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Friday, 8 March 2013
Monday, 19 March 2012
Postmodernist Theory
This video goes into postmodern theory in some depth and we will be discussing it in class but you should watch it to stretch yourself and your knowledge of the concepts and philosophy beneath the 'buzzword'. Remember this is the stretch and challenge exam.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Defining postmodernism - some useful websites
You will need to use the link to moodle G325 critical Perspectives to access various documents and tasks we will be doing but use these links and posts to begin thinking about what post modernism is, where and how it occurs in the media and how you both understand the world and represent yourself as a member of the 'postmodern world'.
The medium is the message
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message
Borges Map:
https://notes.utk.edu/bio/greenberg.nsf/0/f2d03252295e0d0585256e120009adab?OpenDocument
Hyperreality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperreality
JEAN BAUDRILLARD'S THOUGHTS ON Media
http://www.philosophicalsociety.com/Archives/Baudrillard's%20Thoughts%20On%20Media.htm#Introduction: The Territory No Longer Precedes The Map
TASK: Using the 'Baudrillard in Practice - Saddam's Statue' document in Moodle explain how the representation of these events would be described using postmodern theory and ideas such as mediation - or even mediatization and hyperreality and what these imply about our understanding of the 'reality' of the world. You need to do the task in Word but can use comments here to offer useful insights & offer or ask for help from me or your fellow students.
The medium is the message
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message
Borges Map:
https://notes.utk.edu/bio/greenberg.nsf/0/f2d03252295e0d0585256e120009adab?OpenDocument
Hyperreality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperreality
JEAN BAUDRILLARD'S THOUGHTS ON Media
http://www.philosophicalsociety.com/Archives/Baudrillard's%20Thoughts%20On%20Media.htm#Introduction: The Territory No Longer Precedes The Map
TASK: Using the 'Baudrillard in Practice - Saddam's Statue' document in Moodle explain how the representation of these events would be described using postmodern theory and ideas such as mediation - or even mediatization and hyperreality and what these imply about our understanding of the 'reality' of the world. You need to do the task in Word but can use comments here to offer useful insights & offer or ask for help from me or your fellow students.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Ironic or what? Five ways to spot a Postmodern film
Postmodernism. It’s one of those frequently-used terms which is often applied to films or TV shows alongside adjectives such as ‘ironic’, ‘quirky’, self-conscious’, or just plain ‘weird’. It’s also generated a lot of theory and debate – not least about what the term actually means. Sarah Flanagan explains what to look out for in a Postmodern film.
Confused by the concept of Postmodernism? Freaked by textbooks or teachers telling you how ‘slippery’ the concept is before you’ve even got to grips with what it means? Here’s a simple way in:
At its most basic, the term Postmodern applies to the ways in which new texts are constructed by making reference to, or ‘borrowing’ from, already existing ones. Think of the ways The Simpsons parodies films, TV genres, ideas and icons from popular culture, and you’re half-way there.
This is, of course, only the beginning of the story. But to get to grips with the concept, here are five features of a film text (or any other media text) which will help you to spot how Postmodernism actually works.
Playfulness and self reference
Or to put it another way… ‘Hey you out there in the stalls’! Whereas a classical narrative will try to hide the fact that it’s a fictional product, carefully edited to make you forget any editing has actually taken place, a Postmodern film will jump up and down to draw attention to itself and its modes of construction. Thomas Tykwer’s Run Lola Run deliberately plays with its narrative, delivering the same scenario three times, each with differing outcomes. Its cinematic style includes animation, both video and film stock, colour changes, whip pans (where the camera actually ‘whips’ sideways), crash zooms quickly focussing in and out, and experimental editing; it never lets you forget that it is a highly constructed film using a particularly wide range of story-telling devices. It also makes explicit reference to other forms of popular culture, such as music video and computer games, and thus ‘ positions’ itself in the context of other contemporary media products. The result is that we are slightly distanced from the film, and reminded not to take it too seriously. A classical narrative draws us into the story and attempts to create a belief in the characters and their experiences; a Postmodern text keeps us at arm’s length by reminding us all the time that it’s a construction, not real life.
Generic blurring and intertextuality
Although films often cross boundaries between different genres, a Postmodern film will particularly delight in blurring those boundaries. Take Spielberg’s latest offering, Minority Report. Yes ... it’s an example of the science fiction genre. Its basic narrative is that the police can predict imminent crimes and therefore prevent their occurrence; and its futuristic urban setting, skyways, shopping malls which call out to individual shoppers, spider robots and newspapers which constantly update their digitalised headlines confirm its place within the sci-fi genre. However, Minority Report also draws heavily on the influence of film noir, with its hint of 1940s dress codes, its emphasis on the contrast between black and white, its portrayal of the unfaithful wife in the opening sequence, the emphasis on crime and death and its lone, disillusioned, drug taking policeman. Elements of other genres appear too: a good, old fashioned love story, a murder mystery and a touch of bizarre humour. We end up with an eclectic patchwork of generic references. Another example would be the gas station scene from Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, which is a mixture of a contemporary gangster film (think of Spike Lee), a spaghetti western and a John Woo martial arts film.
