This was originally written & posted to my university course discussion group for Communications Theory.
The postmodern concept that I enjoyed learning about the most is the blurring distinction between high and low culture that results in the embracing of pop culture. Postmodernists reject the authority of who gets to determine what constitutes art. Historically, white middle-class, elite-educated men primarily assumed the role of art and cultural critic, thus perpetuating their patriarchal control of constructing society.
With this in mind, I love pop culture, including pop music. Music made for the masses also reflects the society in which it was made. A couple months ago musical artists Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion released their hit single W.A.P. This song garnered much attention and criticism because it had the audacity to confront the fact that women may take pleasure in sexual intimacy. This challenges the discursive structures of gender roles through an oppositional reading of the virgin-whore concept from classic literature and religious texts. When Cardi B. sings, “I don’t cook, I don’t clean / But let me tell you how I got this ring,” speaks to the commodification of the female body. However, instead of trading domestic servitude for nuptials, Cardi exchanges intimate pleasure for material pleasure. Sure, W.A.P. might be a controversial text to many people, but postmodernism provides us one avenue through which we can discuss it. Does anyone else turn up W.A.P. when it comes on the car stereo?
stackofokcats 