A troper becomes painfully aware of the absence of PostModernism.

As the above title graciously informed the future readers of this thread, I had noticed the blatant lack of a coven that tackles the intricacies of Postmodernism. As such, I had taken the time to create such a thing, despite the obvious notion that traffic would be insufficient. I had desired a longer, more accurate title, but my characters were predictably cut off. I stared at the screen, watching the phrase, "Postmodernism" fade from existence, and I realized that it was a perfect reflection of my wasted time. Seconds ticked away, as I tepidly altered the syntax and diction of my title, dispute the fact that it but another waste of time. I laughed, pondering. Time… We dedicate so much of our lives to it, although it means nothing; it's merely an abstract concept, a sort of half-conceived attempt to reconcile primitive desires.

I ceased my pondering, beginning the first paragraph of my inaugural post, wondering where I would take it. I supposed that I would begin with an explanation of my pursuit of a new coven, following with a description of my constructing it. Then, I would continue on to a tangent on some intangible idea.

But, of course, I realized that my future readers will become aware of this factoid, and they would desire an explanation of this coven's purpose. I supposed that they would deserve that, so I ventured to tell them. "Here," I would say, "You may address all topics that relate to Postmodernism, meta-fiction, the Unreliable Narrator, the First-Person Smartass, transgressive fiction, or any similar topic. The choice of writing in a self-demonstrating manner is up to you. Enjoy." With that, I concluded my first post.

edited 23rd Dec '13 7:11:53 PM by SpaceWolf

Out of mere boredom, I had decided to bump my thread, despite the fact that it bore little likelihood of increasing the number of posts. Then, despite the lack of immediate relevance to the topic at hand, I had ventured to point out my irritation at the fact that, in the title of this piece, "Postmodernism" had refused to become a Wiki Word, instead opting to remain singular. It was at this point that I had realized the strange brilliance of my error, choosing to embrace it.

After all, some of the greatest inventions were never initially intended to exist; the potato chip was created out bitter resentment, for example. In fact, many of my future readers were also touching accidents, in all likelihood. This, of course, does not imply that they are great individuals, as they have likely never contributed anything of worth to the pathetic society in which we live. But, then again, that applies to nearly everyone.

edited 25th Feb '14 3:28:11 PM by SpaceWolf

May I inquire as to just what is Post-modernism? I've searched for such answers, and was blinded but terminology and beating around the bush, so I've chosen to ask you.

Is this even a coven? This looks like it's being presented as either a posting gimmick for a Forum Game or a topic of casual discussion outside of Yack Fest.

Is there some sort of post-modern collaborative project in the works that I'm just not understanding from the thread title and OP?

edited 31st Dec '13 1:41:03 PM by SeanMurrayI

I was bored, and I didn't know where to put it. You may move it, if necessary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism

edited 31st Dec '13 3:33:45 PM by SpaceWolf

Very well, hollering for a mod. We'll get this moved.

Not moving this; it's fine where it it. Although the Covens section was originally intended for collaborative projects, they're still in Writer's Block and "people with a common interest who want to talk about it without it being held strictly on-topic like OTC, but without the "derails happen, live with it" atmosphere of Yack Fest can start a coven thread for it" is perfectly acceptable.

Okay.

The wikipedia page is not very clear on what postmodernism actually is. Is it, like. Basically just being self-referential?

Kind of… It's a bit difficult to explain. Basically, you're making a point, by being fucking bizarre. Meta-fiction is a common element, as are social satire, references to various media, nonchalant/bored/indifferent/unstable protagonists, sardonic tone, et cetera. That's the layman's definition, anyway.

edited 2nd Jan '14 10:13:55 PM by SpaceWolf

Oh, okay. So basically, it's one of those things where you'll know it if you see it?

Yep.

Going deepper, postmodernism arises as a reaction to realism of the late 19 century.Realism posited that everything followed rules that could be rationally understood, and used art to show the nature of the world. modernism and postmodernism were born along with Freud,cinema,the world wars and other events that, togheter,made the realist preconceptions seem less right and helped shape postmodernism.

Postmodernism can be seen as a natural progression from those currents in modernist writing and philosophy antithetical to aesthetic and social realism, particularly the more radical elements embodied in thinkers like Breton, Sartre and Barthes—to name three immensely different individuals.

The essence of what is called "postmodern" is subversion, the most common form of which is the alienation effect: A quality to a work that makes the consumer realise the fabricated nature of what they are experiencing, particularly as used in fiction. In prose, this may take the form of meta-narrative, discussing the nature of fiction within the work itself; in a play, audience interaction or intentionally unrealistic sets may be used; on an album, unconventional production techniques and liner notes detailing the process may be used to highlight the nature of the medium; and so on.

Of course, however this is achieved, the intent is to make the audience aware, and thus put them into a position of participation and dialogue with the work. Frequently the message is political, but not in a soapboxing way so much as a tacit appeal to critical thinking when it comes to all politics, whether international or personal. (And yes, what a shock, a lot of postmodernist theorists were serious lefties.)

This troper becomes aware of what is presented to her self, and what it means to her. She does as a result of this feel the need to reply, despite perhaps her desire being built on shaky grounds.

... I should just say that within social sciences, postmodernism also asks us how we arrive at conclusions, and points out that we can never be objective in the same way physics can, as an example. I might look at data about transactions of a market, and I may draw a conclusion from that, but it is built on grounds which are never really objective, and postmodernism within economics tells us that we have built a conclusion on something influenced by something else, and must account for that.

I do also occasionally write in a postmodern manner, and tend to step between states of the fourth wall quite often, and tear down tropes that are otherwise staples because of the bad parts presented through them - and will also engage with the reader in some manner on the matter, and pointedly ask as the narrator why they enjoy characters suffering so.

"That's awesome." I said, allowing my fingers to dance upon the keys of the board which held them, "I do similar things."

I carefully reviewed my words, wondering if I should add some minute detail. Ultimately, I decided against it.

edited 25th Feb '14 3:33:45 PM by SpaceWolf

I bring you to this page in the Shipping forum, because it is relevant to this topic.

Enjoy, if you wish to enjoy. (That's not to say that enjoyment is a conscious choice.)

edited 10th Sep '14 4:23:23 PM by SpaceWolf