Drama Term Tuesday #24
/Post Modernism
Movement in the arts and drama - frequently avant-garde and experimental - that gives equal (or more) weighting of nonverbal codes, conventions and language with traditional verbal language approaches; post modernism is also built on a different dramatic action/audience relationship giving precedence to the interpretations and participation of audiences (as in reader response theories of literature) rather than the interpretation of playwrights, directors and actors.
Postmodernism challenges single interpretations - the concept of a Grand Narrative that provides one point of view or explanation. Meanings are individual and relative to the context of the person making the interpretation; there is no external set of values that determines meaning. As a consequence, Postmodernism is skeptical of institutions and established or hegemonic ways of thinking and acting; agency and personal identity is valued over conformity and power structures are challenged.
