Postmodernism (Hebdige)

In his article, Dick Hebdige explores the concept of postmodernity and the success and problems of the “buzzword” status of the term “postmodern.” Hebdige writes that, “Though classes still exist, there is no guaranteed dynamic to class struggle and no ‘class belonging’” there are no solid homes to return to, no places reserved in advance for the righteous. No one ‘owns’ an ‘ideology’ because ideologies are themselves in process: in a state of constant formation and reformation” (441). Because of this, the term “postmodern” is almost too broad that it becomes unstable and essentially meaningless.  
 

If we apply Hebdige’s ideas to Miley Cyrus’s two music videos, “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball,” it becomes apparent that – in today’s world – the sublime is favored over the beautiful. Hebdige writes that, “For Lyotard, a properly avant-garde poem or canvas takes us to this sublime point where consciousness and being bang up against their own limitations in the prospect of absolute otherness – God or infinity – in the prospect, that is, of their disappearance in death and silence” (438).  Though some have been baffled by the contents of Miley’s videos, others have described the videos as artistic and innovative. Without the “ideal” that existed with modernity, it becomes possible for any expression or creation to be labeled as “art.” 

Hebdige also writes that, “the experience of postmodernity is positively schizogenic: a grotesque attenuation – possibly monstrous, occasionally joyous – of our capacity to feel and to respond. Postmodernity is modernity without the hopes and dreams which made modernity bearable” (436). Though this may seem like a pessimistic outlook, what Hebdige seems to be describing is an anything-goes culture that gives power to individual preferences rather than the oppressive “global ideal.” In this way, Miley Cyrus’s videos can be considered “art” and can be respected or appreciated for the experience they offer to the audience – testing the viewer’s capacities of feeling and responding.