Postmodernism: WTF? An introduction to Postmodernist Theory | Tom Nicholas

What is postmodernism? This is certainly my most requested What the Theory? video yet. In it, I hope to provide an introduction to postmodernist theory and postmodernist philosophy. Along the way, we'll look at simulacra and Baudrillard's concepts of a simulacrum and hyperreality as well as Wittengenstein's concept of language-games.
There are few places online where you can find postmodernism explained simply and clearly. It's a complex theory (as perhaps is made obvious by the length of this video) but, ss always with What the Theory? I hope its the start of such a resource, particularly with so many misconceptions of postmodernism running about online of late.
Further Reading
Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late-Capitalism by Fredric Jameson
US: amzn.to/2UaEA46
UK: amzn.to/2TdVwul
Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction by Christopher Butler
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[The above are affiliate links. I receive a small kickback from anything you buy which, in turn, helps to support the channel.]
Furthermore, while I find the Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy entry for postmodernism to be far less helpfull than other (usually its pretty ace), here's the link to that if you want to check it out: plato.stanford.edu/entries/po...
If you've enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as PhD vlogs in which I talk about some of the challenges of being a PhD student then do consider subscribing.
Thanks for watching!
Twitter: @Tom_Nicholas
Website: www.tomnicholas.com

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Hi all! First off, thanks for watching, I hope you found the video engaging and informative in some way in spite of the atrocious sound etc! If you'd like to support me to make more videos like this (but better!) then I've just launched a Patreon. I'd really appreciate you checking it out and would be very grateful for your support! You can check it out here:

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Awwwwwwwwful audio here for which I can only apologise! Maybe we can pretend this was an intentional postmodern attempt to draw your attention to the representative medium?

[@bellaheisler3725]

i paused to like this video when you said "vague net positive to society." that's all i really wanna be in life.

[@Snapslol]

I came to find out what post-modernism is

[@sarahelisabethmixon795]

My contemporary theatre professor is in his 70's and doesn't know how to Zoom me into class so sends me incoherent notes on the subject instead...this quite literally saved my life.

[@DarienSmartt]

Thank you so much for making this video. I just started a university course on Postmodernism from CS Lewis Through the Present, and my professor felt that the best was to start this course was to have us read 8 essays on postmodernism, spanning over 100 pages. Your description of text on postmodernism being "inaccessible" was right on the money. I'm usually great in my English courses, but I've been hitting a wall with understanding even the foundations of postmodernism. The information in your video gave me some groundwork to start from, so I don't feel so completely lost reading this week's 100 pages of essays.

[@daydreamer-ix2bo]

I love the fact that this video came up when I searched for postmodernism. Tom, you're a legend! Thanks goodness you've fixed the audio now.

[@thescapegoatclub]

I’m trying to decide whether, through watching this, I gained more brain cells than those I burned through trying to understand it. Thank you for a great video. I’ll be watching again... one day I’ll get it :) !!

[@thespiritofhegel3487]

Incredulity towards meta-narratives? That's me done for.

[@craigjackson3550]

You deserve high marks for effort, Post-Modernism is a rough topic. I'm surprised you didn't mention your videos on "Spectacle", either way, great job! I'm a grad student and Post-Modernism is always so hard to approach, yet you handled it well.

[@PyroNexus22]

The way you pronounced US sounded like "You ass". Thank you for opening for me a new look at the beautiful name of this magnificent country.

[@shockadelic]

A "certain amount of gold" only has an "intrinsic value" because people say it does.

[@premkumar7036]

Brother, it's a simple and effective video lesson. Love from India fine and clear examples.

[@kerry-ch2zi]

Thank you Tom for outlining that so concisely. This is the "gold standard" of the outline of the problem as I see it. You give us a lot of room to work with here. Aristotle measured our sanity by our steps of removal from "substance." Kant pointed out that we don't really have access to the "thing-in-itself." Gestalt psychology involves us in how our brains modify the data we get directly from our senses. The object of these nested simulacrums seems to be to get rid of the object in favor of the step of semantic removal from it that suits the reaction sought by the "meta-narrative." What it boils down to is the claim that gold is a "social construct" itself by eliminating the distinction between gold itself and its value. Gold is then denied to be identifiable by its perceivable attributes; shininess, malleability, etc., because its worth is determined to be more real to society than its tangible aspects. So "gold" becomes a metonym for gold; a substitute for the actual, any thing of value, and thus gold itself can then be exchanged for any term for a medium that represents wealth, gain, status, etc.

[@IvanZigamet]

Stumbled upon this video in July 2021 and realized how much this channel has grown in quality. Very well done, Tom!

[@kimsasso6765]

I have enjoyed your videos before but this one really made an impression. I have watched countless videos today, trying to grasp Post Modernism. Yours is the first one to give it enough shape that I could begin to get hold of it! Thank you.

[@Quantumtalesxx]

This was an excellent presentation! I'm a sociology graduate and I was struggling with many things after going through some parts of Lyotard's "The Post-Modern Condition". This cleared up a lot for me, as well as the fact that post-modernism should not necessarily be seen as a prescriptive condition, but as a descriptive one. I really think that the postmodern lens as a descriptive tool is of great value. A true eye-opener. Thank you sir!

[@elijahclaude3413]

By far, this is one of the best explanations of post-modernism I've seen thus far! So many others seem to just jump to moral grandstanding and slamming the idea as dumb or concatenating it with wokeism and such, and only achieves in obscuring the entire point.

[@petrospk6544]

I love how eloquently you dismiss the populist conception of the post modern etc. Makes me chcuckle everytime. Thank you for sharing valid knowledge with us Tom

[@yulyalim5178]

Hi Tom! Thanks a lot for the video. I just wanted to note that Lyotard introduced the term to the philosophical realm while it already existed in other spheres. Brian McHale, in his book The Cambridge Introduction to Postmodernism, states that already in 1973, postmodernism 'acquired its name.' McHale also notes that some literary scholars started to use this term in 1970 (he brings an example of Leslie Fiedler). So Lyotard didn't invent it, but without a doubt, he contributed a lot into the development of theory around postmodernism :)