Good Essay On Postmodernism

Postmodernism refers to cultural expressions and intellectual mood that are becoming dominant in the contemporary society. The concept is used in vast array of disciplines, including art, fashion, literature and sociology. It is often hard to locate its exact history since there is no clear evidence on when the movement began. However, speculations reveal that the movement could have started somewhere in the late 20th century (Barrett 323). Postmodernism seems to provide varied alternatives to connect the culture of consumption and forces that are relatively far from individual control. These options are geared towards producing all actions that are useful in relation to social struggle. Hence, the master plan of all forms of postmodernism is to “think globally, act locally (Howard 119).”
Research studies indicate that postmodernism have expanded the value of critical theory in various forms of work of architecture, fashion and design. These developments have resulted in the re-evaluation of the whole western value system such as marriage, love and popular culture. In some circumstances, postmodernism has often proved itself as anti-philosophical by rejecting majority of traditional philosophical alternatives. However, despite its nature of an official distaste, the universal, the precise and the fixed value indicates that postmodernism offers continues framework of premises within which society situate its thoughts and actions. Howard in his one of the most valuable contextual research, noted that, if the society understand the direction of postmodernism, they will be able to appreciate the expression of every area in their culture. This factors will include, fashion, design and architecture (Howard 119).
Historically, Fashion plays a significant role in a consumer society. In most circumstances, consumers have used the consumed fashion in relation to its symbolic meaning. Recent research studies in fashion indicate that, fashion acts as a normative set of rules and a valuable tool of individual and group identification. As observed in many circumstances, culture have presented fashion as a significant medium of expression. In this postmodernism era, dynamic fashion markets, consumer taste and preferences are in constant change. The consumer markets are steadily becoming fragmented as a result of global changes in fashion, lifestyle and ethnic group. As a result of the observed fragmentation, fashion in clothing have become a significant factor of social differentiation or equalization.
Postmodernism have provided a new value to the fashion industry by creating various images since its onset in the mid-80s. As observed in different circumstances, postmodernism have created immerse images by producing various physical characteristics that are predetermined by the individual mental images. Fashion has enabled the society to conform to a given pattern and standards. In other words, the visual statements that are relayed by the fashion items can classify members of the society. For instance, clothing has been used as an important tool of communication in the contemporary society. According to McHugh 2001, the influence of fashion brand choices on a reference group is of high value. Therefore, by understanding how different categories of societal members respond to different fashion have a more significant impact to the marker on decoding the image brand. It is further important to comprehend that postmodernism have crated various fashions that are confusing the consumers. This trend has been created by the continuous crave for symbolic possession. This trend can be observed in the creation of artistic or intellectual interest, history and signs of status (McHugh 28).
In conclusion, postmodernism is a broad framework that encompasses both historical and modern values of work. Therefore, is important for the society to appreciate its value without creating any form of confusion.

Works Cited

Barrett, Stanley R. "Postmodernism's Brief Moment in History." Anthropologica 53.2 (2011): 323-7. ProQuest. Web. 19 Mar. 2015
Epstein, Mikhail. "Hyper in 20th Century Culture: The Dialectics of Transition from Modernism to Postmodernism." Postmodern Culture 6.2 (1996
Howard, Paul. "Postmodernism Rightly Understood: The Return to Realism in American Thought." Perspectives on Political Science29.2 (2000): 119. 
McHugh, Patrick. "Cultural Politics, Postmodernism, and White Guys: Affect in Gravity's Rainbow." College Literature 28.2 (2001): 1-28.