What Is Post-Postmodern Literature? An Introduction

happy one person becomes once again and a few weeks ago I published on my channel a video where I talked about post modernist literature about a few theories behind what post modernist literature actually is I later also released a video about a few post modernist books I mean novels and like short novels that I think are good introductions into the genre if you have never read it if you're interested in getting what post-modernism is all about many of you like those videos but many of you also asked me to talk about post post modernism which I mentioned in there because theoretically speaking that is what I like to read the most and what I am going to study if I actually do eventually take a PhD in the topic now that is what I am going to do in this video but be aware that if the other videos seemed a bit confusing and Monday they offer no real answer this one is going to offer even less answers no one really agrees on what post-modernism actually is on when it began when it ended what it was all about there are only theories so let alone of course what theoretically follows post-modernism also notice I am going to talk about post post modernism which has the worst name in the history of human thought as it relates to literature to books which is what I like and study you find Furies of post post-modernism related to economics to architecture to whatever the just as with post-modernism in order to keep it very very general and to give you a vague idea of what post post-modernism is about I'm going to simplify things absurdly and I'm going to say that post-modernism was about deconstructing things was about killing your fathers to use a metaphor was about questioning authority at all all this time sacrificing an element of human connection in literature post post-modernism is about rediscovering that human connection is about re-establishing a relationship with the reader it's about recognizing that the reader exists and that she or he has some needs when it reads a book that is what I know for like Michael Chabon is one of the writers who could be ascribed to this genre movement says in an essay like tryst trickster in a search of light which is in his collection maps and legends if you're interested in contemporary literature if you like Micheal Chabon you read that book it's awesome in trickster Micheal Chabon says how important it is nowadays to rediscover the value of entertainment because of the prejudices of either the academia high culture whatever when we think of entertainment nowadays we think of something rather bad if if a movie if a book is entertaining you it's probably because it's not that good after all good books clever books should not entertain you they should teach you things let's of course entertainment is a way of establishing as a basic human relationship between a writer and a reader and when you are getting something from a piece of narrative you have to be entertained you can get clever ideas you can get good discussion points from something you are not liking from something you're not you're not entertained by but that is artificial as a process it's not as spontaneous as simple as when you get these things from something you also actually like an author who approaches the same issue from a different perspective is do the one over the one writer who first kind of theorized the emerge of something like post post-modernism at least recognized the need to go beyond what post-modernism had brought I'm talking about David Foster Wallace Wallace said believed that both loaded with the techniques of post-modernism like metafiction like self-reflect reflexivity like especially irony the kind of iowa caustic deconstructive irony that tears down all institutions but do not offer a solution to the problems of the world this kind of things had seeped by the late 80s into popular culture and that nowadays even television even all forms of popular entertainment used them now it was the role as to recognize the importance of post-modernism back in the day but if for the time had come for something new the time had come to re-establish to forget about this caustic irony and to reestablished a real connection with readers you believe that future like experimental future brave writers would have to risk being called too romantic too emotional too cheesy maybe because they will have to rediscover basic things like you know writing books people would like to read or writing books that caused emotions in people it talks about this stuff in an essay called a universe plural which is a quintessential read if you're interested in this whole topic issue thing but many different writers will try to achieve this in different ways writers more or less inspired by Wallace himself one example is Dave Eggers for instance who in his books insists on how he opens himself up to the reader how he is offering parts of his inside parts of his personality to the reader in a process that is very deep and establishes a deep connection between the two girs books like the are breaking work of staggering genius our own looks a bit weird at times I'm not I don't know you notice it but if you have read it you know how quirky this is it might look postmodern to an untrained eye but at the same time all the gimmicky bits in here do not serve the same purpose of postmodern gimmicky bits there they wanted the offer wanted to make you realise to make to make you remember that you were reading fiction that what you were eating wasn't true just as what you were listening in the news for instance every day here the offer is kind of eviscerating his own work to let you know how he is behind it a human being is behind it has constructed it in order to establish a connection and to talk with you the reader in order to make you feel things and make you reflect about the world and over who uses the same approach in a yes different way is for instance Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Franzen is clearly influenced by post modernists and by late 20th century offers in his books but he also is a belief was by standard by classic family sagas like 19th century's family sagas and his books are so popular I think also because they rediscover some rather addicted narrative techniques that