Toward a Postmodern Cultural Criticism (The Question of Implicit Frameworks)

Abstract

The cultural criticism approach is considered one of the ‎most significant approaches that has brought together several trends in postmodern ‎criticism under its umbrella. Its emergence in the Arab world has given rise ‎to many exaggerations, questions, and arguments about ‎the possible death of the literary question and its replacement by the cultural ‎question, and about establishing its theoretical foundations as an ‎approach that aims at revealing the flaws of systematicity ‎and the cultural tricks carried by discourses and encrusted ‎stealthily into collective ‎consciousness. These implicit systems are carefully examined by ‎the researcher Abdullah Al Ghathami, who has ‎recognized hidden and artful structures within ‎discourses; these are subtle structures that stem from the ideological, cultural, and ‎tribal heritage ingrained in the memory and convictions of the discourse producer that eventually impose ‎authority on the said discourse through their unconscious ‎but touching rhythm. ‎

       Despite the importance of this approach, it has poured ‎all its efforts into revealing the negative implicit ‎systematicity and eliminated other considerations ‎inside and outside discourse.  Therefore, this study ‎aims to propose a multilevel harmonization to analyze ‎and study discourse (literary discourse in particular) to understand it internally and externally and ‎examine the implicit systems in it in both their positive and ‎negative aspects. It also suggests expanding the definition of systematicity as well as extending the scope and applicability of cultural criticism. This expansion will not take the theory ‎out of its cultural framework. It will rather make it more ‎inclusive and at liberty to become a focused tool that ‎can respond to variables and can analyze all the aspects of discourse.