Intro

From the examples of Wikipedia, How to tell a true war story, and the Fountain are all good examples of post modernism thought. All of them show they challenge the traditional structure of the industries they operate in. For example Wikipedia challenges ideas about the author being one person and having credentials, it challenges the idea that information is static and doesn't change, it also challenge that information should be free and you don't have to pay for it. For How to Tell a True War Story, Tim O'Brien challenges the idea that narrative truth is not the same as emotional truth and it is okay to be an unreliable narrative. This can be seen directly influenced by war where you can see that morality is ambiguous and humans are irrational. The view is much more realistic and no longer romanticizes human ideals. The Fountain also challenged art conventions and it structure and definition. It asks the question what is the definition of art. Duchamp proposes that art can be a ready made manufactured object and it is simply the context and the decision of the artist to choose it. It is also the beginning of conceptual art, where the idea presented in the art is more important the physical object of art. Post modernism demonstrates an attitude that is harshly realistic, challenges the tradition in which things used to be and fundamentally changed the approach to all aspects of society.

wikipedia

Wikipedia demonstrates postmodern thinking because it challenges the idea of the encyclopedia completely. Previously encyclopedias are written by academic scholars who have credentials in their field, it goes through rigorous reviews before it can be published. It is a lengthy and tedious process that takes a long time and is cost inefficient, by the time everything has been approved the information can be outdated. However with Wikipedia it challenges the idea of authorship. Not only one person can write an article actually many people can write this article. Furthermore who is author does not matter anymore it becomes about the information. The editors remain anonymous and go through a collective editing process who are trusted wikipedia users. Therefore no longer limited to the academics. By allowing easy access to editing it allows the information to be updated. Another postmodern idea is contradiction and relative truth. The wikipedia information is constantly changing to be more relevant to the time it is happening it is the very example of a relevant truth.encyclopedia based on authoritative figures in academia, it is an open source platform that is monitored and written by potentially anyone. In addition Wikipedia encyclopedia based on authoritative figures in academia, it is an open source platform that is monitored and written by potentially anyone. In addition wikipedia challenges the notion that text is permanent, with the articles being written and rewritten daily, the text becomes a fluid entity. Furthermore it also challenges previous notions of human motivation, the intrinsic motivation of the intellectual community has proven infinitely more powerful than a monetary commission based model. 

"How to Tell a True War Story" Tim O'Brien

Video:Stanford University:A Conversation with Tim O'Brien on Writing & War

"How to Tell a True War Story" is not an easy story. As the reader, one feels continuously antagonized by the narrator. This is because he completely reverts traditional expectations of reader such as the reliable narrator and the triumph of morality. Rather his stories are morally ambiguous forcing us to confront the uncomfortable non romantic truth. For example in the story where Rat Kiley writes a letter to console Curt Lemon's sister on his death, upon not receiving a reply Kiley call her a 'dumb cooze'. When the reader learns about Kiley's heart warming letter he or she is moved by the humanity of Kiley to still be able to empathize despite being in such inhumane situations. The audience is led to anticipate an equally moving response, however is abruptly met with silence on the sister's part as well as Kiley's misdirected anger. This shattering of the expectation demonstrates O'Brien's questioning of truth, where he sees the embracement of the morally ambiguous a necessary factor of understanding. Furthermore he is subverting the traditional medium of writing.

In addition O'Brien deals directly with the notion of truth. In vein of post modernist thought, he argues that truth is ambiguous, relative and contradictory. He uses a wonderful metaphor where the morality  of a story is like the thread that makes up a cloth both are intrinsically related to one another and impossible to distinguish. He also repeatedly contradicts himself and makes it clear that narrative truth is not the same as emotional truth. He is comfortable to contradict himself and thus illustrates the futility of truth and story telling, a sense of skepticism that permeates post modernism..

  

Fountain (Duchamp)

Many art historians see Marcel Duchamp's 'Fountain' as a seminal piece of art that marked the shift of the post modern understanding of what art is. Duchamp's fountain was created in 1917. He 'created' this piece of work through taking a functional urinal, an ordinary mass made object and signed his alter ego's name and dated it. He then submitted it to a salon show however was promptly rejected. By using the conventions of art, such as the signature and dating as well as the intention to exhibit it in a gallery, Duchamp challenged the definition of art. What does it take to make an art object? Is it the artists hand in creating something? Can it be a ready made object? Does it depend in the context it is shown in? Does it depend on the relationship with its viewer? In defence of his piece he states 'Mr Mutt's fountain is not immoral, that is absurd, no more than a bathtub is immoral. It is a fixture that you see every day in plumbers' shop windows. Whether Mr Mutt with his own hands made the fountain has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view - created a new thought for that object.' ('The Richard Mutt Case', The Blind Man, New York, no.2, May 1917, p.5.)

The 'Fountain' marked the transition of art into conceptual art. By turning the piece into an art that examined itself and deconstructed the previous assumptions art it is in line with the post modernist thinking. Furthermore it carries the idea of the definition of art as relative, it not being to exist as an explicit thing on its own but reliant on the relative context it is shown in. A ready made urinal in a bathroom is simply a urinal however when placed in the context of a gallery setting it makes the viewer think about what consists of art. The act of questioning the role of the artist is its very aim. 

Gewen, Barry. "State of the Art." NY Times. N.p., 11 Dec. 2005. Web. 25 May 2013. 

Video Credit: www.Khanacademy.org

Conclusion

In conclusion from the examples of Wikipedia, How to tell a true war story, and the Fountain are all good examples of post modernism thought. All of them show they challenge the traditional structure of the industries they operate in. For example Wikipedia challenges ideas about the author being one person and having credentials, it challenges the idea that information is static and doesn't change, it also challenge that information should be free and you don't have to pay for it. For How to Tell a True War Story, Tim O'Brien challenges the idea that narrative truth is not the same as emotional truth and it is okay to be an unreliable narrative. This can be seen directly influenced by war where you can see that morality is ambiguous and humans are irrational. The view is much more realistic and no longer romanticizes human ideals. The Fountain also challenged art conventions and it structure and definition. It asks the question what is the definition of art. Duchamp proposes that art can be a ready made manufactured object and it is simply the context and the decision of the artist to choose it. It is also the beginning of conceptual art, where the idea presented in the art is more important the physical object of art. Post modernism demonstrates an attitude that is harshly realistic, challenges the tradition in which things used to be and fundamentally changed the approach to all aspects of society.