Postmodernism Has Been Described As A New Version Of Western Cultural Imperialism. Discuss The Relationship Between Postmodernism And 'Postcolonialism'.

Postmodernism has been described as a new version of Western cultural imperialism. Discuss the relationship between postmodernism and 'postcolonialism'.

Postmodern theory been applauded as liberating, even democratising, in its rejection of absolutism and in its refusal to accept the dictates of hierarchy and certainty. It calls for the abandonment of the modernist qualities of objective truth, centralized knowledge, totalising explanations and determinacy . Rather, postmodern theory advocates for the relatively of truth, indeterminacy and pluralism. Yet, these often celebrated traits of postmodern theory have deep and profound consequences for non-westerns in postcolonial societies. While on the surface it might seem that postcolonial discourse would immediately align itself with postmodernism, as postmodernism highlights the value of defying established authority and the metanarratives of legitimation that had acted as philosophical supports for colonial control, this is not always the case. Postcolonial theorists often accuse postmodernism of dispensing with several vital ideas, particularly historical reference, in its proposition that all is now "hyperreal" or "simulacra". This representation of history in postmodernism further marginalizes the non-Western in postcolonial nations and their aspirations of reclaiming a past and identity that has been taken from them. As the Marxist writer Fredric Jameson points out that while postmodernism might be the "cultural dominant" of our age, its preoccupation with fragmentation, hyperreality serve to disrupt the power to meaningfully engage with issues of class struggle, gender and race struggles. Similarly, its emphasis on destroying all variety of privileges, postmodernism intentionally seeks an equal representation for race, culture and ethnicity. With each nation's culture and identity becoming increasingly merged and integrated with one another, postmodernism essentially destroys differences within society, making it impossible for alternative claims to be established. In this sense, postmodernism can be described as a new form of western imperialism.

Exploring the relationship between postmodernism and postcolonialism has been a extremely challenging issue for critics for some time. Since postcolonialism shares many of postmodernism fundamental desires to dismantle and displace the truth-claims of Eurocentric discourse

As many critics have argued, postmodernism's celebration of subjectivity problematises criticism from contemporary culture. The Marxist writer Fredric Jameson sees postmodernism as the "cultural dominant" of our age that is characterised by fragmentation and depthlessness.

His book titled 'Postmodernism or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism' argues that the postmodern fixation with fragmentation, partiality and depthlessness prevents the possibility of establishing a useful position from which to engage with or critically participate in culture.

Furthermore, Fredric Jameson's 'Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism' asserts that postmodernism is not simply another aesthetic style. Rather, he locates postmodernism as a stage in the development of the Marxist theory of capitalism, one in which it is now the 'cultural dominant.' In Jameson's examination, postmodernism heralds in a number of cultural changes . It has banished distinctions between the conventional categories of high and low culture, blurred the boundaries between reality and unreality and "weaken[ed] historicity ". This has lead to a "new depthlessness " that defies understanding. Jameson also stresses the fragmentary nature of postmodernism that leads to instability and indeterminacy.

Postmodernism's fragmentation of the subject deprives us of our ability to understand where we are in time, and where we are heading. According to Jameson, it is emblematic of postmodern theory to show contempt for time and historical reality. Rather than time, postmodern theory is far more engrossed in space . Jameson's examines this preoccupation with 'space' in the postmodern architectural features of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles . He notes that that the hotel is characterised by its lack of structural logic. Although there are multiple levels there is no apparent floor plan, no central lobby in which one can locate themselves in the new space. This new space or 'hyperspace' as Jameson calls it, is similar to a schizophrenic experience. The result of this hyperspace is extreme disorientation that transcends "the capacities of the individual human body to locate itself, to organise its immediate surroundings perceptually and cognitively to map its position in a mappable external world ."

What alarms Jameson with the postmodern 'hyperspace' is the apparent lack of