Disdain for postmodernists (meta; post post; pseudo or digi)

An Introduction to Metamodernism


You know I’ve heard about people like me

But I never made the connection.

They walk one road to set them free

And find they’ve gone the wrong direction.

– Don McLean, Crossroads, 1971

Metamodernism is an emerging movement that hopes to synthesize both postmodernist, modernist and premodern (romantic, enlightenment) ideas while moving our civilization and culture forward in a positive way. Metamodernism is the fight against the cultural effects that postmodern thought has had on our social interactions, artistic endeavours and thought processes. This includes dissolving the alienation from society that many of us suffer from on a daily basis as a result of these postmodern values. Yes, it is true that many foundational institutions in our society still operate on modernist standards or using modernist methods (mostly financial or economic institutions that are yet to be affected by the creeping nihilism we intend to combat) but the cultural postmodernism and nihilism that is eating our minds alive shows no signs slowing down.

Literature that engages in sincere expression while being aware of its appearance from a postmodern perspective is considered metamodern. This particular movement within the arts is perhaps the truest manifestation of metamodernism to date. It was popularized in the 1990s by author David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon and is characterized by works that defy postmodern cynicism and irony, representing a return to past movements and trends such as Romanticism that placed an emphasis on honesty. Honesty from the author concerning their intentions and meaning, something that’s severely lacking in postmodern works.

Music has also been experiencing a “new sincerity” movement. Artists emerging in the late 90s and early 2000s such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Sufjan Stevens and Joanna Newsom have been identified as members of this unintentional movement characterized by its stylistic return to conventions of artistic choices long forgotten found in visual presentation (album art and live performances) or instrumentation and vocal styles that would hardly sound out of place playing in the background of some Late Baroque statehouse 240 years ago. In addition, acts like Neutral Milk Hotel, Sufjan Stevens and many others relate to metamodernism in that they are so glaringly honest and without pretense they would appear ridiculous from the viewpoint of anyone invested in cynical, ironic art. They commentate on things the artist finds beautiful, true or worth loving in a climate full of flat, apathetic art.

The defining characteristic and most important aspect of the metamodern movement is the “as if” mindset. Metamodernism is not a rejection of postmodern moral relativism and cynicism but a progression from it. We have, as a result of postmodernism, been convinced that humanity is in decline (statistics tend to say otherwise, but that doesn’t matter when truth is a construct, as postmodern thought tends to teach). The metamodernist wants to live as if positive change and progress can be achieved for several reasons. Firstly, it can never hurt to have this belief and it could absolutely be helpful. Secondly, such a mindset staves off existential despair induced by postmodernity, an issue that many of us struggle with. If we collectively take up the attitude/belief that progress can be achieved, that the idea of progress exists, our society will benefit greatly. This is tied to the practice of favoring dialogue over dialectics. We do not all need to share the same idea of progress but if we are able to avoid reducing our goals to uniform, unyielding ideological messes, things will begin to move forward. Attorney and professor at the University of New Hampshire Seth Abramson writes: “In a postmodern scenario, nothing ever gets solved because the contending forces angrily oppose and caricature one another until (in fact) both are degraded and destroyed in number and in spirit.” Metamodernism wants to fight this both cultural and political occurrence by focusing on discussing the overlap between two opposing forces rather than falling into the practice of ridiculing each other to no avail other than the boosting of one’s ego.

Another essential aspect of metamodern thought is the return of hierarchies. Hierarchies are everywhere. An airplane is more physically complex than a car, a car is more physically complex than a bicycle, a bicycle is more physically complex than a skateboard. This is a hierarchy according to physical complexity, which almost no one would deny the validity of. Many moral and ethical relativists (I will refer to them as postmodernists both because moral relativism is a defining characteristic of the postmodern era and because the vast majority of moral relativists exhibit other characteristics of postmodernism) support the deconstruction of hierarchies that measure ethical validity. Postmodernists are unable to d