Reflection On My Group's Presentation of Postmodernism (from 4-28-10)

On April 28th my group presented postmodernism/poststructuralism to the rest of our peers in English 436. I was responsible for explaining Jean-Francois Lyotard and his theories on the postmodern condition. I also had to explain the link between modernism and postmodernism. I felt capable of covering this material because as an English major I have been discussing the differences and similarities between modernism and postmodernism for years. The nice thing about this project was that I was able to learn new classifications for postmodernism that I had not previously been aware of. Most specifically, I learned that postmodernism entails more than just skepticism of science and industrialization; it also includes skepticism towards language itself. The skepticism stems from the fact that language is based upon a system of rules that was established by the elite to further their own power.

I think the entire class understood the material and any confusion that they may have had was explained by Professor Wexler, or other members of my group. People also responded to the activity that my group devised for them. The activity consisted of giving the class construction paper and chalk so that they could recreate the famous image of "The Birth of Venus" with a postmodern twist. Some of the class was very clever and they used symbols and words to convey the image, as opposed to simply drawing a realistic portrayal of the initial painting. I feel that they really understood what my group was trying to achieve by showing classic art and than transferring that art into a postmodern era.

To further illustrate the differences between postmodern art and romantic art we showed a clip of an old rendition of Romeo and Juliet where Mercutio is telling Romeo about the fairy who makes men fall in love and compared it to a rendition of the same scene that was released in the 90's. The class preferred the newer postmodern rendition because it put a new spin on old words, which is exactly what postmodernism is all about. In addition, the Oreo cookies we gave out as a treat during the activity were a big hit! Even the Professor came back for more.