Postmodernism came into our class discussions because of a specific part in Kite Runner where Khaled Hosseini described a postmodern world. It was the part where the stoning in the soccer stadium took place. That instance showed how the soccer stadium was being corrupted for other unintended, disconnected actions. The concept of half-time with entertainment in a stadium meant for sports was corrupted and instead the entertainment was substituted with the stoning and the stadiums purpose was also corrupted. It's original purpose was for sports but was converted into a place for things rather thought of as 'politics'.
When I heard about the idea of 'postmodernism' and gave it a bit of thought, I started making several connections to television. There are many shows on television that many of us watch everyday that fit the definition of postmodernism. Two types of shows come to mind: law and court shows [i.e. People's Court, Judge Judy, etc] and police chases/crime shows [i.e. C.O.P.S, Mall Cops, etc]. If you think about it, there are many ways these types of shows can be thought of as 'products' or examples of a postmodern lifestyle.
The connection between Postmodernism and television probably came to me because I am one of those people who watches shows like People's Court or C.O.P.S, so with a little bit of thought, I saw how these things could be thought of as 'something where space has been corrupted' [one of the characteristics of postmodernism].
Let's take People's Court or Judge Judy for example. These types of shows are based on court-room cases that are real lawful ordeals. But when you think about it, we watch it on television for entertainment. Thus, the space where it's taking place, the court-room is being corrupted. When it's normally for serious, lawful affairs, it's instead being used for entertainment for the people. Also, the judge, which is usually a specific and strict job, is not just the only important factor for the television judge. On the show, the judges are also being hired to act as 'actors' and 'entertainers'. So the purpose of the 'judge' is also corrupted in that sense.
Now let's think about the cop shows or criminal chase shows like C.O.P.S. It's about the same deal. Cop chases are very serious, important matters, but once again the idea and action of that is being corrupted for the entertainment of watchers. The cops must have an air for entertainment and 'comedy' almost, and they have to perform their duties with a camera crew. If you think about that, the typical purpose for this is corrupted and wrong in a way.
I think recognizing this and understanding this relationship between Postmodernism and television informs us on the effects and examples of postmodernism in our world today. Many people, I believe, don't exactly understand what Postmodernism is really like and especially how it affects us through our everyday lives and especially in our media. It's important for us to understand it so that when we see shows like People's Court or C.O.P.S, we recognize that it is corrupted [to an extent] and that what we see is not really the true intention or true interpretation of it.
I think that we've identified postmodernism is a fundamentally flawed way. We've defined it as a thing, a phenomenon, that just started occurring when the existential threat of destruction became a reality post-Hiroshima. In fact, postmodernism is just a way of viewing the world. It’s not an actual change in politics. Things like "People's Court" have been in existence for ages, just in different forms. There used to be public hangings, torture, and beheadings for entertainment. A realist would look at a situation like public hangings and make the analysis that humans inevitably enjoy that type of thing. Seeing the suffering and death of others means a better chance of your genes being passed on. A postmodernist would point out the irony of the entertainment being of a violent nature, try to deconstruct reality, then go off and read a book written by this guy:
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The fact that there is not one unique example of corruption of space in the modern era that isn't replicated in history proves the fact that the emergence of postmodernism was just an emergence of a viewpoint of the world, not an emergence of a different world.