Popular Modernism and Its Legacies: From Pop Literature to Video Games

Popular Modernism and Its Legacies explores how modernist concepts, figures, and aesthetics continue to play essential roles in contemporary works, genres, and mediums, offering new perspectives on important works at the center of our cultural imagination.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 27 June 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Popular Modernism and Its Legacies is a groundbreaking book that reimagines the study of modernism by exploring how modernist concepts, figures, and aesthetics continue to shape and influence contemporary works across various genres and mediums. Written by a diverse group of established and emerging scholars, the book is divided into three sections that offer distinct perspectives on popular modernism.

In the first section, the authors examine popular modernism in historical periods traditionally associated with the movement, uncovering hidden connections between traditional forms of modernist literature and popular culture. They explore how popular media, such as films, television shows, and music, have embraced and reinterpreted modernist themes and aesthetics, creating new forms of cultural expression. The authors also highlight the ways in which popular modernism has influenced the development of popular genres, such as science fiction and fantasy, and how these genres have in turn contributed to the ongoing relevance of modernist ideas.

The second section of the book traces the genealogies of modernist aesthetics and values from the past to the contemporary era. The authors argue that immensely popular contemporary works, artists, and genres continue to engage with and renew modernist aesthetics and values. They explore how modernist techniques, such as fragmentation, irony, and self-reflexivity, are used by contemporary artists to address social and existential quandaries in the contemporary world. The authors also examine how popular works invoke modernist texts and artists to create new meanings and interpretations of important works at the center of our cultural imagination.

In the final section of the book, the authors turn their attention to the 21st century, exploring how popular works invoke modernist techniques, texts, and artists to explore social and existential quandaries in the contemporary world. They examine how popular media, such as graphic novels and social media, have become platforms for modernist experimentation and exploration. The authors also highlight the ways in which popular modernism has influenced the development of new genres, such as post-modernism and neo-modernism, and how these genres have in turn contributed to the ongoing evolution of modernist ideas.

Concluding with an afterword by noted scholar Faye Hammill, Popular Modernism and Its Legacies reshapes the study of modernism and provides new perspectives on important works at the center of our cultural imagination. The book challenges readers to think critically about the ways in which modernist ideas continue to shape our contemporary world and encourages them to explore the rich and diverse legacy of modernism in all its forms.

Weight: 426g
Dimension: 153 x 227 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501354595