"Mr. Aladdin, Sir..."
He's crazy, hyperactive, and hilarious! He's the Genie from Aladdin. He is also the poster child for Post-Modernism. Seriously, I think all the comparisons that I have done already were good, but this one is freaky spot on.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves! First, what makes something Post-Mod? Well Post- Modernism is characterized by fragmentation and non-linear narratives, temporal (earthly) distortion, often for the sake of irony. It is often very ambiguous and, since it views the world as meaningless, it often is very playful and eccentric in nature.
That being said, Genie is the perfect candidate to represent Post-Modernism. One of the main ways that the Genie is able to keep us laughing is due in part to his celebrity impressions. But the question has been asked how a genie in Agrabah in a time period which is never specified but obviously not our own able to reference stars who have yet to gain fame? The answer is simple, Genie's existence is non-linear, meaning that he can jump from past to present to future.
Being a genie, he is able to duplicate himself, manipulate his appearance, and so on. As a result, there is some ambiguity as to what his true form and personality are. His wild and playful antics are a constant, as Genie is always there with a joke or trick. Also, most of these jokes are ironic, aiming to provoke a laugh from the "older" people who may be in the audience.
Genie's non-linear existence, ambiguous appearance, and playfulness all line up with the key characteristics of Post-Modernism.
