Anthony Giddens talked a lot about post modernity and
globalization. He also highlighted that as a consequence of social
constructions of reality, globalization, technology such as social media, and
pluralism, society has changed. Giddens argued that in modern society, when
society is stronger and larger, then it is harder to control. He thought that we
don’t live in a postmodern society.
Postmodernism would be traveling into the unknown. Modern
society was clear, predictable and had universal truth. Modern society deals
with specialization in the division of labor. In postmodern society, what will
it be like? It’s an unpredictable society, unclear, and has no universal
truths. Giddens was a critic of postmodernity because to say there is no
structure, no norms and no formal organization, that’s just an absurd and
farfetched idea.
Postmodernity can be seen in art galleries today. A lot of
art has become abstract with unclear meanings. Traditional artwork is sort of
the past while postmodernity art is very open to interpretation. I think in
certain systems of society that postmodernity can be witnessed, but I agree
with Giddens that the idea of absolutely no structure just doesn’t seem
plausible. I think the art scene can reflect postmodern notions, though. It’s
easy to interpret art in your own way, but abstract pieces keep a viewer
guessing, throwing them into unpredictability and unclear meanings.
I found this video on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU2yGtmcjlQ)
about postmodern artwork being rejected in art galleries. It’s a video calling
for all ages and all artists who have had their artwork rejected for being ‘too
modern.’ That’s interesting to me because it’s subjective to say someone’s art
is too modern. Maybe that’s where art is heading…to a postmodern world? Maybe
other aspects of society will move to a postmodern world as well?
Great post. I do agree, where is our society headed exactly? How can one say that a piece of art is too modern? That statement right there to me goes to show that we are not quite in a post modern society and to be quite frank, I don't know if we'll ever be. We will always cling to what works, and what has structured society for thousands of years. Art is a great glimpse of what the post modern would might look like, but then again, would it still be considered post modern when we get there?
ReplyDeleteGreat explanation of Gidden's theory. I also agree that I don't think a complete post-modern society is likely to happen and if it does I hope I'm not around to see it because a society with no structure seems terrifying.
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