“It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”: MTV, Postmodern Theory, and Generational Shifts in the United States
Date of Completion
2014
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Individually Designed-American Studies
First Advisor
Paul Deslandes
Second Advisor
Sean Witters
Third Advisor
Nicole Phelps
Keywords
popular culture, 1980s, united states, MTV, postmodernism, postmodern condition
Abstract
This project examines the formation, format, and content of Music Television (MTV) in its early days, and how these facets of the network embody the cultural and aesthetic dominant of the time-- postmodernism. The concept of postmodernism is one that has been debated, disputed, and edited over time and still lacks a concrete definition. In essence, this project requires an analysis of the basic tenets of postmodernism and an application of them to the overall concept of MTV. Through the use of key postmodern texts and firsthand accounts of MTV as well as scholarly works and previous analysis, this analysis will demonstrate that there is more to the postmodernity of MTV than just the format of it. It will make an argument for generational differences and the potentially imperative role that they play not only in the context of MTV but wider culture in general. Additionally, after the analysis is complete, this project will apply its findings to the state of music and technology in today’s society.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Bucci, Marissa A., "“It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”: MTV, Postmodern Theory, and Generational Shifts in the United States" (2014). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 49.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/49