Postmodernism

Postmodernism could be characterized by its lack of characterization; it’s multifaceted, intertextual, and simultaneously intersects with modernism and even pre-modernism (310). While modernism was about trying to obtain deeper truths, postmodernism questions the very notion of truth (312). This has led to a questioning about authenticity and the merit it actually holds. One critique of postmodernist living is the been-there-done-that lifestyle where it seems as everything has already been done before (315). This has led to a popularity of remaking works with a particular spin, irony, and the stepping back to look at a work through a different context. Pastiche is the term that encapsulates most of these ideas, playing on imitation, parody and a usually humorous or ironic use of other media or ideas (328).

 

 

A solid example of this notion of postmodernism comes from the 2013 movie Warm Bodies. The movie is a prime example of intertextuality, and the once simple task of defining its genre is even too complicated to easily do. The movie is a drama, a horror, a romance and a comedy all at the same time. This work of art is an indefinable slew of different messages, very akin to postmodernism. Moreover, it uses pastiche by reproducing the idea of zombie movies. However it doesn’t do this in a traditional sense, but with the twist of humanism. Though the idea of zombie have been recycled thousands of times, the use of humanistic traits within a zombie makes this as much an “original” piece of work as any. Another dimension of postmodernism is the confusion of time and space, and even this is somewhat achieved as we are in some point in an unknowable future in the movie. Warm Bodies is as crowded, plural, indefinable, and ironic as postmodernism itself.