Postmodernism theory - Jean Baudrillard


Jean Baudrillard states that: 'we live in a world where there is more and more information and less and less meaning.'

postmodernism: a tendency in the arts which criticises existing theoretical structures, metanarratives and ways of thinking, essentially:  It is impossible to objectively define what is real, therefore there is no such thing as reality. the world is a confusing world that is difficult to understand

metanarratives:

  • a narrative is a way of telling a story
  • a metanarrative is a big story that explains how we should live our lives and how to make sense of the world.

examples of metanarratives: 

  • religion
  • politics
  • science
metanarrative: success comes through hard work


the premodern age:

art is in the hands of the few, a privileged and cultured elite. from the renaissance period onward art aims to demonstrate authenticity', demonstrated to the time and craftsmanship involved to produce it along with the influence of religion there is a definite sense of what is real. 

the modern age:

the introduction of modern art forms such as radio cinema, fracture existing metanarratives such as religion. mass accessible culture exists and an increasing number of people can engage with this media. this meant that new ideologies and perspectives emerge which competes with traditional metanarratives such as religion.

the postmodern age:
new technology, introduction of mass media, mass media dominates our minds and nothin can be referred to as 'real' anymore, as we have several conflicting ideologies now. 

  • in our postmodern world we continually take things out of context
  • previously knowledge was highly valuable, but in this postmodern world everyone is able to access that knowledge.
Postmodern concept - hyperreality:

where a representation is more real than the thing that is being represented



how are theories of postmodernism encoded in black mirror: San Junipero
  • anxiety
  • inability to differentiate between reality and hyperreality
  • frustration at modern life
  • distrust of conventional systems of power

how does the opening sequence of black mirror san Junipero construct a hyperreal simulacra

  • the scene constructs an hyperreal and idealised version of s club, lacking bouncers and security. the establishing shot constructs a perfect club night. patrons are drinking alcohol and every individual is both young and hegemonically attractive as each individual is able to construct their own 'avatar'. 
  • everyone appears to be unified, constructing a sense of community where no one is excluded, nobody is being inappropriate, the club is also adequately populated.

a Baudrillardian simulacra is a representation of something that never existed in the first place. ex. in san Junipero yoriki who exists as a stereotypical representation of   a nerd, typically seen in 80's films. she constructs this representation based bon her won intertextual knowledge of this stereotype in 80's films, yet she isn't even real she is living out her own fantasies that she is unable to live out in her own reality.

a simulation is a virtual world. since we have ascertained that nothing is real , we all live in a simulation. 

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