What is Metamodernism?
Metamodernism is a cultural paradigm and philosophical sensibility that emerged in the early 21st century as a response to both modernism and postmodernism. It is characterized by a blending of modernist and postmodernist ideas, seeking to reconcile the optimism and progressiveness of modernism with the skepticism and irony of postmodernism, creating a more nuanced and complex worldview. The use of the prefix “meta” derives from Plato’s metaxis, describing an oscillation and simultaneity between and beyond diametrically opposed poles. Rather than a fixed position, metamodernism operates through perpetual movement between sincerity and irony, hope and melancholy, construction and deconstruction.
Whereas postmodernism was characterized by deconstruction, irony, pastiche, relativism, nihilism, and the rejection of grand narratives, metamodernism engages with the resurgence of sincerity, hope, romanticism, affect, and the potential for grand narratives and universal truths, whilst not forfeiting all that we’ve learned from postmodernism. Thus, rather than simply signaling a return to naïve modernist ideological positions, metamodernism considers that our era is characterized by an oscillation between aspects of both modernism and postmodernism.
Origins & Lineage
The first documented use of the term “metamodern” goes back to 1975, when critical theorist Mas’ud Zavarzadeh employed it to speak of a certain kind of (then) contemporary novel struggling with the increasing blurring of reality with the fantastic and fiction-like qualities of late 20th century life. However, this early usage differed significantly from contemporary understanding.
The term “metamodernism” was first coined by cultural theorists Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker in their 2010 essay “Notes on Metamodernism.” In their seminal 2010 essay, Vermeulen and van den Akker outlined an emerging cultural paradigm they dubbed “metamodernism,” oscillating between the opposing poles of modernist sincerity and postmodern irony, the metamodern sensibility attempts to transcend the aporia of the postmodern era without regressing to the naivete of the modern. The essay was published in the Journal of Aesthetics and Culture and sparked a transnational research project.
Notes on Metamodernism was founded in May 2009 by Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker and edited together with Nadine Fessler, Hila Shachar, Luke Turner and Alison Gibbons. The webzine ran from 2009 to 2016. In 2017, Vermeulen and van den Akker, along with Alison Gibbons, published Metamodernism: Historicity, Affect and Depth After Postmodernism, a collection of scholarly essays exploring metamodernism across various cultural fields. The concept has since been developed by various thinkers including Brendan Graham Dempsey, who explores metamodernism as a comprehensive worldview and developmental stage, and the writings attributed to Hanzi Freinacht, which apply metamodernism to social and political transformation.
How It’s Practiced
Metamodernism manifests across multiple cultural domains. Metamodernism refers to trends within the culture at large that include the visual arts, theatre, architecture, literature, music, film, and so forth. In visual arts and film, metamodernism often appears through what scholars call “quirky” aesthetics—work that combines eccentricity with emotional sincerity. These films exist between the two previous movements, applying the techniques of irony, self-reference, fourth wall breaking, reflexivity, and intertexuality of postmodernism, but rather than to deconstruct and critique storytelling and the human condition as postmodernism would frequently choose to do, metamodern films use the techniques to present a more nuanced ideal in an attempt to justify and build upon storytelling and the human condition.
In spiritual and contemplative contexts, metamodern spirituality takes all these categories seriously, encouraging inner development, existential deepening, and the attempt to achieve transcendence through a sensibility that embraces a coherent, integrative, and grounded approach to meditative and contemplative practices. Its oscillations between modern and postmodern tendencies make contemporary (grassroots) spirituality metamodern. This includes engagement with wisdom traditions while maintaining critical awareness, honoring mystical experience without abandoning intellectual rigor.
Metamodernism also appears in music (exemplified by artists like Sufjan Stevens and Arcade Fire), literature, architecture, and design—anywhere creators navigate between earnestness and self-awareness, between belief and doubt.
Metamodernism Today
Today, metamodernism has expanded beyond academic discourse into mainstream culture. One can now find dozens of journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers, and indeed entire conferences devoted to various scholarly disciplines’ exploration of metamodernism as an aesthetic or cultural turn. Meanwhile, outside the university, YouTube intellectuals have made use of the concept in video essays about contemporary film and television. In 2012, Sturgill Simpson famously released Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.
Contemporary films frequently cited as metamodern include Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, and works by directors like Wes Anderson, Charlie Kaufman, and Spike Jonze. Television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and BoJack Horseman exemplify the metamodern sensibility. Metamodern Spirituality Retreats have been held at holistic retreat centers, hosted by Brendan Graham Dempsey and led by Layman Pascal (both prominent voices in the movement), exploring how the principles of metamodern spirituality might be more effectively co-created and enacted.
The concept has influenced discussions around the “metacrisis”—the constellation of interconnected global challenges including climate change, political polarization, and existential risk—with metamodernism proposed as a framework for addressing these complex problems.
Common Misconceptions
Metamodernism is not simply “being moderate” or “finding balance.” As Vermeulen and van den Akker put it, metamodernism’s oscillation should not be thought of as a balance; “rather, it is a pendulum swinging between 2, 3, 5, 10, innumerable poles.” It is dynamic, not static.
Metamodernism is not a rejection of postmodernism or a return to pre-postmodern thinking. Metamodernism is not a theory that is entirely new (like postmodernism was), nor is it trying to follow any singular line of thinking. It acknowledges and integrates postmodern insights about power, language, and constructed meaning while seeking pathways beyond postmodern cynicism.
Metamodernism is also not inherently optimistic or hopeful. Metamodernism is a term used to describe this emerging feeling that has become ever more present in media and society, one that is not necessarily optimistic about the future but still longs to feel hopeful. It holds space for both despair and hope simultaneously.
Finally, metamodernism as a spiritual or consciousness framework should not be confused with metamodernism as an aesthetic or cultural descriptor, though the two discourses increasingly intersect and inform one another.
How to Begin
For those interested in exploring metamodernism academically, begin with Vermeulen and van den Akker’s 2010 essay “Notes on Metamodernism,” available in the Journal of Aesthetics and Culture. Follow with the 2017 anthology Metamodernism: Historicity, Affect and Depth After Postmodernism.
For a cultural understanding, engage with exemplary works: watch films like Everything Everywhere All at Once or television series like BoJack Horseman; read fiction by authors identified as metamodern; listen to Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.
For metamodernism as a philosophical or spiritual framework, explore writings by Brendan Graham Dempsey, particularly his book Metamodernism: Or, The Cultural Logic of Cultural Logics, or the Hanzi Freinacht works (The Listening Society and Nordic Ideology). Seek out metamodern spirituality gatherings, online discussion communities, or contemplative practice groups that emphasize integration of modern rationality, postmodern awareness, and pre-modern wisdom traditions.
The metamodern sensibility can also be cultivated simply through practice: allow yourself to be both ironic and sincere, to hold hope and skepticism simultaneously, to honor grand narratives while remaining aware of their constructed nature. Embrace the oscillation itself as the practice.