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The Barometer Subcultures for Studying Three Street-Level Postmodernist Edges
by Brad Sargent
Volume 4, Number 5, March 8, 1999

Eds. Note: Brad Sargent works with the Continuing Education Department of Golden Gate Seminary near San Francisco. He spends significant time researching and writing on Postmodern issues. Some of these issues have yet to hit most denominations. They are coming however, and wise leaders will be aware.

I'm currently in a quest to understand the emerging layers of the group of people we call "postmodern," and what makes up the key differences among its various subcultures. Most postmodernists don't care about academic postmodernism, even if they've been influenced by those trendy European philosophers. What postmodernists do care about is a particular set of values, a non-traditional way of processing information, and interacting within the multicultural mosaic of a world. This is what I call "street-level postmodernism."

I call its different layers "edges." I've identified three historical "barometer subcultures," each of which captures the pressure toward change that one edge embodies. These barometer subcultures give an espresso version of what eventually appears in a more or less diluted mainstream version about 15 to 20 years later. It is a very practical help for us as church consultants to study these subcultures now for clues about the present and future. Here they are, along with some key lessons.

1. The "New Edge" of Mild Postmodernism

The barometer subculture for "soft" postmodernism is the punk movement. It emerged in England in the mid-1970s at a time when unemployment was 20%. Many young adults had no future to look forward to, other than being on the dole (welfare), living at their parents' home, and splurging on entertainment evenings at music clubs. (Sound like so-called "Generation X"?) Punk fed on nihilism, body piercing, tattooing, dog collars, and clothes made of trashcan liners -- quite a contrast to the parallel romantic world of "glam rock" that grew out of the hippie movement.

To read more about this edge see The Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise by Craig O'Hara. This book shows the 1970s punk value structure that emerged in the early 1990s mainstream of the Buster Generation (born 1961-1981). Specific punkish/New Edge values can be anchored to concrete historical influences in the "post-" world experienced by Busters in their formative years. For instance, Post-civil-rights (1960s): Anti-racism and pro-diversity. Post-feminist (1963): Anti-sexism and pro-feminism. Post-Stonewall (1969; beginning of modern gay rights movement): Anti-homophobia and pro-gay (or at least gay-tolerant). Post-Earth-Day (1970): Anti-speciesism and pro-ecology, pro-eco-spirituality, pro-vegetarianism/veganism. Post-Watergate (1972-1974): Anti-political and pro-anarchism, libertarianism, and sarcasm against a politically sick and unstable world. Post-Yuppie (1980s): Anti-Boomer and pro-DIY (do-it-yourself) entrepreneurship when Boomers and Builders refuse to turn over leadership to Busters.

So what? Just as the punks developed in reaction to hippies, New Edge postmodernist Christians tend to exist in reaction to the modernist church. Community is a high value, and New Edgers seem to have recaptured the strong biblical sense of relationship and fellowship. But I frequently see New Edgers trying to "tweak" traditional church structures. This may end up as a seeker-sensitive church with "alternative" music, or what is basically a takeoff on a church growth model. Thus, ironically, their identity is still tied to modernism, though they may think they've broken away significantly from tradition.

Part II will discuss "Far Edge Postmodernism." Brad would love to dialogue via email at BradSargent@ggbts.edu.

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