Difference between Modernism and Postmodernism According to some theorists, the 20th century can be divided into two

distinct periods; one characterized by the modernism movement and the other by postmodernism. Some believe that postmodernism was a response to modernism and hence consider them as two aspects of the same movement. There are some ma or differences between modernism and postmodernism. These distinctions ma!e clear, the basic difference in the ways of thin!ing that led to these movements. The difference between modernism and postmodernism highlights the difference in the approaches towards life. "odernism describes a collection of cultural movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. #t consists of a series of reforming movements in art, architecture, literature, music and applied arts. "odernism was characterized by a dramatic change of thought, whereby human intellect sought to improve their environment. There was a trend of improving every aspect of life by involving science and technology into it. "odernism brought about a reform in all spheres of life including philosophy, commerce, art and literature, with the aid of technology and e$perimentation. #t led to progress in all the aspects of life by changing the approach of man!ind of loo!ing at them. %ostmodernism means, &after the modern&. #t was a reaction to modernism and was influenced by the disenchantment brought about by the Second 'orld 'ar. %ostmodernism refers to the state that lac!s a central hierarchy and one that is comple$, ambiguous and diverse. The developments in society, the economy and the culture of the ()*0s were impacted by postmodernism. "odernism +s. %ostmodernism "odernism began in the (,)0s and lasted till about ()-.. %ostmodernism began after the Second 'orld 'ar, especially after ()*,. "odernism was based on using rational, logical means to gain !nowledge while postmodernism denied the application of logical thin!ing. /ather, the thin!ing during the postmodern era was based on unscientific, irrational thought process, as a reaction to modernism. A hierarchical and organized and determinate nature of !nowledge characterized modernism. 0ut postmodernism was based on an anarchical, non1 totalized and indeterminate state of !nowledge. "odernist approach was ob ective, theoretical and analytical while the postmodernism approach was based on sub ectivity. #t lac!ed the analytical nature and thoughts were rhetorical and completely based on belief. The fundamental difference between modernism and postmodernism is that modernist thin!ing is about the search of an abstract truth of life while postmodernist thin!ers believe that there is no universal truth, abstract or otherwise. "odernism attempts to construct a coherent world1view whereas postmodernism attempts to remove the difference between high and low. "odernist thin!ing asserts that man!ind progresses by using science and reason while postmodernist thin!ing believes that progress is the only way to ustify the 2uropean domination on culture. "odernist thin!ing believes in learning from past e$periences and trusts the te$ts that narrate the past. 3n the other hand postmodernist thin!ing defies any truth in the te$t narrating the past and renders it of no use in the present times. "odernist historians have a faith in depth. They believe in going deep into a sub ect to fully analyze it. This is not the case with postmodernist thin!ers. They believe in going by the superficial appearances, they believe in playing on surfaces and show no concern towards the depth of sub ects. "odernism considers the original wor!s as authentic while postmodernist thin!ers base their views on hyper1reality; they get highly influenced by things propagated through media. 4uring the modernist era, art and literary wor!s were considered as uni5ue creations of the artists. %eople were serious about the purpose of producing art and literary wor!s. These wor!s were believed to bear a deep meaning, novels and boo!s predominated society. 4uring the postmodernist era, with the onset of computers, media and advancements in technology, television and computers became dominant in society. Art and literary wor!s began to be copied and preserved by the means of digital media. %eople no longer believed in art and literary wor!s bearing one uni5ue meaning; they rather believed in deriving their own meanings from pieces of art and literature. #nteractive media and #nternet led to distribution of !nowledge. "usic li!e "ozart, 0eethoven, which was appreciated during modernism became less popular in the postmodern era. 'orld music, 4 s and remi$es characterized postmodernism. The architectural forms that were popular during modernism were replaced by a mi$ of different architectural styles in the postmodern times. A relatively slow paced life that was driven by grounded principles became fast paced and lost its calm. 6as pace !illed peace7 8........... "odernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. "ore specifically, the term

describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide1scale and far1reaching changes to 'estern society in the late ()th and early 20th centuries. "odernism was a revolt against the conservative values of realism. Arguably the most paradigmatic motive of modernism is the re ection of tradition and its reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision and parody in new forms."odernism re ected the lingering certainty of 2nlightenment thin!ing and also re ected the e$istence of a compassionate, all1powerful 9reator :od. #n general, the term modernism encompasses the activities and output of those who felt the ;traditional; forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life were becoming outdated in the new economic, social, and political conditions of an emerging fully industrialized world. The poet 2zra %ound&s ()<in unction to ;"a!e it new=; was paradigmatic of the movement&s approach towards the obsolete. Another paradigmatic e$hortation was articulated by philosopher and composer Theodor Adorno, who, in the ()-0s, challenged conventional surface coherence and appearance of harmony typical of the rationality of 2nlightenment thin!ing. A salient characteristic of modernism is self1consciousness. This self1consciousness often led to e$periments with form and wor! that draws attention to the processes and materials used >and to the further tendency of abstraction?. The modernist movement, at the beginning of the 20th century, mar!ed the first time that the term ;avant1garde;, with which the movement was labeled until the word ;modernism; prevailed, was used for the arts >rather than in its original military and political conte$t?. Surrealism gained fame among the public as being the most e$treme form of modernism, or ;the avant1garde of modernism;. 2$ample@ %op art %ostmodernism is a movement away from the viewpoint of modernism. "ore specifically it is a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of ob ective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta1narrative. #t involves the belief that many, if not all, apparent realities are only social constructs, as they are sub ect to change inherent to time and place. #t emphasizes the role of language, power relations, and motivations; in particular it attac!s the use of sharp classifications such as male versus female, straight versus gay, white versus blac!, and imperial versus colonial. /ather, it holds realities to be plural and relative, and dependent on who the interested parties are and what their interests consist in. #t attempts to problematise modernist overconfidence, by drawing into sharp contrast the difference between how confident spea!ers are of their positions versus how confident they need to be to serve their supposed purposes. %ostmodernism has influenced many cultural fields, including literary criticism, sociology, linguistics, architecture, visual arts, and music. %ostmodernist thought is an intentional departure from modernist approaches that had previously been dominant. The term ;postmodernism; comes from its criti5ue of the ;modernist; scientific mentality of ob ectivity and progress associated with the 2nlightenment. These movements, modernism and postmodernism, are understood as cultural pro ects or as a set of perspectives. ;%ostmodernism; is used in critical theory to refer to a point of departure for wor!s of literature, drama, architecture, cinema, ournalism, and design, as well as in mar!eting and business and in the interpretation of law, culture, and religion in the late 20th and early 2(st centuries. #ndeed, postmodernism, particularly as an academic movement, can be understood as a reaction to modernism in the 6umanities. 'hereas modernism was primarily concerned with principles such as identity, unity, authority, and certainty, postmodernism is often associated with difference, plurality, te$tuality, and s!epticism. Aiterary critic Bredric Cameson describes postmodernism as the ;dominant cultural logic of late capitalism.; ;Aate capitalism; refers to the phase of capitalism after 'orld 'ar ##, as described by economist 2rnest "andel; the term refers to the same period sometimes described by ;globalization;, ;multinational capitalism;, or ;consumer capitalism;. Cameson&s wor! studies the postmodern in conte$ts of aesthetics, politics, philosophy, and economics. 2$ample@ "Dnchengladbach "useum