Postmodernism Flashcards
What to Postmodernists believe?
No one group in society experiences inequality in the same manner, and we can choose whether we perceive ourselves as equal in society or not- which media advertising has a part to play in. Inequality today is more about status than class, gender, or other social factors.
Lyotard
Lyotard developed Weber’s theory of fragmentation, to suggest that social groups no longer share collective values and norms. In this postmodern society, it is advertising and the medias depiction of life that causes individuals to perceive themselves as unequal. We can choose whether we perceive ourselves as being unequal or not, with no one group experiencing inequality in the same way.
John Lee
There has been a death of grand narratives, every individual is diverse and this means there can no longer be one overall explanation for inequality- previous sociological explanations are outdated as they fail to recognise the choice made by the individual in their inequality. In this postmodern world, there is no single definition for inequality.
Blaikie
Positive Aging
Consumer culture has changed the stereotypes surrounding age. With an increase in the affluence of the retired, retiring is now something that people look forward to, and older people are able to use consumer power to appear youthful e.g cosmetics.
Criticism of Lyotard
Ignores that the poorest of society do not have access to consumer goods allowing them to construct their own identity, and so they are experiencing inequality. Ignores inequality not linked to material goods.
But does take into account social change and the impact of advertising on inequality, so may be more contemporary than previous ideas.
Criticism of John Lee
Fails to provide an explanation and appears to ignore that inequality even exists.
Criticism of Blaikie
Statistical evidence shows that divisions between the wealthy and the poor are wider than they have been for many years, and appear to be growing, which suggests that class should not be ignored- only the higher classes experience this affluence, and are able to look forward to retirement.
