Postmodern Culture: Art, Elites, and Mass Appeal

Postmodern Cultural Dynamics

Postmodern cultural creators, including the postmodern cultural elite, often challenge established norms. For instance, an American lesbian couple, devoted to the high arts, belongs to a small elite. They are the inheritors of a tradition, yet they transform high culture into something new. They promote new forms of family unity, fashions, and styles, echoing figures like Susan Sontag.

Warhol and Mass-Produced Art

Andy Warhol's work is designed for mass production and viewing on computer screens, contrasting sharply with works like El Greco's 'The Burial of the Count of Orgaz', which was intended for a church in Toledo. People like Andy adopted the principles discussed by figures such as Annie and Susan, initially targeting an elite, but then filtering down to a mass audience. Andy transformed the common into the high, becoming accessible because the components of his art—Marilyn, tomatoes—are familiar to everyone. He sought to make the common beautiful and special.

Spielberg and Industry Influence

Steven Spielberg attempts a similar elevation of the common; his films are designed for mass production. He strives to take the ordinary and elevate it, much like Warhol. Kurt Cobain, conversely, struggled with the pressure of authenticity and ultimately took his own life. Spielberg places his talent in service to an industry. When capturing images, the focus remains on the picture's beauty, but money is at the forefront; Hollywood is fundamentally an industry. Postmodernism demands authenticity, yet we constantly struggle with its attainment.

Literary and Technological Shifts

Jonathan Littell's literary approach to the Holocaust is often implicit. The officers selected from humanities backgrounds who shot Jews on the Eastern front, and the systematic extermination at Auschwitz, represent the destruction of an entire civilization. From this historical context, we move into postmodernity, and now we observe the twilight of this era, searching for something new.

Critique of Postmodern Technology

Postmodern criticism of technology focuses on:

• Inner killing.
• The search for instant pleasure and permanent happiness.
• Eliminating death, which leads to a phase of permanent "highness."
• The killing of the individual and the appendix of the market.

Conclusion: Both modernity and postmodernity pushed death away; in this context, the bulls in bullfighting become almost irrelevant.