Postmodernism is a reaction to the classical types of art and theatre that had existed up until modern history, which relied on literature as the main focus of a work. The postmodernist movement began after the modernist movement, which occurred during the 19th and 20th centuries. Postmodernism is not necessary meant to be the opposite of art forms from the past, but rather, it is meant to open a person up to new experiences. Some postmodernist artists are concerned with creating works that will inspire their audience in some greater political or social manner and some postmodernists are concerned with creating works that will be entirely different than anything else an audience has ever experienced. Postmodernism is defined by specific characteristics, which mostly steam from a reaction toward the modernist movement. The modernist movement was caused by the quick paced changes that were occurring during the 19th and 20th century, in which the modernist artists used as a model of change from traditional forms. The postmodernist movement questions such acceptance of change as truth and is characterized by the rejection of any absolute truth, the idea that facts are not always true, the idea that all religions should be recognized as legitimate, rationalization, and equality. Three theorists that we have studied this semester, that exemplify postmodernism, are Adolphe Appia, Antonin Artaud, and Bertolt Brecht.
Adolphe Appia was an influential Swiss theorist for the stage, specifically known for his work on scenic design and lighting. Like many other postmodernists, Appia rejected the modern ideals of art, of representing truth, and instead he wanted to create a design the audience could identify with without having to accept it as ...
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...presenting truth to the audience, allowing them to think and rationalize the situation for themselves, rather than be forced to accept what they are seeing as absolute truth.
Postmodern theatre playwrights are not concerned with producing plays based solely around literature and theatre traditions, which present the truth to the audience. Postmodernists want to break away from the traditional types of theatre and instead strive to cause their audience’s to rationalize what they view and learn that the facts are not always true, that they can be changed. The postmodernist movement is a rejection of the modernist movement, which relied on absolute truth. Adolphe Appia, Antonin Artaud, and Bretolt Brecht all represent postmodernist art through their theories which reject the idea of an absolute truth and strive for audiences to be able to rationalize what they view.
Pause for a second and think about a play or musical that you have seen. Consider the plot, whether you liked it or not and if the experience was positive or negative. Think about the characters, the costumes, and the emotions that were emitted. The discourse community of theatre is unique in the way that it is so complex and there are many different parts that ultimately come together to create a dynamic whole. The term discourse community is rather broad, but John Swales in his article “The Concept of Discourse Community” gives six characteristics that define it. Swales lists them saying,
Nelson, R. (2009). Modernism and Postmodernism in Television Drama. In: Creeber, G Televisions: An Introduction to Studying Televsion. 2nd ed. London: British Film Institute . p.90.
The postmodern cinema emerged in the 80s and 90s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood film-making, helping to form the historic convergence of technology, media culture and consumerism. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the faith in historical progress, the norms of industrial society and the Enlightenment, the postmodern film is defined by its disjointed narratives, images of chaos, random violence, a dark view of the human state, death of the hero and the emphasis on technique over content. The postmodernist film accomplishes that by acquiring forms and styles from the traditional methods and mixing them together or decorating them. Thus, the postmodern film challenges the “modern” and the modernist cinema along with its inclinations. It also attempts to transform the mainstream conventions of characterization, narrative and suppresses the audience suspension of disbelief. The postmodern cinema often rejects modernist conventions by manipulating and maneuvering with conventions such as space, time and story-telling. Furthermore, it rejects the traditional “grand-narratives” and totalizing forms such as war, history, love and utopian visions of reality. Instead, it is heavily aimed to create constructed fictions and subjective idealisms.
Postmodern literature contains an authoritative point of view as it expresses the “real” and the “unreal”. The authoritative viewpoint hides within the representation of words and the form of the text. Jean Baudrillard speaks of the masking of view in his essay, “Postmodernism and Consumer Society”, when he says, “This, feigning or dissimilating leaves the reality principle inta...
When Karl Marx wrote “the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte,” he interpreted the historical stage and his writing of history as parts of a theatre: he writes;
Postmodernism movement started in the 1960’s, carrying on until present. James Morley defined the postmodernism movement as “a rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective anonymous experience.” In other words, postmodernism rejects what has been established and makes emphasis on combined revolutionary experiences. Postmodernism can be said it is the "derivate" of modernism; it follows most of the same ideas than modernism but resist the very idea of boundaries. According to our lecture notes “Dominant culture uses perception against others to maintain authority.”
