Modernism/Post Modernism

"Postmodernism describes a range of conceptual frameworks and ideologies that are defined in opposition to those commonly attributed to modernism and modernist notions of knowledge and science, such as, materialism, realism positivism,formalism, structuralism, dogmatism and reductionism. Postmodernist approaches are critical of the possibility of objective knowledge of the real world, and consider the ways in which social dynamics such as power and hierarchy affect human conceptualizations of the world to have important effects on the way knowledge is constructed and used. In contrast to the modernist paradigm, postmodernist thought often emphasize idealism, constructivism, relativism, pluralism and scepticism in its approaches to knowledge and understanding." Wikipedia

The term 'postmodernism' has become so over-used during the past 50 years that it is now difficult to take seriously as a respectable philosophical or sociological concept. In the 1960s it was the beginning of Postmodernism, 10 years later during the 70s it was established, in the 80s it was a recognizable concept, in the 90s it was dominant but today it seems to be a tired and simmering concept. However, despite the difficulty many people seem to have in making sense of it, it's very presences everywhere can be taken as an indication it fulfills a very useful role in the way people think about the changes that society has undergone during its period.


Charles Alexander Jencks, an American architectural theorist and also a Harvard graduate has wrote books on the history and criticism  of Modernism and Postmodernism. His books have been widely read in architectural circles and beyond. On July 15th 1972, 3:32pm that was when modernism died according to Jencks. 


Postmodernism is also in film, a perfect example would be 'Fellini 8½' it's a 1963 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini. Here's is it's original Italian trailer