Postmodernism In American Literature And Films
What is postmodernism? Defining postmodernism literature is a forbidding task as the writing style is multi-layered and complex. Rising to prominence in the 1960s, following the Civil Rights Movement, postmodernism marked the shift away from the norm. In the name itself, Postmodernism “situated itself in contrast to Modernism” and is a broad term to capture the change literature style (Lindas 4). While “Modernism asked how we know what we know, Postmodernism asked what we can know” (Lindas 5) where people looked to discover the world through a new lens.
Postmodernist authors, artists, and film writers created abstract works that questioned reality and objected to the norms of society. In fact, Postmodernists even rejected the idea of time as many authors experimented with fragmentation and temporal disorder within their novels. One such author who successfully captured the essence of Postmodernism in his novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is Michael Chabon. Although Chabon's chronological story arch lacks the literary devices prominent in postmodernism works, his protagonists Sammy and Joseph embody the anti-authoritarian position that is central to the rebellious nature of postmodernism. From a stylistic standpoint, the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay cannot be considered to be a postmodern piece as overall the novel is chronological. The novel follows the arch of a traditional story: the two protagonists meet, Sam and Joe plan their idea, they pitch their comic to Empire Novelty Company, they make it big, there is a power struggle, etc.
However, Chabon does implement some fragmentation, which “refers to the breakdown of plot, character, theme, and setting. Plot, for instance, is not presented in a realistic or chronological fashion, bur rather, as ‘slabs of event and circumstance’”(Matos). After chapter one, which narrates the first meeting between Sam and Joe, the first line of chapter two states, “it was a caterpillar scheme -- a dream that had ultimately carried Josef Kavalier across Asia and the Pacific to his cousin’s narrow bed on Ocean Avenue” (Chabon 14). This is the first of a the sparse flashbacks throughout Part I detailing Josef's escape from Prague. Despite the inclusion of fragmentation, when compared to other postmodernist works, the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay cannot be considered a concrete example of postmodernist writing. Postmodernism fragmentation is seen at its finest in the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry. In the movie elements of science fiction, disrupted narration, and romance are joined together to create a film exploring the complexity of memory loss. Furthermore, the title of the movie comes from a poem about a tragic love affair where the narrator suffers from memory loss. The movie has non-linear sequences and includes the post modern technique of fragmentation; for example, the opening scene is later repeated giving closure to the film. This level of fragmentation is non-existent in Chabon’s novel.
While Chabon fails stylistically, he succeeds in implementing a postmodernism theme of rebellion. According to Professor Matos of San Diego State University, “Postmodernists … embody an “anti-authoritarian” position when approaching and analyzing the world and its cultural productions … postmodernists distrust any entity or agency that tries to control or regulate what people can or cannot do” (Matos). In The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Chabon is able to illustrate “anti-authoritarian” views through his portrayal of Sammy and Josef. Socially, the two young men challenge the old ways of the publishing business. When Sammy and Joe pitch their idea for the Escapist to Anapol and George, George responds exclaiming, “‘So it’s to be comic book, now, is it?’ he said to Anapol as they shook hands. ‘The devolution of American culture tales another great step forward’” (Choban 156). George views comic books as “devolution” as he is a conservative in the industry who sees comics as the shift away from traditional to abstract writing.
When the characters are stripped away from the story and only the opposing sides remain, it is evident that the comic book symbolizes the postmodernist movement. George represents the conservative views of modernism and Sammy and Joe represent the liberal approach of postmodernism. It is important to note that George is an older authority character while Sammy and Joe are young men making a start. This age difference allows Chabon to demonstrate that old rule is ushered out by the new just like modernism was replaced with postmodernism. While unorthodox, Chabon is Outside of the Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay, postmodernism is important in society as the notion of approaching problems with unique mindsets influence our everyday life. Even in our pop culture, we are surrounded by postmodern ideology. Artists, for example, have taken to postmodernism to capture the world in a new light. Erik Johansson is a graphic artist who warps reality. In his Under the Corner piece (http://www. erikjohanssonphoto. com/under-the-corner) (Johansson), he plays with the concept of perception. When you focus on the left side of the picture, the world seems to be angled to the top right corner diagonally, yet when you focus on the left side, the buildings seem to be angeled to the top left corner diagonally. Johansson opens viewers' minds to the postmodernist notion that there is more than one way to look at the world. Furthermore, in postmodern education teachers are not meant to simply lecture but rather are meant to guide the students on their own intellectual journeys. This inverted classroom aligns with a postmodernist ideology where individuals are meant to approach mundane tasks with skepticism and a desire to break the norms imposed on them by society. Despite the field,
