Postmodernism and American Eagle Outfitters

Last Saturday, I accompanied my wife and daughter on a shopping trip to Manhattan. One of the stores we entered was American Eagle Outfitters, a clothing shop for teenagers and young adults. A salesperson greeted us with the usual can-I-help-you greeting as I pointed to my daughter and said, "No, but you can help her." Feeling a bit out of place in this emporium of youth, I spotted an empty chair next to a display table and headed straight towards it as a respite for tired feet. My wife wandered to some other part of the store while I amused myself with my Blackberry.

Moments later, my wife returned with an observation that the store had no visible order to it. Lingerie lingered among hats and shirts, socks among pants and skirts. There were no sections where one could focus on a single item of clothing. Just stuff here and there.

Suddenly it hit me. This is a Postmodern shop. This is Postmodernism! Forget all those convoluted definitions or attempts at definitions. Begone with arcane phrases like "no overarching narrative" or "particularized truths" or pseudo-intellectual references to Jacques Derrida, whom I have never read or likely ever will. The next time someone asks me what Postmodernism is, I'll ask, "Have you ever been to an American Eagle Outfitters store?"

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