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A review by mfreitas
Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism by Fredric Jameson
2.0
If you're involved in the fields of literary, cultural, or media studies, you should read this book -- or at least the introduction and first few essays;however, be prepared for a slow and painful experience. Jameson's language is dense and his ideas are complex (to put it lightly). Before attempting to read this book you should have a basic understanding of Marxism and semiotics. I'm not saying this to sound like a hot-shot smarty pants. If someone hadn't explained these things to me first, I would have been hopelessly lost while reading this book instead of merely lost. Give yourself a lot of time to read this one, as I found it impossible to cope with more than small chunks of it in one sitting. (And I do mean small chunks; single chapters were a multi-day process for me.) And if your experience is anything like mine, you're going to be doing a lot of re-reading.
With that being said, this book is an important one. Jameson makes a compelling argument for the relationship between economics and culture and how it's at the root of the "anything goes" eclecticism that characterizes PoMo art and culture. (Not to mention the perpetual sense of disconnectedness and confusion most people tend to experience.) At the end of the day, if you're involved in any of the previously mentioned fields you should familiarize yourself with this book. Every other scholar and his brother reference it, so you may as well grab some excedrin and a bottle of whiskey and hunker down with it.
With that being said, this book is an important one. Jameson makes a compelling argument for the relationship between economics and culture and how it's at the root of the "anything goes" eclecticism that characterizes PoMo art and culture. (Not to mention the perpetual sense of disconnectedness and confusion most people tend to experience.) At the end of the day, if you're involved in any of the previously mentioned fields you should familiarize yourself with this book. Every other scholar and his brother reference it, so you may as well grab some excedrin and a bottle of whiskey and hunker down with it.