HANDOUT ON POSTMODERNISM: FREDRIC JAMESON
Assignment for next time
Fredric Jameson, "The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism," Postmodernism (Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1991): 1-53. (on reserve)
Study questions and discussion topics
1. Jameson is the most influential Marxist critic of recent decades. In this piece, as you'll see, he's trying to work with the classic Marxist distinction between the economic base and the cultural superstructure. How does he employ this distinction? Does he see any possible problems with the distinction? If so, how does he deal with those problems?
2. Jameson argues that capitalism has moved into a third or "late" stage in recent years. How is "late capitalism" to be distinguished from earlier forms of capitalism? And why might postmodernism be seen as a reflection or expression of "late capitalism"? (HINT: For a discussion of the three "stages" of capitalism, see pp. 35-6.)
3. Marxists are often concerned with history, anxious to make sure that its lessons aren't forgotten. How does postmodernism threaten this kind of historical work? Or, to put it another way, why might a Marxist like Jameson be troubled by the ways in which postmodernism seems to have altered our sense of time? (HINT: In pondering this question, you'll need to consider what Jameson says about the "waning of historicity" and the nature of postmodern "nostalgia.")
4. What, briefly, is the connection between schizophrenia and "language poetry" (see pp. 25-31)? What is the difference between older conceptions of the sublime and the "postmodern or technological sublime" (pp. 32-8)?
5. Why, finally, does Jameson devote so much time to the Westin Bonaventure hotel? How does Jameson's discussion of the hotel fit into his larger argument? (HINT: If you are ever near the Paper Valley Hotel, you might check it out to see if it creates a "postmodern hyperspace" like the one described by Jameson.)
6. What do you suppose Jameson would say about some developments that postdate his essay, which was written in 1984: the rise and fall of "alternative" rock; rap and hip-hop; MTV and CNN; e-mail; the web; The Simpsons; infomercials; Pulp Fiction; and (of course) O. J.?
What next?