In class we discussed the characteristics of Postmodernism, as both a literary descriptions and a broader cultural phenomenon. A very good overview of some of the key ideas involved in Postmodernism can be found at this website maintained by Dr. Mary Klages, Associate Professor of English at the University of Colorado. Among the major critics who have defined Postmodernism is Frederic Jameson, who connects Postmodern art and literature to the rise of global capitalism, and the onslaught of marketing produced by our consumer-based society. Other important critics include Jean-Francois Lyotard (whom I mentioned in class), who sees Postmodernism as a reflection of new ways of defining knowledge in what “post-industrial” societies, and Jean Baudrillard, who suggests that we are surrounded by “simulacra,” or simulations, which rely on the suggestion of a coherent “original” that doesn’t really exist.
Donald Barthelme’s “The Balloon” is certainly a prime example of postmodern fiction. It’s very much about the act of reading and understanding, a story about reading a story, in other words. Like a lot of postmodern writing, it serves as a philosophical text more than a traditional “story.”
