Postmodernism for Beginners

So many introductions to postmodernism are boring, or even unreadable simply because they are written by people who cannot write. These "writers" simply parrot the same pomobabble that so many postmodern thinkers indulge in--as if they were all members of some wierd cult. Powell--who CAN actually write--frys them for this, but then goes on to present excellent overviews of several important writers. One would not expect to find such depth in a comic book. The summary of Baudrillard's work, for instance, is often more insightful than those found in much weightier and intentionally serious volumes. Powell, explains the evoultion of Baudrillard's thoughts from its Marxist roots. Powell is especially good when it comes to the enigmatic Derrida, and his 'deconstruction.' Although Postmodernism for Beginners does not tackle Derrida's major works--as does Powell's Derrida for Beginners--it does make Derrida less mercurial, so that readers can then go on to read Derrida's works forewarned and forearmed. Powell really brings postmodernism to light, however, in his presentation of postmodern artifacts: Madonna, Bladerunner, cyberpunk, etc. Joe Lee's illustrations often present subtle asides to Powell's Proustian prose. All-in-all, one of the best I've read in the For-Beginners series.

This is the first book on Postmodernism I've ever finished. It gives you not only Lyotard, Baudrillard, Foucault and Derrida, but also Blade Runner, Buddha, and Madonna. Always lucid and engaging, it meets you where you are by never presuming you have a background in the subject. Other books on Postmodernism begin by gleefully flooding you in terms such as "aborescence," "diegetic," "interpellation," and "simulacra." By the third page your head aches and you throw the book aside - if you're still awake. You might give up, concluding that Postmodernism is a kind of navel-gazing for college professors with too much time on their hands.But Powell borrows Postmodernism from the ivory tower and makes it fun. Written in a lively "Q & A" dialogue style, Powell's book allows you to see, feel and think about our world the way the Postmodernist theorists have written about it. Talking about everything from T.S. Eliot to Beavis and Butt-Head, from college catalogues to MTV, Powell shows how almost everything in front of us evinces the postmodern condition. Postmodernism is also easy to understand, the way Powell places it in historical context. He casts it as a way to understand the breakdown of the grandiose cultural schemes envisioned by the thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries. God and Reason were going to conquer the world and make it safe for ... God and Reason. This did not happen. Instead, the last fifty years have brought us closer to minicultures and multicultures. This cultural flux has been spread by modern freeways, air travel, bookstore chains, movies, and MTV. Powell takes you through the reactions by thinkers such as Jean-Francois Lyotard, Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, Charles Jencks, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and David Harvey. He discusses art, architecture, the printed word, spirituality, TV and the Internet. With kindly democratic spirit, Powell sees Postmodernism as against the marginalization of anyone, and as embracing of the diversity of the world we live in. Joe Lee's funny and irreverent illustrations carry forth Powell's well written presentation. The artwork includes cartoon characters, crusty philosophers, classical artwork, and the odd schematic diagram. Reading this book is like a friendly fireside chat with a well-informed friend. I immediately went off to look for Powell's DERRIDA FOR BEGINNERS. ...

Really this book should be called PostmodernismS for beginners, because, as Powell points out--there is no single unified Postmodern movement. Rather it is a hodgepodge of influences from architecture, capitalism, technology, philosophy, and the arts that is changing our world. Powell delves into many of these Postmodernisms, in a readable and lucid way. Highly recommended.

Jim Powell's entertaining book shows how much we Americans who distrust intellectuals and intellectualism ought to learn form French contemporary thinkers about our own culture. From Leyotard to Deleuse, Derrida, Foucault...and most recently Baudrillard, they each have a different view on our Postmodern Condition and Jim Powell explains their uniqueness in a simple, layman's language with a style that is also in essence postmodern, that is, a mixture of contemporary Internet slang and Postmodern-ease. The book is written with a quasi-proustian syntax of endless sentences, relentlessly poring out new meanings and snaking thorough the shores of postmodern though, in a style, which Walter Benjamin once qualified of the `Nile of Language.'

This book got me through graduate school, and taught me a thing or two, besides. Also, its illustrations and tone made it all fun. The trouble with postmodern thought, which one MUST give the appearance of having learned, if one is to be successful in a graduate education in the humanities, is that it is so labyrinthine, so French, and so obscure. Thus, most of us end up reading French authors in translation. We must read Derrida, Baudrillard, Foucault, Cixous, etc, etc, depending upon the translations. The next problem is that Derrida's writings, for instance, are a series of readings of other writers: Plato, Nietzsche, Heidegger, etc. In order to really understand Derrida, we should be able to read him in the original, PLUS be able to read Plato, Heidegger, Nietzsche, etc, in the original. Such a task is daunting, if not impossible. And, in fact, very few people have the time or inclination to master Greek, Latin, German, French and all the important philosophers who have written in those languages. Thus, most people talk about Postmodernism without even having really learned one of its major authors. This boils down to grad students and professors making moves in a game. The game consists of using buzz words and phrases of PoMo-babble--without a real in-depth knowledge that one would need to discuss even one of these thinkers seriously. To do that would take a lifetime of study. I loved Powell's book, because it gave me a quick understanding of many Postmodern writers--and advanced my ability to make moves in the game it seems that we all must play. Also, without Powell's overview, simply launching into a translation of Derrida or Foucault would have been almost useless. Having gained some insight into their thought, my initial readings of their work were much easier. For beginners and even skilled players in the game of the heady field of Postmodernism, such an overview is warmly welcome.