My most alliterative piece yet.

GET IN THE ZONE🧘‍♀️:

Imagine feeling like you’re melting from the inside out!! overwhelmed by touch, memory, and the weight of just existing. That’s the vibe across everything I read, heard, and watched for this project. From a burning airplane metaphor in Ry Book Suraski’s “Decortication of an Airplane,” to the crazy lyrics of Nnamdi’s Semantics, to 2D roller-skating through rejection in Gorillaz’s Humility, all these pieces explore what it means to fall apart—and how sometimes, that’s the only way to feel whole again🤷. When I reread Beowulf through this lens, the epic warrior narrative wasn’t inspiring anymore. It was tragic, raw with emotion, and deep💔.

IM HERE TO ARGUE...my point...: Postmodernism reframes traditional hero stories like Beowulf into emotional horror stories about fragility, isolation, and the lies we tell ourselves to feel in control. (less about being cool, more about emotions).

MAGICAL REALISM, METAPHOR & MELTDOWN:

Suraski’s “Decortication of an Airplane” shoves us into a girl’s mind during a deeply disturbing massage🪔. Her skin feels oily, and gross until she imagines a plane crash that peels metal from the sky and leaves her clean in flames. That fire becomes her rebirth🐦‍🔥. This surreal moment ties directly to Beowulf, where the hero’s death is described without honor or glory: “He fell to the earth, and his life-blood came out, and he drank it in war.” (Donaldson 58). Instead of lifting Beowulf up, this moment drags him back to earth both literally and emotionally. It’s a collapse, definitely not a win. Postmodernism uses magical realism to transform stories of strength into metaphors for breakdown. Just like Suraski’s girl, Beowulf is remade through suffering... except it doesn’t look pretty.😓

IDENTITY CRISIS & EMOTIONAL NOISE:

In Nnamdi’s Semantics, the music spirals very anxiously, jumping between genres and thoughts with no clear structure. That chaos is the point. He sings, “put it on me,” like someone trying to hold responsibility just to feel something solid. It reminded me of Beowulf’s line: “Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good.” (Donaldson 15). Sounds brave, right? But what if that’s just Beowulf trying to psych himself up? Postmodernism flips this line into a coping mechanism A.K.A. a fake confidence trick. Like Nnamdi, Beowulf might be performing bravery while everything inside him unravels. In both pieces, words become slippery. Meaning breaks down. It’s a kind of literary semantics, where we realize no one really has control. We’re all just trying to sound like we do!

SIMULATION, SOLITUDE & SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE:

Gorillaz’s Humility shows 2D smiling and skating solo under the sun🌴, but there’s loneliness underneath. He reaches out for a handshake, only to be misread and left hanging (ouch...). The song title suggests he’s grounded—but the visuals say otherwise. That tension reflects Grendel’s introduction in Beowulf: “Lonely and joyless he lived...” (Donaldson 5). Grendel is framed as a monster, but postmodernism sees him as a symbol of emotional isolation. Just like 2D, he’s misunderstood and unwanted. When viewed this way, Beowulf becomes less about killing evil and more about misreading pain. The line “He was alone, the last of his race…” (Donaldson 64) drives🚃 this home. Legacy doesn’t matter when no one’s left to see it. 2D’s solo skate and Grendel’s constant misery both show that even loud lives can end in quiet sadness. Postmodernism exposes this emptiness, and invites us to sit with it, not solve it ( something we always do).

AAAAND THATS A WRAP!

In the original telling, Beowulf is about courage, strength, and honor. But through a postmodern lens, and next to digital pieces like Semantics, Humility, and Decortication of an Airplane, those same moments feel more fragile, distorted, and real. We see not just the myth of heroism, but the collapse underneath it. These stories aren’t trying to inspire. They’re showing us what it means to hold it together when you’re barely holding on. sounds like some of use could use a second read through, GO AHEAD!!