As a challenge to structuralism, postmodernism seeks to deconstruct the social, highlighting the inherent value judgements both producers and consumers place on popular culture texts, as well as the increasing dominance of the aesthetic over the ‘master narrative’. This chapter offers an overview of the rise of postmodern theory as well as demonstrating to students the lasting effect the theory has had on our understanding of popular culture texts. Drawing on the social and economic changes that took place in twentieth century capitalist society along with the key scholarship of commentators such as Lyotard and Jameson, the development of postmodern ideas is outlined while, simultaneously, illustrating these changes through an exploration of popular culture texts that challenged orthodox ideas in areas such as architecture, art and film. Using popular culture examples including The Matrix series, Twin Peaks, and the films of Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, it is demonstrated how the postmodern aesthetic of nostalgia and retro styling, the recycling of earlier genres, and the use of self-referential texts from popular culture itself, have become more frequent in forms of art and culture over time. Along with highlighting the increased dominance of visual culture, room is given to explore Baudrillard’s famous musings on the ‘simulacrum’ (or ‘hyper-reality’). The main critiques of postmodernism are also reflected on, including the tendency of postmodernism to exaggerate the death of modernism and the devaluing of the audience as mediators of popular culture texts.