It Matters: Postmodernism

  Postmodernism. It matters. We discussed it briefly this past week in class, and its explanation of the world clarifies a lot that happens in society. Postmodernism helps explain recent actions taken by Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook.

  Those recent actions are described here: Facebook Founder Donation. Basically, Zuckerberg donated a large sum of money to the public school system in  Newark, New Jersey. That donation coincided with the release of a movie about him that portrayed  him in a negative fashion. Controversy was sparked over whether that donation was an attempt at boosting his image.

  I think that his donation can be explained by postmodernism. There are multiple levels to Zuckerberg's donation. Was his donation to help school-children? Or to boost his self-image? Or to satisfy his own desires? Was it for personal or charitable reasons? With postmodernism helping to explain his actions, I see it is both. It is not only for external reasons, to help society, but also to help himself, perhaps socially or for other personal reasons.

  Postmodernism means that there are multiple levels to everything. It also explains that the economy and our culture go hand-in-hand. This helps explain Mark's donation. It is okay that there are multiple reasons for that donation because nowadays everything has multiple levels. Also, it even makes sense that he would donate for social benefit because our economy and our culture are one in the same.

  Understanding the concept of postmodernism helps me understand topics in the news. For example, it helped clare up the controversy surrounding Mark's actions. This concept, with understanding, can cause change. By knowing that something can have two purposes and not just one, we can learn to accept those things.

  Postmodernism allows for a more complete understanding of our world. It helps explain why seemingly unrelated ideas connect to each other. It matters.