Recently, it has become clear that some kind of global shift in culture is taking place. Literally, tectonic plates began to move. I associated it with the ideological clash of “patriots – liberals”, but only recently did I realize that this process is much deeper and broader.
No one has written yet, so I guess I’ll be the first. It seems we have found the end of the era of postmodernism. He is no more. And this fact is easy to explain.
It was once said about the Decembrists – “the first undressed generation of the nobility.” That is why I will say this about my peers, and especially about younger people: we are the first well-fed and carefree generation in Russia for several centuries. They were until recently. We left behind global wars and bloody revolutions, today’s 20s could not even catch up with the 90s.
Several generations have grown up in prosperity and, I dare say, spiritual stagnation. In boredom. In the swamp. And as you know, nothing can be reflected in a swamp. The “art is dead” manifesto became logically dominant in the cultural paradigm. Postmodernism as a movement is based on this thesis.
The joke, the irony, the allusions and reminiscences, the sheer sarcasm – everything the culture has shown in recent years. Everything but new meanings. They were not needed.
A well-known paradox is that literary development always coincides with a period of prohibition, that culture develops under totalitarianism or war. In a word, in difficult times.
Why? Why? Yes, because humanity has to live somehow. Anything but bread and butter, especially when stressed with the latter.
A simple but useful explanation.
And today I see a wonderful picture – the poetry of conditional Neorealism began to be in demand in Russia. Poems about death, life, blood and duty. Writers who write about us today are approaching the popularity of the sixties, and I think they will gather more stadiums.
Self-proclaimed kings of poets, old boys and girls from fashion galleries, writers with good-sounding surnames, critics of right views – they all disappear somewhere, as if shrouded in fog. And new names grow in their place.
I used to think it was our narrow internal process. If I hadn’t seen the rapidly increasing demand for revolutionary romanticism in the West, for a conditional Che Guevara. Viewers and readers are less and less interested in trendy cable installations and opportunistic novels about minorities, and more and more with new meanings.
However, there has always been a demand for protest social discourse in America, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen the overwhelming popularity of rap culture.
And the more formal rhetoric and the dictatorship of tolerance suffocates Western society, the sooner new big names will emerge there. It is infinitely far from both galleries and postmodern ostentations. To give simple, clear, perhaps controversial theses to culture.
It was believed that postmodernism would be replaced by postmannerism. Of course, this would have happened if our planet had not survived a series of disasters, from universal quarantine to the threat of nuclear war.
Today, a person needs simple clear words and meanings. As the world order is getting harder and harder to hold on to, you need something to hold onto. And here the business does not depend on the style, I am deeply convinced.
And is it good or bad – as one cannibal said, “we chew – we’ll see.”
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.
Source: Gazeta
Dolores Johnson is a voice of reason at “Social Bites”. As an opinion writer, she provides her readers with insightful commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. With her well-informed perspectives and clear writing style, Dolores helps readers navigate the complex world of news and politics, providing a balanced and thoughtful view on the most important topics of the moment.