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He was probably referring to the already dying branch of leftist academics who engaged in "post-modernism" and "critical studies." They were not really anti-in
by evgen 15y ago
He was probably referring to the already dying branch of leftist academics who engaged in "post-modernism" and "critical studies." They were not really anti-intellectual, but definitely viewed science and objectivity with a jaundiced eye. The irony is that after hitting its peak in the 80s it became something of a laughingstock within academia and is now usually trotted out as a sly punchline or mechanism for satire/farce within an academic paper (yes, there are still some True Believers clinging to the old ideals and using the joys of tenure to pump out paper after paper, but their numbers and influence are rapidly dwindling to non-existence.)
- crux_ 15y agoI think your "dying" is wishful thinking -- postmodernism's popularity came about at least partly because it offers genuine insight. I think that over time it will settle down into a mature discipline, rather than a fad. And outside of academia, it's very hard to point at any cultural artifacts (films, literature, advertisements...) that aren't deeply influenced by postmodern.
- Synthetase 15y agoAnd the artifacts of literature, film, etc... which did the influencing mostly derived from places outside the ivory tower.
- crux_ 15y agoI think even a university professor is smart enough to recognize that journal articles are a poor way of creating culture. ;) The ivory tower has always been more interested in understanding than creation, postmodern or not. (And an edit to add: there is definitely influence from the ideas generated academia, however. For a really obvious example, Neo is reading Simulacra and Simulation in The Matrix.)
- anamax 15y ago> And an edit to add: there is definitely influence from the ideas generated academia, however. For a really obvious example, Neo is reading Simulacra and Simulation in The Matrix. It's a prop. If you're going to argue influence, shouldn't you be pointing out how the contents of that book were somehow reflected in the movie?
- turbojerry 15y agoActually Neo is not reading it, it is a hollowed out book containing his collection of warez, whether that is a nod to postmodernism or a joke at its expense implying it is a hollow discipline I do not know, perhaps someone could ask the Wachowskis.
- evgen 15y agoPostmodernism as a trope will linger on for quite a while, but it had very little real insight to offer in the first place and any claim of deep influence is a far larger act of wishful thinking than my claim that what vestiges we still see are anything more than a dead-cat bounce into self-parody.