Paranoia in Postmodern Literature
For all its playfulness, postmodern literature also deals with heavy stuff—including paranoia. Yep, these people thought someone was out to get them.
Okay, we need to take social and historical background into account here. Remember, postmodernism grew out of a mid-late 20th-century setting in which technology, consumerism, and the media were all growing at an insane rate. As the world entered a new era of mass communication and technology (i.e., "technoculture"), writers started tapping into the theme of technology going into, um, overdrive and people being left powerless under its reign.
So technology is ramping up: is that enough to make people freak out? Possibly, but the postmodernists had more factors on their side. Namely, a little thing called the Cold War. The Cold War was basically a game of chicken, in which the ongoing suspicion between the East and West was so thick, you could cut it with…a dystopian story.
Technology + a war of distrust = Big Brother is watching.
And remember, the idea that you're being controlled, that your life isn't your own, is especially horrific for postmodernists, who were all about person freedom and, frankly, chaos. The order being imposed on the world around them—be it through technology or spies—was enough to psych them out.
Chew on This
Technology run amok is a favorite of postmodernist writers, including Philip Reeve, who wrote the steampunk novel Mortal Engines (2001). In this novel, the world is back on track after an apocalyptic event, but technology seems as though it's heading in the same direction. Here we go again…
Think Alan Moore's Watchmen (1986-1987) is just a superhero saga? Think again. This graphic novel shines a light on U.S./foreign relations and Cold War paranoia. Set in an alternate version of New York circa 1985 (we're talking dystopian, Dark Knight stuff here), it works as an allegory: its characters' different outlooks mirror some of the political views and questions going on at the time. Plus, let's face it, the whole superhero thing is way more fun than some stuffy debate.