i did possession, orlando and dead white males.
really, at this early stage of the course, unless something is excessively post-modern (for example, kill bill vol 1) you might not be able to tell right off the bat. that's ok! nearly everyone i know struggled with post-modernism for a while. as you progress in the course you'll familiarise yourself with what post-modernism is and what it means and it'll get much easier. it's actually a really fun course, i love it.
post-modernism is a really complex thing ultimately (ironic because it's so concerned with surfaces) and it's both a way of constructing a text and a way of thinking about them. however there are a number of features, both stylistic and thematic which you should look out for. i also recommend 'introducing postmodernism' or 'postmodernism: a very short introduction' as a way of easing yourself in.
here are some of its stylistic features:
- intertextuality. ie, it references or appropriates from a variety of sources. a good example of this is the simpsons with episodes like the sherry bobbins one.
- pastiche. this is similar, but it refers to the mixing of genre/style. ie, the kill bill movies are a good example because they mix so many styles/genres together, another example is moulin rouge.
- playfulness. does what you're watching/reading/whatever take itself seriously? or does it contain features such as self-reflextivity etc?
one of the key ideas which post-modernism has bought about and which you have to understand if you want to do well in this module is that there is no such thing as absolute 'truth'. what i mean by this is that the things we consider to be true, ie that there are intrinsic differences between males and females, are what's referred to as constructs. things like the bible, fables and such which say that they contain truths about the world are referred to as 'grand narratives'. one of the key concepts of post-modern texts is that they subvert these 'grand narratives'. instead of saying that there is an intrinsic human nature which dictates the way we act and react, post-modernism suggests that we are constructed by our contexts.
there's a lot more to it, but those are some of the key ideas that should help you develop your understanding. once you feel a little bit more comfortable, i suggest trying to get a hold of the works of derrida, lyotard etc, particularly 'the post-modern condition' by lyotard. don't read them now as you will only confuse yourself further, but wide academic reading will really help you understand and nail this module. : ) it can be a *lot* of fun, particularly with your related material (you can use things like buffy, futurama, moulin rouge...) and even though you're bound to feel really frustrated at first, i promise you that it gets better : )
hope this was helpful : ) good luck!
