What is Metamodernism?

Metamodernism is like the cool, thoughtful cousin of postmodernism. To get it, let’s first talk about postmodernism. Picture a time when everyone was super skeptical, questioning everything, and kind of making fun of serious stuff. Postmodernism was all about saying, “Nothing is really true, and everything is just a big joke.”

Metamodernism, on the other hand, is like saying, “Okay, we get it, life is messy and nothing is perfect, but maybe we can still find some meaning and be hopeful.” It’s a mix of being serious and playful, of doubting and believing, all at the same time.

Imagine you’re watching a movie. In a postmodern movie, the characters might be making fun of everything, and the story might feel like it’s not going anywhere because nothing really matters. In a metamodern movie, the characters might still make jokes and be skeptical, but they also have moments where they are genuinely trying to find meaning and connect with each other. It’s like the movie is saying, “Yeah, life is complicated and sometimes ridiculous, but maybe there’s still something worth believing in.”

Take the TV show “Stranger Things” for example. It’s got all the fun stuff like nostalgia, horror, and sci-fi, but it also has these heartfelt moments where the characters really care about each other. It’s like the show is saying, “Yeah, things are weird and scary, but friendship and love are real.”

In art, think about Olafur Eliasson’s installations. They play with your perception and make you question reality, but they also create a sense of wonder and connection with the world. It’s like saying, “Yeah, the world is strange, but it’s also beautiful.”

And in literature, authors like David Foster Wallace are great examples. His writing is super self-aware and ironic, but it also tries to tackle big questions about life and meaning. In “Infinite Jest,” Wallace explores addiction, entertainment, and the search for genuine human connection in a very complex and sometimes humorous way.

So, metamodernism is all about embracing the complexity of life, being both skeptical and hopeful, and finding new ways to connect with the world and each other. It’s like saying, “Yes, things are complicated, but maybe that’s what makes life interesting and worth living.”