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Yes, Junior, We Do Live in a Post-Modern World
by nano Tuesday, Jul 17 2018, 7:51am
international / prose / post

For the uninitiated post-modernism is a no truth-reality world; truth/reality becomes what you make it. This approach of course empowers everyone though those that have access to media or prominence are most able to wield this chaotic, amorphous but ‘real’ disruptive power. And indeed, power it is, but not the formalised, hierarchical power structures that history has known prior to post-modernism. The reason being that post-modernism attacks and subverts the power dynamic between sign, symbol and meaning, for instance a picture, or any representation of a pipe (object) is clearly not a/the pipe/object! See below:

The ‘author’/authority, form-alisation, ‘agreed upon meaning,’ becomes divested of the power once inherent in the ‘sign’ (meaning), reality consequently defers, willingly or unwillingly, to the reader decoder/interpreter of signs and symbols, which are collectively known as (cultural) language in the broadest possible sense.

The reader/decoder actually becomes the ‘author’/creator of meaning in any given set of signs/narratives, have you not noticed how people have radically differing opinions on one subject/object? ‘Hard reality’ becomes plastic to the extreme, to the point if taken to its nihilistic, entropic, culmination results in anarchic annihilation or dissolution of the ‘known’ but not quite due to the shifted power process/dynamic away from ‘author-ities’ to the creators of new meaning that are readers/decoders/interpreters for any ‘given’ set of signs/objects/subjects.

Now consider how formalists/conservatives would react to this new world, ‘who/what stole my meaning? A meaning that was imposed or superimposed by ‘authorities’ on me as subject -- lol?

Formalists are cast adrift in a post-modern world, as they are unable to adjust to an amorphous, ever-changing, NEW world/reality. And so they fight and oppose post-modernism with a vengeance, always seeking to fixate on traditional (antiquated) agreed upon meanings/structures to various signs and symbols, which are in essence PLIABLE abstract representations; and therein lies the successful transition from a modernist world of fixed, agreed upon meanings, to an amorphous plastic world of interpreters/creators; for example, there is no real formalised God, only the interpretations applied to certain texts and then superimposed on more impressionable, usually powerless, dependent subjects.

While the above intro may seem a trifle academic -- forgive me, I am a trained specialist semiotician, cultural and textual analyst -- nevertheless I am doing my best to explain to lay people so please persevere. I would now offer real life examples of post-modernists whether the actors know it or not, and they may surprise.

Donald ‘chaos’ Trump, who clearly detests formalised (meaning) and traditional structures, insists on fluid interpretations and actions at any given moment, notwithstanding that this approach, alternative 'facts' etc, would see him institutionalised by various conservative powers, mostly Dems, if they could, but Trump is president of the USA, and what a circus that nation is becoming but it’s a played circus with a ring master and guess who that is? No prizes!

You would note the extreme binary/polar opposition from the outmoded, ossified ‘establishment’ to Trump’s recent private summit with Putin noted by hysterical, shrill (and hilarious, from my pov) shrieks of criticism which saturate the mainstream and alternative media. Also note that Putin is also a post-modern leader in that he is actually an authoritarian SOVIET dictator feigning to be a democratic leader; Putin is clearly playing RUSSIA AND THE WORLD, which power game Trump envies.

My second example is post-modernism personified, British comedian, Sacha Cohen, Ali G or whoever he has become at any given time. Cohen has not only taken sarcasm to heights unseen before but does it by classic post-modern methods, he subverts and interferes with the power dynamic of established meaning; this guy is a fuckin’ genius. Every encounter he has with anal conservatives results in the most absurd, demeaning subjection of the target, though I would suspect that Sacha has no idea he’s a PM extraordinaire. Nevertheless, he is paramount in our known world today as a post-modern deconstructionist.

Therefore, both Trump and Cohen are creating new worlds/realities by skillfully destroying the old. And I hope you are now able to understand the process itself.

It is not enough to say that Trump is just a buffoon or idiot though he may fit these descriptions, focus on his ability to turn the established American reality on its ear and maintain his world of the fluid, while maintaining a huge, almost fanatical, support base, in which task he excels, he is the ring master, which position suits him to a tee, because the people he played have placed him in that position -- now please notice I am avoiding binary value judgements, or partisanship, good-bad, us-them, etc -- as an analyst my extremely well paid job is to focus on cultural dynamics/processes and determine con-sequences/results.

Nevertheless, the world should breathe a sigh of relief that Cohen is a comedian not a world leader, at least not at present, though he is capable of dis-empowering/subverting them all.

As to whether we are better or worse off in this fluid post-modern world, my suggestion is you’d better learn to deal with it, as it currently rules. Putin and Trump are both post-modernists and they lead the two most powerful nations on earth, if they made a private secret deal watch out. Meanwhile their opposition have no formal solutions upon which to mount an effective challenge.

Yet there’s always an obvious solution to all men, a bullet, but that would not disturb the radical progression of post-modernism as it’s an ongoing and self-perpetuating force that once released cannot be contained again regardless of which transitory actors are in play.