Intro: So... What Even Is the Truth Anymore?
We live in a weird world,some days it feels like everything is made up and nothing matters, news is biased, social media is chaos, and everyone seems to be yelling past each other. But what if that confusion is actually part of the truth? That’s where Postmodernism comes in. Postmodernism doesn’t try to solve the confusion, it leans into it. It teaches us that it’s okay for things to be messy, emotional, and even contradictory because that’s often more real than neat answers. Through articles, poetry, songs, and classic literature like Wuthering Heights, Postmodernism has helped me see that confusion isn’t failure, it’s part of being human.
When Everything Falls Apart (and Maybe That’s Okay)
Postmodern trait: Breakdown of shared truth & grand narratives
Jonathan Haidt’s article “Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid” really struck me. He explains how social media fractured our shared sense of truth, leaving everyone trapped in their own echo chambers. It’s exhausting trying to figure out what’s even real anymore. As Haidt puts it, “We are disoriented, unable to speak the same language or recognize the same facts.” That feeling of disorientation? It’s a clear reflection of Postmodernism, the idea that the old systems have broken down and that truth is no longer a single, unified concept. Instead, it’s split into countless versions, shaped by each person’s perspective. Haidt isn’t exactly celebrating this, but Postmodernism argues that acknowledging this fractured reality is the first step toward making sense of the world as it actually is.
Watch this video:
This video opened my eyes. It explains how truth changes based on power, perspective, and even storytelling. It made me realize that arguing about “facts” online might not even be the point anymore.
Feelings That Don’t Make Sense Still Matter
Postmodern trait: Fragmentation, emotion over logic
In Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Making a Fist,” a child, sick and confused on a car ride through Mexico, asks, “Am I going to die?” The mother responds with something strangely simple: “You can tell you are alive if you can make a fist.” That’s it. “When you can no longer make a fist, that’s how you know you’re dying,” Nye writes. It’s not a straightforward answer, it’s more of a feeling than a conclusion and that’s the power of the poem. It doesn’t try to explain or fix anything; it just sits with the uncertainty. That, in itself, is deeply Postmodern. It embraces the mess instead of cleaning it up, letting meaning come from experience rather than offering any one clear truth.
When I was a dance officer, I had to hold it together even when I felt super overwhelmed. Leading others while not always knowing what I was doing, that feeling of being both strong and confused at the same time? That’s exactly what this poem is about. Postmodernism says, those mixed-up feelings are valid.
Check out my comment on Nye by clicking this link:
Dreams, Death, and Floating Through It All
Postmodern trait: Nonlinear storytelling, ambiguity
Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song” is one of the strangest songs I’ve ever heard and one of the most beautiful. The lyrics are surreal, describing someone jumping into a river, going to heaven, and dancing with skeletons. None of it follows a clear narrative or logical timeline, but somehow, it still makes emotional sense. “There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt,” the song quietly insists. That dreamlike, disjointed feeling is the story. This is Postmodernism at its core, meaning isn’t always found in plot or clarity, but in atmosphere and emotion. The song doesn’t explain, it immerses you and in Postmodern art, that’s often what matters most.
The article below reflects over the Pyramid Song so check it out!
Pyramid Song Lyrics + Fan Interpretations – Genius
Check out my take on the song’s meaning here: https://nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/10-famous-authors-on-their-favorite-books-1?commentId=6c30eafe-81e9-4a9c-aa65-f13a3a94f633
Wuthering Heights is Postmodern Drama
Even though Wuthering Heights was written in the 1800s, it fits surprisingly well through a Postmodern lens. The characters are wildly dramatic, half of them are dead by the end, and no one ever tells the full truth. The entire story is filtered through Nelly Dean, a deeply biased narrator, yet we’re forced to rely on her version of events. At one point, Heathcliff cries out, “I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” a line full of raw chaos and obsession. But we’re not even sure how to feel about it. Heathcliff isn’t a hero, Cathy isn’t a saint, and their love is more destructive than romantic. The story is layered, fragmented, and emotionally intense. Like Postmodernism, it prioritizes feeling over clarity, refusing to offer easy answers.
Conclusion: Embracing the Chaos
Postmodernism doesn’t pretend everything is fine. It says the world is confusing, emotional, full of contradictions and that’s okay. We don’t need to find one truth or have all the answers. Through weird songs, powerful poetry, confused essays, and even haunted novels, Postmodernism lets us see that being human means living in the in-between.
GOLDEN NUGGET!!!!!!!
Postmodernism gave me permission to stop pretending I understood everything and start paying attention to how it feels instead.
This really captures how messy and confusing the world feels right now—and why that’s actually okay. I love how you show that Postmodernism isn’t about finding neat answers but accepting the chaos and emotions as part of the human experience. The way you connect poetry, music, and literature like Wuthering Heights to these ideas makes it so relatable. It’s comforting to realize that feeling lost or uncertain doesn’t mean failure—it means we’re grappling with reality as it truly is. Thanks for sharing this perspective; it gave me permission to stop stressing about “the truth” and just lean into the complexity.
I love your tie back into todays world and how everything isn't perfect and how that's ok. I also love the connections to past works that also show that in future works which shows how its a familiar theme throughout that of history and our writings.