Correct option is D
Explanation:
Pastiche: Frederic Jameson defines pastiche as an essential characteristic of postmodernism. It refers to a stylistic imitation or mimicry without satire, often seen as a loss of individuality in art.
Schizophrenia: Jameson links this concept to postmodern culture, where temporal continuity collapses, leading to fragmented and incoherent experiences, often reflecting a "depthless" society.
Information Booster:
- Fredric Jameson was an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He was best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmodernity and capitalism. Jameson's best-known books include Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1991) and The Political Unconscious (1981).
- Jameson defines postmodernism as the cultural system of a global, financialized stage of capitalist society. Jameson argues that postmodernism is characterized by a "crisis of historicity", a "waning of affect", and a prevalence of pastiche. He traces these characteristics of postmodernism across a variety of fields and media, including film, television, literature, economics, architecture, and philosophy.
- Fredric Jameson's concept of pastiche is contrasted to Linda Hutcheon's concept of postmodern parody. Jameson describes postmodern parody as "blank parody" without any political bite, however Hutcheon finds much merit in the position of parodic self-reflexivity in postmodern literature, recognizing an inherent political critique and historical awareness in such parodic works. Jameson claims that pastiche has replaced parody in the postmodern era: "Pastiche is similar to parody in that it involves speaking in a dead language, wearing a linguistic mask, or imitating a quirky or distinctive, idiosyncratic style. However, this mimicry is a neutral activity that lacks any hidden agendas, amputates the satirical drive, and is devoid of humor. According to Jameson, this shift toward "blank parody" is a departure from modernism, which valued individual writers' distinctive, "inimitable" styles.
- Pastiche: Represents the imitation of styles in a fragmented cultural landscape. Pastiche is similar to a collage. Elements in buildings, paintings, or texts are (apparently) arbitrarily added without consideration for 'fit'. This gives an impression of randomness and is intended to disrupt and cause tension or, to borrow a musical term, dissonance. Jameson was not anti-postmodernism but was cautious of it
- Schizophrenia: Symbolizes the postmodern loss of historical depth and identity. Jameson applies schizophrenia to the postmodern condition purely as a metaphor for the disconnection from traditional modes of receiving and responding to information which is fundamental to the loss of individualism associated with postmodern cultural aesthetics. The clinically diagnosed schizophrenic responds to stimuli that are disconnected from experience and history. This state of a perpetual present in which there no agency and information is received without depth is akin to the metaphorical condition of the postmodern existence.
- Jameson’s Major Work: Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1991), where he elaborates on pastiche and schizophrenia.
- Pastiche vs. Parody: While parody mocks through imitation, pastiche celebrates or imitates without critique.
- Postmodernism: Critiqued by Jameson as a cultural phenomenon driven by consumer capitalism, lacking depth and historical anchoring.
Additional Knowledge:
Hyperreal: Baudrillard's concept of Simulacrum, which he defines as something that substitutes reality with its representations, is closely related to his concept of hyperreality. According to Baudrillard, the modern world is a simulacrum in which false images have supplanted reality to the point where it is impossible to tell what is genuine and what is not. He made the contentious claim that "the Gulf War did not take place" in this context, pointing out that the media's portrayal of the conflict's "reality" was how the world saw it.
Habitus: Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus describes the set of skills and social resources that govern how people engage with the world. Habitus is largely unconscious, and is experienced as a “feel for the game”. Different habitus exists for people from different environments, and each habitus comes with its own set of knowledge and skills. This can lead to a perpetuation of inequality.
English
10 Questions
20 Marks
12 Mins
