Mario replied to my question about the lack of seriousness in
postmodernism:
"It isn't serious in the sense that you're not supposed to
believe in the characters and situations as people and things
that happen to actual people."
Got it. The New York Trilogy, which I mentioned, certainly
does not even attempt any sort of verisimilitude, realism or
naturalism. By that definition, I'd agree with you about the
lack of seriousness in much of postmodernism.
But not all. What do you do with something like James
Sallis's Lew Griffin books? I would classify them as
postmodern in their telling, especially as the series goes on
and the writing gets more and more reflexive, as much about
how the story is being related as the story itself. However,
my belief in the characters and situations is never in
doubt.
"Their criticism [Lyotard and Jameson] is serious, of course,
in the sense of not meant as a joke or easily interpretable
as one."
Although many have tried.
Mark
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