Which term describes a modern critique of power relations in performance that questions whose voices are heard?

Which term describes a modern critique of power relations in performance that questions whose voices are heard?

• A. Realism
• B. Formalism
• C. Post modernism
• D. Structuralism

Answer: (C)

Postmodernism in performance studies centers on how power shapes who gets to speak and whose voices are heard. It questions authorities, deconstructs fixed identities, and treats a performance as a site where meaning is produced through discourse, ideology, and social context rather than simply depicted. This approach often foregrounds marginalized perspectives, self-reflexivity, and intertextuality, showing how representation itself can reinforce or challenge power dynamics. That focus on who has voice and who is silenced is exactly why it best describes a modern critique of power relations in performance. Realism aims for truthful depiction of life without inherently interrogating voice hierarchies. Formalism emphasizes structure and aesthetic form over social context. Structuralism analyzes underlying systems and structures, but does not inherently center the political question of voice and power in performance the way postmodernism does.

Postmodernism in performance studies centers on how power shapes who gets to speak and whose voices are heard. It questions authorities, deconstructs fixed identities, and treats a performance as a site where meaning is produced through discourse, ideology, and social context rather than simply depicted. This approach often foregrounds marginalized perspectives, self-reflexivity, and intertextuality, showing how representation itself can reinforce or challenge power dynamics. That focus on who has voice and who is silenced is exactly why it best describes a modern critique of power relations in performance.

Realism aims for truthful depiction of life without inherently interrogating voice hierarchies. Formalism emphasizes structure and aesthetic form over social context. Structuralism analyzes underlying systems and structures, but does not inherently center the political question of voice and power in performance the way postmodernism does.