In addition, a Postmodern film may make intertextual references to other films or to their status as films in the market place. For example, Toy Story 2 refers to the shortage of Buzz Lightyear toys as an intertextual joke: the toy manufacturers really had underestimated demand for this particular item after the release of the original Toy Story. This Postmodern tendency towards generic cross-reference and intertextuality creates a relationship with the audience by both playing with and complementing their knowledge of film.
Popular and commercial media meet ‘High Culture’
Postmodern films like to treat culture as a pick ‘n’ mix experience. The divisions between what was previously considered ‘High Culture’ (opera, classical drama and literature, fine art etc.) and those entertainment and commercial forms enjoyed by the so called masses (pop music and video, advertising, mainstream film, computer games and most forms of television), are eroded, or played with. Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrmann again), owes much of its storyline to Puccini’s opera La Bohème and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. However, it also recycles famous contemporary music, most notably Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana. What’s more the film removes them from their intended period, and relocates them in Paris at the end of the 19th Century.
Similar anachronisms (things happening at unexpected or inappropriate historical moments) occur in A Knight’s Tale when medieval jousters are applauded by Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ by Thin Lizzy. This Postmodern mixing of cultural styles and times challenges the importance of chronologically ‘correct’ history and notions of ‘value’ or what critics have previously considered to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Many critics of Postmodernism, especially those who defend ‘High Culture’, dislike its avoidance of value-judgements.
Fragmentation and the death of representation
I’ve tried to demonstrate how Postmodern film uses a range of fragments from other texts, genres and cultural influences; this ‘fragmentation’ also applies to representation. Some people argue that modern audiences are so used to reading media signs and messages through film, television, advertising and, most recently, the Internet, that reading media representations has become the dominant way of making sense of ‘reality’. In other words, we ‘read’ the world not through any essential first-hand knowledge or experience, but through media representations – which themselves increasingly refer to other representations.
Back to Moulin Rouge: the first time Satine (Nicole Kidman) is introduced to the audience, she is represented (by means of her clothes, camera angles and her vocals) as a mixture of Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe and Madonna – all of whom are themselves, constructed personas. Some writers on Postmodernism claim that we increasingly make sense of the world and our lives through reference to media constructions and imitations. Jack, the narrator in David Fincher’s Fight Club, explicitly draws our attention to this notion: standing beside a photocopier he observes of life that, ‘Everything’s just a copy, of a copy, of a copy.’
Uncertainty and the loss of context
All the above can result in a sense of uncertainty and the shaking up of previously understood beliefs and roles. Postmodern films can make us feel that there are no generic rules any more, and that representations only refer to other representations. This can make us feel insecure. Postmodernist filmmakers challenge many aspects of life or belief systems which were once taken for granted. Notions like history, science, politics and even truth and identity come under the microscope, in films like Minority Report, for example. This sense of uncertainty can also be seen in the narrative of Fight Club. The male characters seek to reassert their masculine identity through fighting and through Project Mayhem, an underground terrorist group designed to destroy the supposed gains of Capitalism. In the final, unexpected twist, even Jack’s own identity is exposed as dramatically fragmented.
So there you have it. Hopefully these five features may help to clarify some of the mystique around this complex concept, and demonstrate that Postmodernism is more than just an ironic approach.
Sarah Flanagan
This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 2, December 2002
Confused by the concept of Postmodernism? Freaked by textbooks or teachers telling you how ‘slippery’ the concept is before you’ve even got to grips with what it means? Here’s a simple way in:
At its most basic, the term Postmodern applies to the ways in which new texts are constructed by making reference to, or ‘borrowing’ from, already existing ones. Think of the ways The Simpsons parodies films, TV genres, ideas and icons from popular culture, and you’re half-way there.
This is, of course, only the beginning of the story. But to get to grips with the concept, here are five features of a film text (or any other media text) which will help you to spot how Postmodernism actually works.
Playfulness and self reference
Or to put it another way… ‘Hey you out there in the stalls’! Whereas a classical narrative will try to hide the fact that it’s a fictional product, carefully edited to make you forget any editing has actually taken place, a Postmodern film will jump up and down to draw attention to itself and its modes of construction. Thomas Tykwer’s Run Lola Run deliberately plays with its narrative, delivering the same scenario three times, each with differing outcomes. Its cinematic style includes animation, both video and film stock, colour changes, whip pans (where the camera actually ‘whips’ sideways), crash zooms quickly focussing in and out, and experimental editing; it never lets you forget that it is a highly constructed film using a particularly wide range of story-telling devices. It also makes explicit reference to other forms of popular culture, such as music video and computer games, and thus ‘ positions’ itself in the context of other contemporary media products. The result is that we are slightly distanced from the film, and reminded not to take it too seriously. A classical narrative draws us into the story and attempts to create a belief in the characters and their experiences; a Postmodern text keeps us at arm’s length by reminding us all the time that it’s a construction, not real life.
