Capitalism, modernism and postmodernism

Abstract

In his article "Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism"(1), Fredric Jameson argues that pastiche is the characteristic mode of postmodern culture and not parody. "Pastiche," he writes, "is, like parody, the imitation of a peculiar mask, speech in a dead language; but it is a neutral practice of that mimicry, exempt from the ulterior motivations of parody, amputated from the satirical impulse, lacking the laughter and any conviction that, alongside the momentarily borrowed abnormal language, there exists some healthy linguistic normality".