Postmodernism is characterized by relativism, skepticism, and subjectivism, which are general suspicion for basic reasons of the existence of different concepts. The perception rejects the concepts of objectivity, rationality, and universal truth. The concepts emphasize a multiplicity of perspectives and diversity of human experiences. This means that when watching the videos, the theory helps one understand themes from different perspectives rather than looking for predefined concepts and beliefs. The theory assumes that political ideologies have no fixed points, foundations, universalism, and constructed knowledge. Post-modernists argue that mainstream theories promote marginalization and historical non-state actors; hence there is no objective knowledge of social concepts and phenomena. Postmodernism theories show that images shape our lives, but they do not bear a relationship with reality. According to Foucault, social schools represent the interests of persons in power (Holtz, 2020). Antagonism and fragmentation are essential human conditions where conflicts occur, but there are no common grounds.
Postmodernism makes it hard to formulate theories of the social world. Components of postmodernism indicate that we still live in the same modern society but oppose the universality and generality of critical enlightenment. People are products of power, and power exists everywhere; however, knowledge does not free a person and is always embedded in a web of power relations (Bonevac, 2013). Knowledge is a form of power made possible by the will of power, and what counts as knowledge differs within different societies. The theories challenge the approaches to current issues allowing individuals to understand different concepts as in the Bonevac video as the speaker discusses concepts such as self-knowledge, decentering, and deconstruction (Bonevac, 2013). The theories help one understand the notion presented by the Dove commercial film on how images pervert and mask basic reality (Piper, 2006). Additionally, a video shows how the first human could live without a heart pulse (TheBoredMind, 2015). In the video, surgeons perform surgery to remove the heat and allow the individual to survive without heartbeats.
Postmodernism theories challenge the notion that creativity and diversity are common and should be appreciated. Changes will always occur in the world; hence people should embrace the diversity of ideas and champion new ideas and innovations. Postmodernism theories help us understand films watched in class. It lays a framework to understand the film’s concepts and how they relate to life, encouraging reflection and critical thinking.
References
Holtz, P. (2020). Does postmodernism really entail a disregard for the truth? Similarities and differences in postmodern and critical rationalist conceptualizations of truth, progress, and empirical research methods. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 545959.
Piper, T. (2006). Dove evolution [Video]. YouTube.
Bonevac, D. (2013). Postmodernism [Video]. YouTube.
TheBoredMind. (2015). Meet the world’s first heartless human able to live without a pulse [Video]. YouTube.