We are gathered here today for the passing of our dear friend, Postmodernism!

In Dr. Kirby's article, his topic is introduced with "Alan Kirby says postmodernism is dead and buried. In its place comes a new paradigm of authority and knowledge formed under the pressure of new technologies and contemporary social forces." Just this line alone, along with the video "Did You Know?" introduces the idea that a new power and knowledge is blooming that focuses on the use and continuous development of technology. This may very well be true. I hadn't even heard of postmodernism before I started the class, and now this article is saying that it is already over, and "from now on we’re going to believe in critical realism." Power and knowledge increasingly depends on technology. Who has the highest advances in technological warfare weaponry, Who has the best factory technology that has increased productivity, and soon who invents the first supercomputer. One component of "pseudo-modernism" is that it focuses on the recipients: the readers, listeners, users, etc.; not the artist, author, or director. For example, "...dance music is to be danced to... In music, the pseudo-modern superseding of the artist-dominated album as monolithic text by the downloading and mix-and-matching of individual tracks on to an iPod, selected by the listener, was certainly prefigured by the music fan’s creation of compilation tapes a generation ago." This also communicates that pseudo-modernism hasn't just appeared, but has in fact been around for quite some time. Dr. Kirby verifies this by stating, "To a degree, pseudo-modernism is no more than a technologically motivated shift to the cultural centre of something which has always existed." After reading this article I believe that it could be true, maybe we are moving out of a postmodern age because it can't be rejuvenated. Technology has definitely changed the world, and will continuously do so. Humans have started a never ending chain of growth and productivity centered around technological advancements. Very interesting.