Postmodernism in Digital Culture
We are truly living in a visual culture, the 21st century is saturated with images and videos in every aspect of life. Visual culture refers to a specific component in society, which is the increasing use of visuality in our everyday lives.
“It’s an ever-expanding field, comprising not just art, photography, and design, but also memes, advertising, histories of representation, and the very technologies through which all this flows.” — Artsy
This increasing reliance on the visual has led to the phenomena of the visual turn which is an ongoing experience within our culture. As a culture, we are progressively interested in images and videos, their effect on us and how we interact with one another (Lindgren, 2017).
However, the visual turn has been around for quite some time now. In 1980, film director and writer Jean-Louis Comolli wrote about how society thrives on both the production and consumption of representation. Comolli described the second half of the nineteenth century as living in a ‘frenzy of the visible’ (Comolli, 1980).
The same idea applies to various postmodern theories such as hyperreality and simulation, developed by the sociologist Jean Baudrillard. These concepts emphasise that today’s society has replaced traditional meaning and reality with signs and symbols.
Hyperreality differs from other realities in that the division between reality and imaginary disappears. — CeaseFire
Social media can be seen as a hyperreality machine due to its lack of gatekeeping authorities and editorial review. The blurring of lines between what is real and fake can take a more serious tone when applied to highly influential individuals. An example of this would be Donald Trump, many believe that his words and promises fall under the realm of hyperreality.
The continuous introduction of such contemporary theories has made way for a new sphere within the academic field. People started to question black on white theories which believe that there is only one truth. According to Mirzoeff (2013), the postmodern condition emerged from a visual crisis of culture. Today’s society challenges the hegemony that is print culture due to our increasing reliance and preference of the visual.
When you think about it, our most used social media platforms all focus around audiovisual content. Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are some of the most used platforms in today’s society. The rapid rise of the platform TikTok shows just how important video content has become, especially with Gen Z.
The visual turn has continued to add value to postmodernism, new platforms and ways of interacting result in new perspectives and insights. Postmodernism is a step ahead of modernity, Jameson (1993) distinguishes between the two by saying that postmodernism includes a dimension of superficiality of depthlessness.
Postmodernism is present in various visual areas of culture, from traditional to digital. A more traditional version of postmodernism can be seen in art movements such as Dada which promoted anti-war and was expressed through anti-art works. Marcel Duchamp was a pioneer of Dadaism, best known for his controversial piece ‘Fountain’.
The idea of rejecting or challenging what is known to be true lies within the core of postmodernism. Multiple movements have taken this approach and encouraged axis thinking, examples include the gay rights or racial equality movements. These movements have all experienced a strong online presence throughout recent years. #BlackLivesMatter is just one example of how social media platforms can fuel postmodern movements within digital culture.
