How has the word ‘Postmodern’ been used by different theorists?

There are many different theorists who have come up with ideas and perceptions about the word ‘Postmodern’. Postmodernism is a philosophical movement away from modernism, it’s basically a reaction against this view of modernism, in all disciplines/forms, like art, film, philosophy, history etc.
Postmodernist theory grows out of and extends the modernist thinking, one of the first of these theories was by an English historian, Arnold Toynbee, 1938. He used the word ‘postmodern’ to be used as the declining influence of Christianity and the Western nations.
The second theory was by Marshall McLuhan 1960, who said the phrase ‘The medium is the message’ which means the manner in which the message is mediated becomes more important than the actual message itself. Following from this, grew the idea that theories were possible for how mediation works, how its built, how it influences audiences and how it references itself.
Another way the word has been used was by Baudrillard, who developed the ideas from McLuhan so that it was possible to deny the message underneath the medium has any substance at all, so the audience comes to perceive through the media a world that appears ‘real’ but is not. He also developed the idea of simulation and simulacra, Baudrillard said what has happened in postmodern culture is that our society has become so reliant on models and maps that we have lost all contact with the real world that preceded the map. He said there were 3 steps to simulacra 1) in the first order of simulacra, which he associates with the pre-modern period, the image is a clear counterfeit of the real; the image is recognized as just an illusion, a place marker for the real; 2) in the second order of simulacra, which Baudrillard associates with the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, the distinctions between the image and the representation begin to break down because of mass production and the proliferation of copies. Such production misrepresents and masks an underlying reality by imitating it so well, thus threatening to replace it. 3) In the third order of simulacra, which is associated with the postmodern age, we are confronted with a precession of simulacra; that is, the representation precedes and determines the real. There is no longer any distinction between reality and its representation; there is only the simulacrum.
From this idea, Baudrillard 1983 developed the idea of hyperreality, which is where reality has been replaced and that today we only experience prepared realities. He came up with points to a number of factors within the postmodern present:
• The loss of history
• Mediatzation – movies and television keeping turning to history and to ‘retro’ recreations of the past.
• Proliferation of kitsch-Our culture, according to Baudrillard, has been inundated by trashy, kitsch, mass-market products, which contribute to our society of simulation and consumerism.
• Urbanization
• Language and ideology
Another theorist was Lyotard, he rejected what he called ‘grand narratives’ or universal ‘meta-narratives’. These grand narratives are referring to the theories of history, science, religion and politics, he believes these have given structure and meaning to western civilisation has come to an end. Lyotard rejects ideas that everything is knowable by science or history. He is suggesting that we now live in an era where this adherence to particular beliefs/cultures is at an end and our lives are therefore without a direction or purpose.
Frederic Jameson was a theorist who actually rejected postmodernism, he believes it provides pastiche, humorously referencing itself to other texts and has a meaningless circle; he has a somewhat more critical view of pastiche, describing it as “blank parody”, especially with reference to the postmodern parodic practices of self-reflexivity and intertextuality. Jameson coined the phrase ‘The waning of Affect’ in relation to postmodernism.
Another ‘non-postmodern’ theorist was Talcott Parsons, who was a sociologist in the 1950’s, and he said that postmodernism rejected structure and roles which is what he believes in.
Most postmodernists would have no problem in making no particular point, but for Jameson, cultural and literacy output is much more purposeful and this then makes him a modernist in a world increasingly dominated by postmodern culture.
Jonathon Kramer was a postmodern theorist of music, he stated the idea that postmodernism is a surface style or historical period of an attitude, he also stated 16 characteristics of postmodern music, were things such as on some way it is ironic, it challenges barriers between high and low styles ect.