On Jameson's Theory Of Post - Modernist Culture

The shift from modernism to postmodernism has a broad realistic foundation andbackground. Postmodernism is a reflection of the present capitalist economy, politics andsocial life. It is also an inevitable product of modernism. Facing the development ofmodern science and technology, and all kinds of problems in modern society, postmodernphilosophers criticize mercilessly traditional culture. Postmodernists attempt to interpretthe world in a new way so as to construct a new culture.Fredric Jameson who is postmodernism theoretician's mainrepresentative points out the capitalism of culture development is from the realism to themodernism, to the postmodernism,and that postmodern culture is characterized byflatness, popularity and commodification. In postmodern society people have lost theirspiritual homeland, their ideals and expectations. Fredric Jameson thinks that we mustconstruct "cognitive mapping", reestablish our spiritual homeland and go out of the crisisof postmodern society. Briefly speaking, Jameson's "Cognitive mapping" means thatwe must examine the cultural phenomenon of late capitalism with Marxist cultural theory,so as to recognize the reality of capitalist production mode under this culturalphenomenon and further keep a sober mind about this culture.People in China mainly have two views on Fredric Jameson's postmodernism culturaltheory. The first view regards Fredfic Jameson's postrnodernism cultural theory as vulgar postmodernism. The second view regards Fredric Jameson as a Marxist postmodernismtheoretician. Fredric Jameson's cultural postmodernism theory has an importantenlightening significance to the development of Chinese culture and China's economy.Since 1990s the mass culture in our country has developed multi-levelly,all-dimensionally and vigorously. Fredric Jameson thinks that postmodern culture ischaracterized by popularity, and that in the postmodernism stage, culture has already beenpopularized. Therefore Fredric Jameson's criticism on postmodern culture is also worthreconsidering by mass culture. Fredric Jameson points out that the leading culture of latecapitalism is postmodern culture. It is a cultural industry and the leading culture of thewest, which has a formidable infiltrating power to the Third World. Although China is abig cultural power, it is weak in terms of its cultural industry, That's why we need todevelop the cultural industry of our country.This thesis attempts to comb and summarize Fredric Jameson's postmodernismcultural theory to shed light on its characteristics. It aims at drawing on the experiences ofpostmodern culture and constructing our culture, not at judging which is better. Throughthe study of Fredric Jameson and his analysis of late capitalism's leading culture-postmodern culture, we should consider how to construct our country's culture.