Postmodernism Era in the Context of Metanarrative Settings

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the key ideas and attitudes of the era of postmodernism in the context of the rejection of metanarratives. The research methodology consists in the application of methods of analysis and synthesis, systematisation of facts, comparison, and generalisation of research outcomes. The scientific novelty lies in an attempt to understand the transformative changes of the key ideas of postmodern era and to mark the role of metanarratives in the context of the concepts of ideal, truth, and universality. Conclusions. Postmodernism has found alternative ways of spiritual growth. Besides, new forms of relations between people and society have been built. Postmodernism has «rehabilitated» the previous cultural and artistic tradition, which was actively destroyed during the 20th century: realism, academicism, and classicism. Postmodernism combined the experience of the past with the experience of the present; it can be seen as a change in cultural periods. However, mutual reflection of similarities and repetitions have displaced the categories of metanarratives (objectivity, reality, truth, universality, and ideal). Thus, Jean-Francois Lyotard, postmodernist thinker, and French poststructuralist philosopher defined postmodernism as distrust of metanarratives. The term «metanarrative» replaced the concept of «philosophy of history». Metanarratives linked historical events into a single story that had spanned long periods. The use of the term «metanarrative» in the era of postmodernism indicated the emergence of a new way of understanding history, culture, and art in accordance with the postmodern concept of truth.

Key words: postmodernism, cultural transformation, simulacrum, parodic approach, happening, metanarrative.