Reviews for Digimodernism: How New Technologies Dismantle the Pastmodern and Reconfigure Our Culture: How New Technologies Dismantle the Postmodern and Reconfigure Our Culture

1. A passionate and prophetic guidebook for today's landscape

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, January 12st, 2010

   Those who are familiar with postmodernism in the late twentieth century may wonder what happened to it and whether it is still a force in the intellectual landscape. This book argues that postmodernism, with its cynicism and surreality, is over. In its place is a new movement, for which the author has coined the word "digimodernism". Digimodernism is characterised and shaped by digital technology and has a whole complex of related characteristics, notably earnestness and realism. Reading Kirby's book, I was convinced by his argument that "postmodernism" is no longer a good description of what is going on now, and that a new word, and with it a whole new set of ideas, is needed. Kirby is ambitious in setting out the tone of the whole zeitgeist in this way, and if he is correct in his analysis, this is a very important book indeed. The book is academic in style, with many cultural references which are helpful to the argument. I found it illuminating to have today's mental landscape characterised so accurately, for example how the Lord of the Rings fits into the new grand narrative. But the book is also alarming, particularly the last chapter where Kirby offers a critique of contemporary culture. Are we really seeing the death of competence, a poisonous grand narrative, and the invention of autism? As a teacher I feel alarmed, and warned.

2. Original and exciting

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, October 12rd, 2009

   One of the most original and exciting books I have read in years. It starts by arguing that postmodernism, which described the culture of the late 20th century, is dead, and goes on to show that our 21st century culture is dominated by innovations and developments in digital technology. Kirby's aim is to show that so many of the phenomena of our world today - blogs, Wikipedia, Facebook, text messages, reality TV, interactive TV, CGI, videogames, and so on - are all part of the same systematic cultural framework, which he calls "digimodernism". Surveying the whole cultural field of the noughties, he makes it all connect and make sense. The world he conjures up may seem frightening to some and alluring to others, but Kirby's point is that, like it or not, this is where the cultural balance of power lies today. Whether he turns out to be right is anyone's guess for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is. Written in an accessible and pithy style, this book is recommended for anyone interested in where our culture is heading today. Buy it, read it, talk about it - but old fogeys, beware...

3. J M Bastion

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2009

   Densely-written, poorly thought-out, facile. This is an expedition into the field of Genre Theory by a man so in love with his own sci-fi-novel grandiloquence that he seems to sacrifice any intelligible argument. Offers no fresh insights into postmodernism and those into technology are stale to say the least. Absolute tripe. Please do not buy.