Looking at the World Through Baudrillard's Critical Eyes

So, fairly recently, we had our postmodernism unit in class. Before we delved so deep into the theories that attempted to define our "condition" that we reached a mental point of no return, the only mention of postmodernism we had in class was a brief description of the topic in AS level during our media theory lesson. Little did my classmates and I know, our entire view of the world was about to change.

At first, the theories and the wording of them were so convoluted to me that I had a killer migraine, but eventually, I understood what each theorist was trying to say about our contemporary period, and had an even worse migraine because I started questioning the meaning of my existence and if I even existed at all.

Anyways, existential crisis aside, one part of the postmodernism unit in particular that stuck with me was the concept of the metanarrative. We had discussed specifically the metanarrative of the "American dream". 

The discussion of the American Dream really stuck with me, because, well, this was something I thought I should aim to achieve in my life. Even when I had second thoughts about parts of it like getting married or having kids while thinking about my future, I always ended up shutting my doubts down, in fear that by not doing those things I wouldn't be living a "full life". But, what does living a "full life" even mean? And why do I think that living the "American dream" is the only way for me to live a "full life"? 

I had even met up with a couple of my classmates during lunch at school to discuss all of the realizations we had made about our postmodernist world after we had learned about the theories, and we had come to a discussion of high school prom. A lot of us weren't sure whether or not to attend prom, as it cost a hefty investment for maybe up to three hours of fun. We discussed how much we'd rather be doing other things, whether that be just staying home or using the same amount of money for a trip to Disney World (we also discussed how odd the concept of Disney World was, but that topic is better suited for a different blog post). But for some reason, we felt that we would be incomplete without going to this overly-glamorized event. Why do we feel obligated to experience certain things? Anyways, long conversation short, we collectively decided we should probably not go to prom.

Postmodernism is characterized by the defiance of the meta-narrative. In reference to one characteristic of postmodernist media that Linda Hutcheon had included in her theory, postmodernist media rejects the grand narrative. As a creator in the postmodernist era, I think it is best I do just that with what I create. I want my piece to discuss the idea of the metanarrative and how the metanarrative can skew people's view of life, themselves, and the world. I will update you soon on what I think of!