Post-Modernism, the absence of any certainty, discredits the values of modernism, opposing the fixed principles of meaning and value. It is built on countless theories about society, the media and knowledge of the world, but it is also aware that there is no ultimate way of making sense of humanity. Ondaatje embraces aspects of post-modernism, by creating a novel that breaks away from the traditional narrative, thereby giving readers a greater perspective on the novel. One learns that any story is simply a storyteller's construction, and is never unbiased.
Postmodernism is a vague term that can describe a variety of disciplines that include, architecture, art, music, film, fashion, literature…etc. (Klages). In the case of “Videotape”, postmodern literature would be the main focus or area of study. This type of literature emerged in the era that succeeded World War II and relies heavily on the use of techniques such as, fragmentation, the creation of paradoxes, and questionable protagonists. Furthermore, postmodern literature also exudes ambiguity and critical thinking where the focus is mainly on the reader and his/her experience of the work rather than the content and form. Building upon that, the selected passag...
Imagine the trauma of those that experienced World War II, were victims of the Nazis and Fascist, and lived under the threat of nuclear bombing. Those events and experiences were significant, challenging the conventional ways people were living their lives. This influenced theatre in a big way, through a type of theatre called Avant-Garde (Franks). Avant-Garde was known to introduce original ideas, forms, and techniques. Often considered Experimental Theatre, it lacked logically-constructed plots and pushed the limits of the stage (Franks). It evolved into a form of theatre, known as the Theatre of the Absurd, which challenged the norm of the post-World War II society (Culik). Through unique methods, the Theatre of the Absurd made a major impact on drama and life, challenging the power that realism had on the theatre and people during the 1950s.
The whole idea behind Modernism is the breaking of the chains that bound artists and authors alike; surpassing the limits imposed on them by the conventions of their predecessors. A true Modernist was not afraid to risk their prestige or their career in hopes of setting new standards for what it means to be a true work of creative genius. The tenaciousness of the Modernist style is the same as that of history's greatest inventors and philosophers, changing the way we perceive the world, and leading us on the path towards becoming a more advanced civilization.
In the 1950s, authors tended to follow common themes, these themes were summed up in an art called postmodernism. Postmodernism took place after the Cold War, themes changed drastically, and boundaries were broken down. Postmodern authors defined themselves by “avoiding traditional closure of themes or situations” (Postmodernism). Postmodernism tends to play with the mind, and give a new meaning to things, “Postmodern art often makes it a point of demonstrating in an obvious way the instability of meaning (Clayton)”. What makes postmodernism most unique is its unpredictable nature and “think o...
Applied Theatre work includes Theatre-in-Education, Community and Team-building, Conflict Resolution, and Political theatre, to name just a few of its uses. However, Christopher Balme states that “Grotowski define acting as a communicative process with spectators and not just as a production problem of the actor” (Balme, 2008: 25). Applied Theatre practices may adopt the following “theatrical transactions that involve participants in different participative relationships” such as Theatre for a community, Theatre with a community and Theatre by a community Prentki & Preston (2009: 10). Whereas, applied theatre one of its most major powers is that it gives voice to the voiceless and it is a theatre for, by, and with the people. However, Applied Theatre practitioners are devising educational and entertaining performances bringing personal stories to life and build
Postmodernism attempts to call into question or challenge the notion of a single absolute unified master narrative without simply replacing it with another. It is a paradoxical, recursive, and problematic method of critique.
Theatre-In-Education The theatre education industry/movement has seen some rapid changes since its initial developments and establishment in the 1960’s. However its origins mainly lie in the early years of the last century. It was the initial establishment of companies such as Bertha Waddell’s in Scotland and Esme Church’s in the north of England that thoroughly established the main roots of TIE.
Theatre will always survive in our changing society. It provides us with a mirror of the society within which we live, and where conflicts we experience are acted out on stage before us. It provides us with characters with which we identify with. The audience observes the emotions and actions as they happen and share the experience with the characters in real time.