identities are disappearing step by step and people try to find
their own identities. This finding can be paradoxical because sometimes people
support the opposite ideas, just they want. For example, Christians, Muslims
supporter in the LGBT+ actions in the USA or the whole world. It can be
happening with postmodernism. Another example for this paradoxical supporting
is secular Muslims, secularism is thinking without religion but they support
both of them. The last part of the postmodernism is building hyperreality, the
realty created for the represent the reality. It can be built by the media and
this created reality put the eyes of the people; people start to have dilemma
what is the true. The Disneyland shows the people another reality, it is the
cartoon reality but people believe this reality when they are inside of the
Disneyland. Trump and Paris Climate Agreement, Trump leave this agreement and
reject the climate problems and he create another hyperreality. People believe
this idea and it supported by the fake news. Another one is about illness of
Covid-19, the effect of this virus occurred in China and the Trump say that it
is Chinese Virus so it is so dangerous but he said that. The political problems
lead to this action, this is another creation of hyperreality because it not
about the Chinese, it just about the humanity population. The Truman Show, Jim
Carry born in fake world and he cannot understand it is fake, but he lives in
hyperreality. End of the film, he recognizes it is hyperreal, he left this
world and he reached the real reality. Media is the main element of the
hyperreality and they try to change reality with creating another reality.
The hyperreality
created with the simulacra according to the Jean Baudrillard, the simulacra
happen with the truth of representation claims. He identifies three stages in
the making of a simulation; The first there is a loyal copy and this is reflection
of the real one. This means that the difference between real and copy can
understand easily, people can recognize this difference in a short time and it
happens in premodern era. Second stage is perversion of reality, the seeing
original and seeing copy one is not same thing. Original one is unfaithful so
the production of the art copy causes the losing aura of the original one. For
example, seeing original the last supper table is unique but the seeing
pictures belongs to it, not same thing. The last one is masking the absence of
reality, a sign pretends to be faithful copy, but it is a copy with no original
and it happens in postmodern era (Nas, 2020). Also, it is pure simulacrum
because there is no any relationship between sign and reality. The best example
is Disneyland and it is equal to simulacra. There is no reality in Disneyland
and everything is about creation, illusion. But the main fact to pull the
people to the Disneyland is real America. Disneyland dream is kind of machine
and it aims to revive reality fiction so it related to the childish feeling.
Disneyland aims to hide where childhood can be found everywhere, and people
believe that the Disneyland is real and unique. Disneyland is presented as
imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real, whereas all of Los
Angeles and the America that surrounds it are no longer real, but belong to the
hyperreal order and to the order of simulation (Jean Baudrillard, 1981). People
bring their children to have fun but adults also feed the child inside, they
want to be childish. Other nice example is The Loud Family tv show. This
program shows to people how to be American family, the requirements of the
being American family. They try to create a model for the people and this is
just a show but it works. People start to behave like model American family.
Because being normal family is equal to the model one. Another example is RPG
(Role Play Games), people create their own character and the game give changes
to people create their own world with their own desires. The one of the first
games is World of Warcraft, this game present huge virtual world and people
(gamer) create their own world, own character how they want. Sometimes, they
can lose in the game and they forget their own real life so the dilemma starts
what is the real one. There some examples about games, people who die playing
video games.
There is huge problem about
postmodernism which is called Big Data, Web 4.0, posthumanism and
transhumanism. The social media platforms collect the data’s which belongs to
the people and they have change to use these data for manipulating to people
dramatically. For example, Facebook sell the information to company about the
people and they punished but this shows the harm of the collection of the data
to humanity. Another example is Black Mirror, it shows to people how they
watch, surveillance and control by someone. It shows the problems which can be
happen in the future. Also, we see lots of movies about the robots and they try
to bring end of the humanity so artificial intelligence another side of
postmodernism. The internet shows people what they want and they collect their
data for creating a web story. The advertisement shows by the internet and
these advertisements are coming from people interests, they listen their voices
and learn their interests. The half robot, half human movies have more
interests and these are watching by the people. People think that this will be
happen and the world is going to this future. Also, people try to find endless
life or using their ability more effective so the movies use this idea.
Moreover, the posthumanism and transhumanism take place in the cinema sector.
In conclusion, we tried to
explain postmodernism in this article. The advantages and disadvantages number
cannot be comparing. This world is postmodernist and it causes and affects to
people lives directly or indirectly. The details of postmodernism can be
dangerous but at the same time it can be useful for people’s life. The good or
bad cannot say for postmodernism, we just tried to explain what is the
postmodernism in details and we discussed this notion by offering examples from
media and culture with the Jean Baudrillard ideas.
Bibliography
·
Dominic
Strinati, “Postmodernism, contemporary popular culture and recent theoretical
developments” in An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London
& New York: Routledge (1995). pp. 209-233.
·
Jean
Baudrillard (1981), Excerpts from Simulacra and Simulation, Michigan
University Press.
· Alparslan Nas (2020, 12 25), Media & Postmodernism lecture slides.
Yorumlar
Yorum Gönder