Postmodernism marked a radical shift in emphasis from Modernism and it became a visible happening in Literature, Art, Philosophy and Architecture. One of the things that characterize postmodernism is the breaking down of ground between high culture and low culture. Postmodernism is oriented towards the democratization of collective consciousness and also postmodernism signifies the triumph of individuality. There are many writers, thinkers and artists who have expressed the ideals of Postmodernism.
In this article, I would like to develop my own linguistic, and philosophical tools for the analysis of Postmodernism. Using these tools, I would like to embark on the following fields: that is politics, culture, aesthetics and philosophy.
How can the analysis of Postmodernism be applied to Politics? Politics is moving towards a situation which can be defined as Geo-Political, ruptures and raptures. First of all I would like to explicate what is Geo-Political-Rupture? Geo-Political-Rupture is caused by the fanatic fringes of society, especially those who want to promote the cause of Jihad-Islam. These people perpetuate Jihadocausts (a new term coined from Jihad and Holocaust) that is indulging in terrorism and murder. If these people succeed in their efforts, civilization would take retrograde step. What is the cause for Geo-Political-Rupture? Fanatic Muslims have not been weaned and they exist in the state of being afraid of their theocratic-phallic father.
Fanatic Muslims or the Jihadis have not mastered their oedipal conflicts and desires and their oedipal fetishes are transformed incongruously by the fear of castration of the Holy Father into instruments of persecution. How can Geo-Political-Rupture be countered politically? Western democracies are using military strategies but a more radical penicillin for the Jihad venom is radical and liberal evangelization of Islam. Liberal evangelization of Islam would save the succeeding generations from taking the sword and becoming Nazis of Islam.
Now what is Geo-Political-Rapture? Geo-Political-Rapture is sustained democratic intervention in the geopolitical climates by democracies of the World. I would like to use some geopolitical examples to illustrate the concept of Geo-Political-Rapture. The case of refugee migration from the Middle East to the shores of Europe is a poignant example. Europe has been magnanimous in accommodating those refugees. Another example of Geo-Political-Rapture would be sorting out environmental issues. The World is becoming a Global theater from promoting holistic environmentalism. Another example of Geo-Political-Rapture would be the bailing out of the beleaguered Greek Economy by the European Union. Money should attain the LAKSHMI provision (Indian Goddess of Wealth) of creative-cathartopia (from catharsis and utopia). The flow of money should become egalitarian and democratic. When more and more people of the Globe become satiated with Economic self sufficiency, the benefit would directly accrue as tangible material benefits for corporations and business houses.
Next I would like to take the role of culture and its performance in Postmodernism. I would like to categorize people into two classes, cultural-sterile and cultural-liberate. Cultural-sterile are people who are conditioned by the religious and cultural mores of the society. They owe their dependence to a higher transcendent power. They are feeble and are unable to take responsibility for the perfomative strategies of creating the presence of meaning in their being. Culturally-sterile people indulge in what is called by the existential philosopher Sartre as bad faith. I have had an experience with a culturally-sterile on Facebook. When I challenged her edifice of Christian Faith, she posted some rude comments on my timeline and then abruptly cut me off. She did not even give me the democracy to express my views.
Culturally-liberated people are self expressive and creative. The quintessence of liberation in the Postmodern Era is through the Writing. Opportunities for self expression are proliferating through the media on the net like WordPress, Blogspot and Twitter. Writing in the postmodern era has shifted its roots from bourgeoisie-establishment-writers to a theater of mass spectacles. Writing is an art and a therapy. I would like to say that the emergence of writing in the post-modern-era is one of POLLENISSANCE (from Pollen and Renaissance). The pharmacological tools of writing in structuralism-the Signifier and the Signified are being used by the hoi polloi as strategies of liberation.
Now what is the place for Aesthetics in the Philosophy of Postmodernism? Aesthetics from hoary times refers to the beautiful and in Walter Patter's phrase means: 'art for art sake'. Within the Philosophy of Postmodernism, there are two conceptions of aesthetics, and they are: Utilitarian Kitsch and Cathartic Sublimation. Utilitarian Kitsch as a conceptuality for aesthetics refers to finding an aesthetic value in ordinary things of life. It could be an erotic foreplay of lovers or it could be admiring a pretty bedspread. Cathartic-sublimation is a higher level of aesthetics and occurs when emotions are elevated to a soul of existence along with transference of understanding from an accepted norm of culture. I would like to use literature as an example. When I read into a metaphor from a literary text, I first dip into the semantics of meaning and then I enjoy the creation as work of art and there I am filled with an emotional intellectualism.
Now what is role of Philosophy in the postmodern movement? Philosophy is moving towards a grandiose ecumenism. What is ecumenism?? Ecumenism is an amalgamation of various meta-narratives of different strands of Philosophical thought. For example Postmodernism marks a fugue fusion of Existentialism, Marxism, Feminism, Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis and Structuralism. For example, I would like use my own conception of Orientation. From a straight orientation, I have shifted my leaning to multiple orientations. I would love to indulge in oedipal fantasies of foreplay, be a Lesbian voyeur and also have a go with straight sex. I have also deconstructed my religious moorings from established religions through a process known as religious-ontological-deconstruction. Thus I consider myself to a Gentile Jew, a Disgruntled Christian, an Atheist Muslim and a Materialist Hindu. A postmodern being has to utilize the structural concepts of language like the Signifier and the Signified and liberate significations to newer modes of existence.
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