In his essay ‘Metatextual Girl: -> patriarchy -> postmodernism -> power -> money -> Madonna’ David Tetzlaff writes that “postmodernism may signal the death of ideology, but not the death of cultural power” (1993: 259). What is it about the nature of post modernity that it makes such a hypothesis possible? And can it be said that the operations of ideology do not proceed as usual in the post-modern milieu? I will propose that in fact ideology is alive and kicking in post modernity, albeit in a slightly different form; a position that Tetzlaff himself suggests, rather contradictorily, in his own article.

Firstly, a working definition of post-modern should be established. In The Postmodern Condition theorist Jean-Francois Lyotard gives his own definition as “an incredulity toward metanarratives” (1998: 509). By this he places the idea of the post-modern in opposition to the discourses of the Enlightenment, which prize reason, justice, and immutable truths. For Lyotard, events such as a simple consensus between two individuals, on a matter as basic as, say, whether or not a table is made of wood, is possible only under metanarratives of the Enlightenment, which provide for the concept of “unanimity between rational minds” (1998: 509). Fundamental principles of Western thought, descended from the Enlightenment, come under suspicion in post-modernity. If metanarratives are to be distrusted, then concepts such as the power of reason, the possibility of truth, the potentiality of justice, the very idea of ‘wholeness’, also must fall. Hence Tetzlaff is able to say that “depthlessness and fragmentation characterise the texts of postmodern culture” (1993: 247). Post-modern texts are endlessly referential; appropriating, reconfiguring, borrowing, having no identity intrinsic to themselves. And so they contain no deep meaning that is their own, no ‘metanarrative’ that holds them together; what meaning there is found is on the surface, inscribed on fragments borrowed from elsewhere. This is why Madonna can be described as a post-modern figure. Her career itself is a bricolage, a hodgepodge of references without any interior narrative or purpose, beyond retaining popularity. So we see Madonna as Ciccone; as Monroe; blond and brunette; virgin, and whore; singer, actress, and author; Italian, American, and English toff. Madonna herself is nothing more than the sum of these references, or perhaps even less.

Secondly, a working definition of ideology should be established. In his essay “Ideology and the Ideological State Apparatuses”, Louis Althusser writes that “in order to exist, every social formation must reproduce the conditions of its production at the same time as it produces, and in order to be able to produce” (1971: 124). Ideology is the tool through which societies reproduce the conditions of production that allow them to sustain themselves. Ideology produces beings capable and fit to serve in the society in which they were created, or in Althusserian terms; it “interpellates individuals as subjects” (1971: 160), and does this by creating ‘imaginary relations’ of existence that mask the true condition and needs of society (1971: 152). For instance, it may be said that heterosexuality is presented ideologically as natural, and so as the ‘right’ way for the individual to achieve romantic satisfaction, concealing the fact that it is prized mainly as a method of producing labour power; new bodies to churn the machines of industry. This interpellation is effected through the Ideological State Apparatuses; institutions that produce certain ways of thinking, rather like Felix Guatarri’s “paths/voices of power”; circumscribing human groupings through coercion of bodies and the imaginary capture of minds (1995: 114). Examples of Ideological State Apparatuses include the Church, the University, the Family, and the cultural ISA, such as sports, literature, and the arts. All cultural products; music, film and television included, exist to feed ideology to the masses, whether consciously or not. For instance, it may be said that Marilyn Monroe, a precursor to Madonna, was part of a systematic re-adjustment of American society post-World War 2; one of many figures who redefined femininity for the 1950s, pulling the image of the woman out of the workplace, and back into traditional, subservient roles; the truth of her sexuality is fertility, required for the production of the next generation of workers. Given all this, it becomes possible to see how Tetzlaff might come up with the suggestion that postmodernism is the death of ideology. In a world of texts without inner meaning, texts characterised by fractures and referrals, it certainly could seem that the potential for ideology to be effectively imparted would be greatly diminished. How can a message be conveyed, when the medium is fundamentally slippery? There is no guarantee that the message will be received in the manner intended.

