Postmodernism and Popular Culture

S&C tell us that "postmodernism dispels the idea that surface does not contain meaning in itself". Basically, looks matter. Some good proof of that are sororities, specifically how they tend to kick out the fat chicks.

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I'm not exactly sure why there's such an uproar about that in the first place. Even if sororities weren't private organizations that can choose whoever the hell they want to get drunk with, who are we to kid ourselves that looks don't matter? Last year there were around 11.5 million cosmetic surgeries in the US, and that annual figure is rising, not falling. It's not that we've suddenly become superficial; it's that we're starting to realize we are.

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Why? Well, back to the S&C quote: surface contains meaning. People can look on the surfaces of others and extract meaning from that information. You may call it being superficial or even stereotyping, but I call it winning money on national television.

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Try it for yourself! What meaning can you this extract from this randomly-generated South Park character?

Yup, totally random.

From the bluetooth headset, we can assume this person is interested in technology. The half-asleep eyes with bags underneath them and the yawn all tell us he's not the type of person who gets much sleep. The shady clothing would make you think he were a high-tech drug dealer were it not for the glasses. Putting it all together, if you were to ask this character how he'd rather spend his time, you can be sure that he's more likely to prefer staying up all night downloading copyrighted material on a stolen Internet connection than personal hygiene such as shaving.