Postmdernism

Question 1

Lyotard

Answer 1

All accounts of reality are true and valid. We are in a period of relativism (equally valid views) We should recognise and celebrate the diversity of each version of the truth. We should not impose on other views. There is no such thing as valid or invalid. The diversity of views is better than a monopoly. There has been a death of the metanarrative (such as science and religion)

Question 2

Strinati

Answer 2

Identifies three main reasons for postmodernism;
the new emphasis on consumerism (the media is especially important in this process); new middle-class occupations that persuade and place emphasis on importance of taste (such as advertisers, designers etc.) and teachers who promote the idea that lifestyle is important;
Class and gender no longer shape our identities, as they are now more personal, individual and constructed by the media

Question 3

Baudrillard

Answer 3

Argues that the buying and selling of material goods has been replaced by the buying and selling of signs and images. For example, a car advert sells a fantasy rather than a mechanical object. This is a hyper-reality where we cannot tell what is reality and what is a product of the media – simulacra means signs have no relationship to reality e.g. Disneyland