In fact, in considering the case of the capitalist state, it may be said that ideology, far from dying in a post-modern context, actually can thrive. Indeed, that capitalism may be uniquely suited to the post-modern world. As suggested by Marx, in his essay “The Fetishism of the Commodity and the Secret Thereof”, the capitalist system in part rests on the creation of commodities; objects divorced from the value of their use or their physical properties (1999: 42-43), and valued instead on the criteria of exchange, as a part of a social contract. The ideology of the capitalist state, then, must necessarily uphold the commodity in its operations, and the post-modern culture is effectively suited to help with this. As suggested by Tetzlaff in his article, “postmodernism applies commodity fetishism to aesthetics” (1993: 250). The promotion of the commodity is found in the very structure of the post-modern text, the fractured pieces and references become commodities themselves. Rather than the structure of the text being a skin on which to hang a deeper ideological meaning; it is the meaning itself. The post-modern aesthetic of bricolage is able to impart the ideological message of capitalism on its own; the constituent parts of the bricolage are themselves commodities. So the postmodern reconfiguration of cultural material is itself a process of interpellation, indoctrinating individuals into a world of capitalism. Madonna herself is an avatar of this process. Her career, lengthy and indisputably successful, is built on the glorification of the commodity. Each new image, new hair colour or style, new costume, new accent is a itself a commodity, emptied of use-value (what is the practical purpose of an English accent on an Italian-American?), and valued only as a part of a social contract, a method of exchange with her audience, and with the world. Her entire career is a celebration of capitalism at it most basic.

(Cereal Girl URL Link)

And, in turn, just as she cannibalised the image of Marilyn Monroe for its exchange value, so is her career cannibalised in turn. One episode of Sesame Street features a short scene wherein a young girl dances around her kitchen singing a song imparting the tale of how she first tried cereal for breakfast, and subsequently became a ‘Cereal Girl’, to a tune cribbing from Madonna’s own ‘Material Girl’. Whatever use-value the melody itself has, such as memorability and pop hooks, could surely be found in an original composition, and so is outweighed by it’s value as exchange; as a cultural reference to Madonna, to her popularity and her success. The appropriation is merely for an ill-defined value of ‘hipness’, rather than there being a concrete correlation between ‘Material Girl’ and ‘Cereal Girl’, and therefore Sesame Street, in its reconfiguration of cultural material, interpellates commodity culture as well. The textual messages it appears to impart can only, in a post-modern context, be uncertainly received, although they may interpellate capitalistic subjectivity as well. And so in ‘Cereal Girl’, from a children’s show no less, perfect for influencing growing minds, can be found lessons promoting the joy of consumerism (note the three different kinds of breakfast cereal available), categories of proper health (productive workers need a good breakfast), and categories of femininity as obedient to the patriarchy, materialistic, and sexualised (via reference to ‘Material Girl’, and so to Madonna and Monroe). But in a context of suspicion toward metanarratives, there is no guarantee that these lessons can be imparted whole and complete on to the subject, and so the real ideological message of ‘Cereal Girl’ is that of aesthetics as commodity.

To conclude, it can be seen be seen how Tetzlaff may be able to propose that postmodernism is the death of ideology. In a context of suspicion toward metanarratives, meaning itself must necessarily be variable and contingent, and so the ideological processes by which societies interpellates their subjects would seem to be compromised. However, in the case of capitalism at least, it may be said the particular character of the post-modern text works to its advantage. The very fractures and references that might seem to preclude concrete meaning in fact impart the message of the commodity onto the individuals that encounter these texts. It seems uncertain as to whether non-capitalist societies would find such ideological success in the post-modern milieu.

Works Cited:

Althusser, Louis, 1971 ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses’, Lenin and Philosophy, New Left Books, New York, 123-173.

Guattari, Felix, 1995, ‘Regimes, Pathways, Subjects’, in Soft Subversions, ed, S Lotringer, Semiotext(e), New York, 112-130.

Lyotard, Jean-Francois, 1998, ‘The Postmodern Condition’, in Literary Theory: An Anthology , eds, J Rivkin and M Ryan, Blackwell Publishers, Massashusetts, 509-514.

Marx, Karl, 1999, ‘The Fetishism of the Commodity and the Secret Thereof’, in Karl Marx Capital: An Abridged Edition, ed, D McLellan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 42-50.

Tetztlaff, David, 1993, ‘Metatextual Girl: -> patriarchy -> postmodernism -> power -> money -> Madonna’, in The Madonna Connection: Representational Politic, Subcultural Identities, and Cultural Theory, ed, C Schwichtenberg, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 239-263.