Metamodernism

[Immanuel Can]

Does anybody here have any special knowledge of this school of thought?

Just asking. I've got a question or two, if you do.

[Iwannaplato]

I won't claim special knowledge, but I read collection of essays about metamodernism in literature. Like postmodernism many styles and artistic periods are used in the work, but a difference from postmodernism is emotional engagement. Less distance and constant irony. There's less of the hey, let's mix it all together cause we can, but a real respect for various styles. I can imagine what this would mean in other fields, but I'd be speculating. I do like a number of the authors and filmakers who are considered metamodernists. They have managed to integrate the styles, it's not hodgepodge and there is a feeling of good will towards humanity which is often lacking in postmodernist works. I've read all the authors mentioned in Wikipedia as metamodernists...

The 2013 issue of the American Book Review dedicated to metamodernism included a series of essays identifying authors such as Roberto Bolaño, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Franzen, Haruki Murakami, Zadie Smith, and David Foster Wallace as metamodernists.[12][13]

I've also enjoyed the filmakers they mention...

James MacDowell, in his formulation of the "quirky" cinematic sensibility, described the works of Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, Miranda July, and Charlie Kaufman as building upon the "New Sincerity", and embodying the metamodern structure of feeling in their balancing of "ironic detachment with sincere engagement".[10]

Ultimately they leave me yearning for something more, but the works are more human and humane. They are not cynical or cruel or merely mocking.

And they bring a lot of skill to their work.