POSTMODERNISM
Are postmodern and experimental
different terms/things?
 No, not necessarily. Some people prefer
the term “experimental” simply because
the term “postmodern” is often defined as
experimental writing occurring after a
certain time (1940s and 1950s). In truth,
there are no real time constraints to most
literary movements.
From the Routledge Companion
to Experimental literature
Traits of experimental/postmodern
literature
 Self-reflexive
 Eclectic approach
 Parody
 Pastiche
 Play in at least one of the following ways: play
with genres (like horror), storytelling modes,
elements of fiction, other formal traits of fiction
writing, and sometimes even the visual
formatting of texts. (By “play,” I mean
experimentation.)
 Lack of belief/commitment. “Commitment” to
questioning art and nonsense.
Self-reflexive
 By this, we mean a text shows self-awareness
of itself as a text, as a piece of art.
 Ex: The movie titled Synecdoche, New York is
about characters making a movie about
characters making a movie about characters
making a movie, etc.
 In order to understand self-reflexivity, visualize
a snake bending back on itself.
Eclectic (also sometimes
termed bricolage)
 Experimental texts are eclectic in pulling
from many different sources.
 You may, for example, find a reference to
the story of Noah and the Ark right next
to a reference to The Matrix.
Parody
 Parody is the result of audiences being
saturated with a certain form or genre. At
this point, audiences become aware of art
as art. This where irony comes into play.
Parody ultimately transforms the original
work or form/genre through irony.
 Ex: If you’ve seen Scary Movie I, II, III,
IV, or V, you understand what parody is.
Pastiche
 Pastiche is referencing a formula/genre without
any ironic intentions.
 The Marxist academic Fredric Jameson has
examined the functions of postmodern pastiche.
He describes pastiche as “the random
cannibalisation of all the styles of the past, the
play of stylistic allusion.” Jameson also says that
pastiche is “blank parody.”
 Ex: Star Wars. The original Star Wars movies
utilized older techniques from shows like Flash
Gordon from the 1930s with no ironic intent.
Genre Play
 You’ll often see experimental texts
blending genres.
 Ex: Gun, with Occasional Music by
Jonathan Lethem blends science fiction
with detective fiction with literary fiction.
Play with storytelling modes
 Storytelling modes range from different
types of stories, like myth and legend, to
different types of writing, like fiction and
poetry.
 Ex: Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko
contains myths, legends, family stories,
fiction, and poetry.
Play with Elements of Fiction
 The core elements of fiction are plot, character,
and point of view. Often, experimental fiction
takes a radical approach to these.
 Ex: A story titled “After I Was Thrown in the
River and Before I Drowned” by Dave Eggers
utilizes first-person point of view, but the firstperson point of view belongs to a dog!
Play with visual formatting
 An experimental piece of fiction may play with
the visual nature of the book or the text on the
page.
 Ex: Nox by Anne Carson comes in a box and all
of the sheets are connected in accordion style.
Also, within the book, she includes a lot of
pictures/visuals.
 See the 2 next slides for a picture of Carson’s
book and for another example….
Nox by Anne Carson
Example of play with visual formatting from Lorrie
Moore’s short story titled “Real Estate.”
What’s the difference between modernism
and postmodernism/experimentalism?
 Modernists believed the world had become chaotic and
that the individual had to assert his/her individuality to
have power. This struggle--individual against the
world--is tragic for modernists.
 Modernists believed the old values and ideas,
especially those of the Victorian era, were flawed.
 Modernists believed the old narrative forms weren’t
adequate anymore.
THE MODERNISTS BELIEVED IN SOMETHING…..
What’s the difference, cont.
 Modernists believe that the new forms
they presented were representative of a
new world. Postmodernists are just
playing.
 Modernists believe in the “power” of
their modern narratives. Postmodernists
are “anti-narrative.”