were like part of the classics and then post modernists shunt as if it was just too low those techniques those narrative techniques were too low to be used by pile Treacher that is why Franzen is sometimes criticized here in Italy sometimes criticized because people say that he is not inventing anything new that he is doing the same things that European writers did choose centuries ago like if that was anything wrong whatever another author who does the same thing but better is for instance Jeffrey Eugenides you journalist started writing books like the suicidal divergence recitals rather weird rather like quirky books not really writing rather almost creepy but then ended up writing books like Middlesex and even most importantly at the marriage plot which are straight-up novels that like read really like classic literature meaning in the way they are offering the way the narrative is presented in the enjoyment you get at the end of the book you genesis himself said in an interview that ii like the writers of each generation these writers that started publishing in the late 80s and 90s he was following in the footsteps of both modernists who were rebelling against classic literature but he and the other writers themselves didn't really know what they were rebelling against so when they found out they realized that some of that stuff some of that classic literature was actually worth preserving after all finally another crucial part of post postmodern literature one that fascinates me quite a lot and what I'd like to study about it is the way this current handles popular culture pop culture references were a quintessential part of post-modernism in books like pyncheons or the littles you had all these references to popular TV and cinema for instance but there are all these references were used alongside highbrow references to the classics to Bible studies and they were used from a highbrow perspective not less the offers weren't necessarily snob snobs but they use these references in a way that lets you know that they understood the difference between these two like narrative meals that these different classes of narrative in post postmodern literature in offers like Jonathan Lethem Michael Chabon Jonah did the pop references are used by people who are actual true fans of this stuff by people who recognize the importance and the value of this popular narrative people will recognize that like discussing the value of these things it's meaningless because they are all tools we use to shape our world this is true for instance in a book like the brief wondrous life of Oscar Wow in which like genre novels like the Lord of the Rings genre films like Star Wars are used by the characters to navigate the world to make sense of the world it's true in a book like Michael Chabon The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and clay in which escapist fiction like comic books it's not just there to like make you forget about your daily troubles it's there to help you cope with historical personal traumas then I find really fascinating I am going to stop here because if I talk more about this topic I'm only going to make it mother and mother and it's better if I stop here I'm going to lick to link a few essays academic essays crucial ones on this issue on the topic some of these scholars called the movement post post-modernism some don't whatever I'm not sure all the essays I'm going to link our opens like available to anyone if they are I'm going to put some kind of link let me end with one final reflection because I understand that as I presented this whole issue it might look like really the post modernists where these who didn't care about anything we were just we just wanted to criticize everything and let everything burn whereas the post post modernists are these cool guys who want to establish sincere relationships with people and want to open up a good discussion to change the world into a better place accept that no of course one thing that it's worth noticing is that yes post-modernism for instance didn't offer solutions to the problems of the world it criticized a lot it didn't offer alternatives maybe not always but at the same time it was a very political movement it was extremely political like people like Thomas Pynchon in his novels of course always criticized the way Americans handled foreign policy the way the industry worked the way D like a weapon corporations and do the world and Wars it was always political even when he was talking about like really silly and Minich stuff apparently offers like David Foster Wallace Dave Eggers even when they are apparently talking about foreign politics in a way because they want to open up themselves so much to the reader are always kind of talking about themselves are always kind of focusing on their own small problems on the problems of the people they are like we might say that's it let me know what you think about this issue what's your thoughts on the topic or do you think that there is a thing as post postmodern literature if you have read some of these all for some of these words did you notice any difference we like with previous currents because you see I mainly talked about the offers ideas for their aims but I talked very little about what you find in actual books that's one of the reasons why I myself I'm not completely sold to the idea that post post modernist literature even exists and really I'm really open as far as this all topic goes thank you so much for watching once again guys let me know whatever you think in the comments down below I will see you next one bye guys you

Channel: TheBookchemist

Views: 38,208

Rating: 4.9443254 out of 5

Keywords: the bookchemist, bookchemist, postpostmodernist literature, postpostmodernism, postmodern literature, postmodern fiction, postmodern books, postmodern writers, david foster wallace, wallace postmodernism, jonathan franzen, franzen review, jeffrey eugenides, michael chabon, maps and legends, michael chabon review, post-postmodernism, post-postmodern, post-postmodern books, postpostmodern fiction, postpostmodern books

Id: tICiNbukog0

Length: 12min 13sec (733 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 15 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/dullerkidb]

I'm scared to watch this lol