Postmodernism has become so familiar a term that it is easy to forget how complex, challenging and politically charged postmodern theory can be. We are even sometimes told that postmodernism is over, or that it never existed. This text remains a clear and incisive introduction to the field. Perhaps more importantly, it is a discussion of why postmodernism matters. Working through the issue of representation, in art forms from fiction to photography, Linda Hutcheon sets out postmodernism's highly political challenge to the dominant ideologies of the western world. A new epilogue traces the fate of the postmodern over the last ten years and into the future, responding to claims that it has, once and for all, failed. Along with the new epilogue, this edition contains revised notes on further reading and a fully updated bibliography.