Generic blurring and intertextuality
Although films often cross boundaries between different genres, a Postmodern film will particularly delight in blurring those boundaries. Take Spielberg’s latest offering, Minority Report. Yes ... it’s an example of the science fiction genre. Its basic narrative is that the police can predict imminent crimes and therefore prevent their occurrence; and its futuristic urban setting, skyways, shopping malls which call out to individual shoppers, spider robots and newspapers which constantly update their digitalised headlines confirm its place within the sci-fi genre. However, Minority Report also draws heavily on the influence of film noir, with its hint of 1940s dress codes, its emphasis on the contrast between black and white, its portrayal of the unfaithful wife in the opening sequence, the emphasis on crime and death and its lone, disillusioned, drug taking policeman. Elements of other genres appear too: a good, old fashioned love story, a murder mystery and a touch of bizarre humour. We end up with an eclectic patchwork of generic references. Another example would be the gas station scene from Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, which is a mixture of a contemporary gangster film (think of Spike Lee), a spaghetti western and a John Woo martial arts film.
In addition, a Postmodern film may make intertextual references to other films or to their status as films in the market place. For example, Toy Story 2 refers to the shortage of Buzz Lightyear toys as an intertextual joke: the toy manufacturers really had underestimated demand for this particular item after the release of the original Toy Story. This Postmodern tendency towards generic cross-reference and intertextuality creates a relationship with the audience by both playing with and complementing their knowledge of film.
Popular and commercial media meet ‘High Culture’
Postmodern films like to treat culture as a pick ‘n’ mix experience. The divisions between what was previously considered ‘High Culture’ (opera, classical drama and literature, fine art etc.) and those entertainment and commercial forms enjoyed by the so called masses (pop music and video, advertising, mainstream film, computer games and most forms of television), are eroded, or played with. Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrmann again), owes much of its storyline to Puccini’s opera La Bohème and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. However, it also recycles famous contemporary music, most notably Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana. What’s more the film removes them from their intended period, and relocates them in Paris at the end of the 19th Century.
Similar anachronisms (things happening at unexpected or inappropriate historical moments) occur in A Knight’s Tale when medieval jousters are applauded by Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ by Thin Lizzy. This Postmodern mixing of cultural styles and times challenges the importance of chronologically ‘correct’ history and notions of ‘value’ or what critics have previously considered to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Many critics of Postmodernism, especially those who defend ‘High Culture’, dislike its avoidance of value-judgements.
Fragmentation and the death of representation
I’ve tried to demonstrate how Postmodern film uses a range of fragments from other texts, genres and cultural influences; this ‘fragmentation’ also applies to representation. Some people argue that modern audiences are so used to reading media signs and messages through film, television, advertising and, most recently, the Internet, that reading media representations has become the dominant way of making sense of ‘reality’. In other words, we ‘read’ the world not through any essential first-hand knowledge or experience, but through media representations – which themselves increasingly refer to other representations.
Back to Moulin Rouge: the first time Satine (Nicole Kidman) is introduced to the audience, she is represented (by means of her clothes, camera angles and her vocals) as a mixture of Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe and Madonna – all of whom are themselves, constructed personas. Some writers on Postmodernism claim that we increasingly make sense of the world and our lives through reference to media constructions and imitations. Jack, the narrator in David Fincher’s Fight Club, explicitly draws our attention to this notion: standing beside a photocopier he observes of life that, ‘Everything’s just a copy, of a copy, of a copy.’
Uncertainty and the loss of context
All the above can result in a sense of uncertainty and the shaking up of previously understood beliefs and roles. Postmodern films can make us feel that there are no generic rules any more, and that representations only refer to other representations. This can make us feel insecure. Postmodernist filmmakers challenge many aspects of life or belief systems which were once taken for granted. Notions like history, science, politics and even truth and identity come under the microscope, in films like Minority Report, for example. This sense of uncertainty can also be seen in the narrative of Fight Club. The male characters seek to reassert their masculine identity through fighting and through Project Mayhem, an underground terrorist group designed to destroy the supposed gains of Capitalism. In the final, unexpected twist, even Jack’s own identity is exposed as dramatically fragmented.
So there you have it. Hopefully these five features may help to clarify some of the mystique around this complex concept, and demonstrate that Postmodernism is more than just an ironic approach.
Sarah Flanagan
This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 2, December 2002
TASK: As you consume media I want you to look out for examples of content that could be considered postmodern. Record them, their intended effect and what you thought about their use in the comments here and begin a dialogue about the presence of postmodern aspects in the media today. To begin I have posted an advert for Mercedes Benz for you to watch identify and comment upon any postmodern aspects you can recognize.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
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