Post-Modernism Essay

Although Western society as a whole has progressed from those days, it was only within the last few decades that the Civil Rights movement somewhat successfully promoted integration within America. Even as the melting pot of a plethora of cultures and ethnicities, America is quite divided in its cultural acceptance and identity. Racism may no longer be explicitly condoned, but it does exist in many forms within the world. Unfortunately, though society’s legal actions have since lawfully prevented discrimination as such, the same cultural disparity that existed in segregated times is present today. Whether through social media or public interactions, there is a distinct difference in the nation’s view of Black culture versus the white majority of America. Spurred by centuries old beliefs, stereotypes dominate the social world in mediums such as television and music. Despite the abundance of influences within Western society, America subconsciously continues to promote a negative cultural image of the Black

Family dynamics across all races are complex. For the state of the black family is made even more complicated by a history rooted in slavery. Fractured families were born out of a system where husbands were taken away, jailed or killed, leaving the family weakened with a mother and/or grandmother at the helm. While these historical facts may be true; that the black family is weak, can be argued. Yet, the family for many in the black community and other communities of color extend to include a large number of kin. On the other hand, it can also be argued that since families were ripped apart during the slave trade it created an opportunity for setting up networks of support and family units to include members who may not be blood related. You often hear black people refer to an elder as “aunt” or “uncle” these networks were put in place as protective factors in the event that parents were sold there was an assurance that someone would care for the children. To an extent this behavior continues to this day as we see many fathers sentenced to long jail terms for petty crimes or killed. The family structure makeup may be a blood relative and it may also be kin of another kind. LaShawnDa Pittman discusses how these factors shape the African-American family and how slavery impacted the role of the mother and father within the family system. During slavery there wasn’t any possibility of childhood. Children were socialized to begin work at the age of

Cross’ book Shades of black: diversity in African-American identity (1991) depicts a perceived metamorphous of black identity through five stages of development—his ideologies are now termed as the Nigrescence theory. In simple terms, this philosophy refers to the process of becoming Black. It also demonstrates daily struggles that the black community may have in developing a healthy personal identity. Over the years, many authors attempt to define what the word black means. Eventually, many came to begin using the politically acceptable term widely applied today to regard black people; that word is known as Negroes. As different historical events occurred, one being the black power revolution on the 1970’s the experience called for a fresh definition of the term negro. Blacks or Africans in America began to be more conscious of their identity and more aware of the differences separating them. This is the experience that Cross (1971) illustrates and is primarily referenced in his five-stage progress including: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion/emersion, internalization, and internalization-commitment. This book highlights some very vital topics relating to mental health, which has been carefully disregarded by other researchers. Nonetheless, it has strong affiliations to the black experience and can positively explain a more normal psychological behavior through logical and very thought provoking

Eradicating and contradicting such beliefs perpetu ated by the Moynihan Report and the "Bitch Test" has been a long but steady process. Nevertheless, it is a process that those of African descent have undertaken with a great deal of vigor. Before anyone, including black Americans themselves, can truly understand where the black family is going, one has to take into account certain factors. These factors are numerous, but the one that has had the most profound effect was the institution of slavery. An in depth study of this factor will help to answer whether the depiction of the black family as "dysfunctional" and "problem -rid den" are a reality or simply a myth.

The arrival of the African-American identity began with slavery and the slave master’s behavior toward the field slave and the house slave. In other words, the identity of the African-American was given by European slave masters instead of their personal creation. African women were raped and the slave master’s preferential treatment of their offspring created a hierarchy among the slaves. As author Roger Smith (2004) explained, power and privileges were given to those with lighter complexions over those who are darker. In the days of slavery, “light skin blacks were assigned to the house while blacks with dark skin had to work the fields.” (p.1). The promise of educational opportunities were also given to slaves with lighter complexions. The indoctrination of Jim Crow Laws and white supremacy proved to keep the institution of slavery going even after its abolishment. Subsequent to the abolishment of slavery, blacks traveled to northern states and cities and created their own societies. According to author G. Reginald Daniel, in his book, More than Black, Blue Vein societies consisted of pluralistic elites within the African-American community. “Membership in these societies were determined by individuals’ phenotypical and cultural resemblance with European Americans” (p. 4). The structural set up of these societies created an illusion of escaping the common stereotypes of blacks.

