Postmodern Identity
In the modern world and the modern thought occurring in it, we often see people as being
separate. We see ourselves as rational individuals with the ability to act as an individual. This
seems like an obvious thought to those of us who were brought up, educated and have lived
within the system of Western Europe, but it is a construct which is continuously called into
question.
Modern constructions of what it means to be an individual were discarded long ago. There are
now multiple ways of living, forming relationships and simply existing. We tend to adjust the
ways in which we approach such situations based upon the sometimes-conflicting contexts of
different cultures. There is a certain ideology surrounding the idea that culture is composed of
many different ideological tools that differ to the culture that we ourselves are familiar with. As
a result, the postmodern 'individual' becomes a fusion of cultures that they find themselves
immersed in. There is no single 'self' or identity so to speak, but a culmination of various
'selves' - which means that we are, in a sense, lacking any "real" direction or reality. Bowie’s own
sense of reality was distorted, despite claiming to live a “normal” life in Berlin. He was still
David Bowie, an internationally successful rock star. Bowie has always drawn inspiration from
numerous corners of the globe and this, as I have discussed above, helped shape his identity
during his time in Berlin. He acknowledged the fact that he was an English singer, who much
like Christopher Isherwood had come to Berlin to observe. It was Bowie’s stance as an
outsider which allowed him to absorb the new and exciting culture that he became immersed