Tom Nicholas
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Video: Who Killed Postmodernism?
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 11:28:56 +0000 UTCHey all!
Here is my latest video, which we're calling Who Killed Postmodernism?
It's a dive into why debates about "postmodernism" were everywhere a little under a decade ago, and why talk of it seems to have all-but disappeared in the time since.
It asks whether "postmodernism" is dead; and, if so, who killed it?
This one felt weirdly nostalgic to make. We've been gradually shifting away from making "video essay" style pieces, and trying to shift towards a more documentary/explainer style, with interviews and on-the-ground stuff rather than just having me yapping on for up to an hour.
This, however, is very "video essay". Reviewing edits has felt like being transported back to about 2017. So, for anyone who remembers that particular era of YouTube, I hope it provides a bit of fun in that way too.
At the heart of it, though, is what I think is a really important discussion about where the prevailing culture is at; and how our relationship to politics, society, and one another is shifting.
Enjoy the video! And, to everyone who supports me on here, thank you so much for doing so. Videos like this take a looooong time to make and that also means they're pretty expensive to make. In an industry where we can never be sure whether video viewership (and thus ad revenue) can fluctuate wildly, the bit of income we get from Patreon really helps!
Tom
Comments
Charlotte KL
Ah, Tom, this was another absolute banger! I especially enjoyed your analysis of political meta-modernism at the end. Yes, we again want a politics that actually believes things can be changed! I am a member of Germany's SPD largely because what the party has done in the past, on the belief that if we do it right, it can be that (and better!) again. I guess I'm a bleeding heart modernist inside.
Christoph Hipp
I agree
Alice
Great video! I think it’s the best you’ve made in years