In today’s society some people opprobrious African Americans especially, African American males. Black men are defined as a threat to society and by the negative images conveyed in media today. Black children, particularly black males, are being raised in a world where there is a high probability of not graduating, being unemployed, arrested, or dead. We can minimize this epidemic by enhancing the lives of today’s youth. In society parents and guardians are usually responsible for accentuating the importance of values, morals, and ethics to our black children. However, children will deeply discern these ideologies if they are clearly perpetrated throughout the community. There are many community organizations using the Structural

Thesis: Even with the creation of Black Studies as an academic discipline, the culture and influence of white dependency still seem to block people of color’s mental potential, and inherently their ability to progress as a group.

For many parents, it is in their nature to do everything in their ability to protect their children from the peril of the outside world. Most of these parents will go to extreme lengths to ensure that their children are equally and respectably. In the mid-1900`s, it was difficult for many Negro and mixed parents to raise their children with these standards as whites frequently viewed themselves as superior. At times, light-skinned Negros pass as white and raise their children as white. For instance, in the movie Lost Boundaries (1949), the light-skinned parents, Scott and Marcia Carter, raise their children, Shelley and Howie, as white so that the children will be able to reap the benefits of whiteness.

Modernism describes the ideology of the art and design that were produced during the modernist period. There has been a lot of controversy about when modernism started, yet many believe it initiated sometime in the late 19th century and continued to the early 20th century. The modernist movement was meant to be a break from traditions and it was set up to separate the value of certain works from the conservative realism. For instance, Unlike the traditional art that was aesthetic, this movement was more about space and form. In modernist design, shape and organization of products and buildings were based on their functional requirements. As a result, designs became simpler without the traditional decorative concepts. The idea behind the

A worldwide movement encompassing all disciplines, postmodernism arose in response to the dominant idea of modernism, which is described as the social condition of living in an urban, fast-changing progressivist world governed by instrumental reason.

In “What is this ‘black’ in black popular culture?”, Stuart Hall explores the importance of assuming a dialogic approach over an essentialist approach when it comes to examining black popular culture. He believes that essentialism presents racial differences as being natural and universal rather than being a concept constructed by society to create social hierarchies which we coexist in today. Hall felt as if essentialism aided in the creation of imaginary racial boundaries that people would attempt to remain within, resulting in behaviors that they felt were appropriate for their race. Hall believed that the discourse of black popular culture had to be acknowledged in regards to other discourses, such as the influences of black and white cultures

Postmodernism was a reaction against the modernism philosophical values and assumptions. Although many agree that there is a thin line between modernism and postmodernism, postmodernism is not modernism. In modernism, scientific theories were used to determine what is true. However, postmodernism allows individuals to question the theories and not take them as facts (Duignan, 2014). While modernism emphasized on objectivism, postmodernism allows extensive subjectivism in all aspects of life.

'It quickly emerged that the proper and unique area of competence of each art coincided with all that was unique to the nature of its medium. The task of self-criticism became to eliminate from the effects of each art any and every effect that might conceivably be borrowed from or by the medium of any other art. Thereby each art would be rendered 'pure', and in its 'purify' find the guarantee of its standards of quality as well as of its independence. 'Purity' meant self-definition, and the enterprise of self-criticism in the arts became one of self-definition, with a vengeance.'

Postmodernism itself means, “after present times,” but how can we be in an age of something past the present? It is a way of thinking that’s easy to identify but rather hard to define, though world renowned french philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard tried to in his research as, “Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodernism as incredulity toward metanarratives.” The beauty of postmodernism is the subtle, the things you might not catch the first few viewings, and often appear to pay homage to some older tale, but actually mock it. Postmodernism seeks to challenge what we’ve held as truth through tradition and force people to use their brains for themselves. In this work, Gilliam worked to actively create layers of this movie using a

Postmodernism refers to a broad term used to explain movements in philosophy, art, music and critical theory. Postmodernism is viewed as a reaction to the pioneering modernist movement. In literature and art, postmodernism responds against classical ideas. With respect to post-structuralism and structuralism, there is a great difference between postmodernism