Pastiche
One of the defining characteristic of the postmodern age is the fracturing of the identity. Lacking a certainly of identity, the result in cultural expression is a loss of style and determinacy of individualism. The Realist age, especially, and to a lesser extent than that but a greater extent than the Postmodern age, was a period in which artistic expression was defined by a signature identity and style so strongly that the works of any given artist could be easily parodied. As the loss of individual style gave has broken down, expression has given way to pastiche which brings together elements from external influences that serve as substitutes for a well-defined identity. Lacking any peculiarity capable of being parodied, the element of pastiche can now be applied equally to works of sincerity or irony. The fact that irony has become the dominant mode of emotional reaction is directly related to the increased presence of pastiche as a substitute for identity.
Emotional Schizophrenia
Jameson is not really suggesting that the postmodern condition is a mental health issue, but instead he does allude to the symptomatic identity of schizophrenia which detaches from emotional connection, but at the same time experiences a liberation from the anxieties imposed by the modern world. Along with irony, the postmodern condition responds with cynicism, detachment from traditional emotional involvement and a generalized anesthesia to stimuli which would have caused profound emotional distress during the Realist and Modernist era. Jameson suggests that in one sense this has created a society that seems more incapable of responding with genuine emotions to the kinds of extreme depictions of human behavior which were considered so upsetting as to be censored or banned in even fictional representations. On the other hand, postmodern schizophrenia has effectively removed or subdued the egocentric paranoia responsible for creating neurotic anxiety toward any of the things which would have caused profound stress in past generations.
Depthlessness
The concept of depthlessness as a condition of the Postmodern Age is illustrated by Jameson as both literally and figuratively true. In a comparison of artworks by Van Gogh and Andy Warhol, the emotional intensity of the Dutch master is given form not just through content with a historical depth, but actual depth as a visual approach to creating that content. By contrast, Warhol’s painting is both devoid of any real historical context because it is all referential and also lacking visual depth. In other words, Van Gogh has frozen a moment in time that offers both historical and artistic perspective, while Warhol’s provides neither. This flattening of depth extends to the pastiche of a movie set in the past, but with characterization defiantly belonging to the late 20th or 21st century. Part of the thematic complex of depthlessness as a postmodern condition is, in fact, the lack of historical resonance and the creation of a cultural awareness that seems perpetually rooted in the present. Portrayals of either the distant past or distant future lack depth because while the outward appearance may look right, the characterization consistently references contemporary behavior, trends, and values.
