Postmodernism facts for kids
Postmodernism is a way of thinking about many things, like culture, philosophy, and art. The word has been used in different ways, but it usually points to some common ideas.
One main idea of postmodernism is that there is no single, true answer for everything. It suggests that what we call "knowledge" is often something people create or invent, rather than something they simply find. Because people make knowledge, it's hard to be completely sure about anything. All ideas and facts might be more like things we "believe" instead of things we "know." People might think they know the truth, but their ideas about truth can change later. This is different from the idea of "objectivity," which says truth is always there for us to discover.
Since postmodernism suggests that truth is something people invent, it means different people can believe different things and all think they are right. Postmodernism says that one person shouldn't try to force their beliefs on another. This is because it doesn't really make sense to say one belief is totally right and another is totally wrong. If someone tries to make others believe what they do, postmodernism suggests they might just be trying to have power over them.
For a long time, especially from the 1700s (the Age of Enlightenment) into the early 1900s, many people believed that science and new discoveries would always make the world better. They thought that society would keep getting better and better. This idea was very strong in a movement called Modernism. But postmodernism has a different view. It says there isn't really a constant "social progress" where things always improve. It suggests that while the world changes, people just like to believe it's getting better. It changes, but it doesn't necessarily become "better," because there's no single idea of what "better" means.
Postmodernism also suggests that since people's opinions change, and no one person's opinion is more "right" than another, it doesn't mean much to say that one piece of art is better than another. Postmodernism says that art, music, and literature can be whatever its creator says it is. Postmodern art often talks about itself or makes fun of itself. It might even make fun of "serious" art or the very idea of art. Postmodernism has influenced many areas, including how we look at books, philosophy, sociology, linguistics, architecture, visual art, and music.
The word "postmodernism" first became popular around 1949, especially when people talked about modern architecture. Many people didn't like modern buildings because they often looked like plain boxes and weren't considered pretty. Some people started the postmodern architecture movement. Postmodern buildings often use decorations, refer to older styles, and have less box-like shapes.
You can see postmodern ideas in philosophy, the study of culture and society, literature, architecture, and design. These ideas also changed how people thought about love, marriage, popular culture, and how many Western countries changed from making things in factories to offering services.
The term postmodernity usually refers to the time period when postmodern ideas became common. This was mostly in the second half of the 20th century. Some experts think that postmodernism is now less common, especially in literature.
What Does Postmodernism Mean?
The word "Postmodernism" can be used in many ways, and sometimes these meanings can seem to disagree with each other. Because the term can mean so many different things, some people think it's just a "buzzword" that doesn't really have a clear meaning.
However, the British historian Perry Anderson believes that postmodernism is an important idea. He thinks it's very helpful for understanding today's culture.
Images for kids
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Neue Staatsgalerie (1977–84), in Stuttgart, Germany. It was designed by British architects James Stirling and Michael Wilford. It shows a mix of old-style architecture and colorful, playful details.
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The Ray and Maria Stata Center (2004), designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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April Greiman
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Orhan Pamuk, who won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.
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American singer-songwriter Madonna.
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See also
In Spanish: Filosofía posmoderna para niños
