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What is Post Modernism?
Post Modernism is a term which is applied to many
disciplines, such as literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction and
literary criticism. It is said that
postmodernism is a concept that states that no theory/idea/perspective can
explain everything, that there are many sets of ideas. Postmodern media rejects
the idea that any media product or text is of any greater value than another. Postmodernism
is also the reaction to the certainty of scientific or objective efforts to
explain reality.
It is said that postmodernism reflects modern society’s
feelings of alienation, insecurity and uncertainties concerning identity, history,
progress and truth. Examples of postmodernism are Michael Jackson, Madonna and
David Bowie as they are ways in which they have created or re-created different
identities for themselves.
They say that reality is not simply mirrored in human
understanding but constructed as the mind tries to understand its own personal
reality. Therefore postmodernism is sceptical of explanation which claim to be
valid for all groups, cultures, traditions or races and instead focuses on the
relative truths of each person.
Many people believe that postmodernism is meaningless as
it adds nothing to analytical or empirical knowledge.
Postmodernism denies the existence of any ultimate principals;
therefore it is ‘post’, due to lack of scientific, philosophical or religious
truth which will explain everything. Philosopher Richard Tamas said that
postmodernism “cannot on its own principles ultimately justify itself any more
than can the various metaphysical overviews against which the postmodern mind
has defined itself.”
Deconstruction is one of the most well-known
postmodernist concerns for philosophy, literary criticism and textual analysis
developed by Jacques Derrida. This questions the already evident deconstruction
of a text in terms of presuppositions, ideological underpinnings, hierarchical
values and frames of reference.
Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998), Jean Baudrillard
(1929-2007) and Fredric Jameson (born 1934) argued that economic changes
produced particular ‘structures of felling’ or a ‘cultural logic’ due to
television, MTV in particular. This has implications for realist forms of media
as reality itself is saturated by advertising, film, video games, and images.
Moreover digital imaging is not always correct as at times it is fake, due to
software’s such as Photoshop. Advertising no longer tries to convince the
audience of its products real quality
- Hybridity – (the mixing and sampling of different kinds and levels – of hip hop music, of material in television ads, films etc).
- Bricolage – (used to refer to the process of adaptation or improvisation where aspects of one style are given quite different meanings when compared with stylistic features from another).
- Simulation – (the blurring of real and simulated, in film and reality TV or magazines. Refers to not only the increasing use of CGI in films but also in the use of documentary style in fiction.
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Narrative: Lady Gaga - Paparazzi
In
the music video Paparazzi by Lady Gaga, it is a linear narrative where the
story is told in order from beginning to end, this includes a ‘cause and
effect’, and this means the consequences of one event have an effect on
something else. In this music video this is highlighted through the Gaga and
her boyfriend together and then he tries to ruin her fame by pushing her off
the balcony. Todorov’s theory of a narrative structure in different stages is
also applied in this music video. The music video starts off with the
equilibrium where we see Lady Gaga and her boyfriend are in a happy
relationship together, and then the disequilibrium where we see her boyfriend
pushing Gaga off the balcony and then Gaga gets her revenge back on her
boyfriend and a new equilibrium is made as she kills calls the police claiming
she just killed her boyfriend. Another theory which is applied in this music
video is Vladamir Propp, Lady Gaga plays bother the victim and the villain in
the music video.
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Postmodernism: Lady
Gaga – Paparazzi
Lady Gaga’s music videos are typically
narrative based and feature; hyperreality, intertexttuality, pastiche and
homage.
Hyperreality: Stefani Germanotta stage name Lady Gaga, keeps her personal life
separate which gives her the ability to create a new image for herself which
allows her to get away with outrageous fashion. This means that people only
talk about her image rather than gossip about her personal life. Her outfits
give the music video a postmodern feel as the costumes are unrealistic and
futuristic.
Lady Gaga is known to have said: "I have
mastered the art of fame" – Which she means by creating a hyperreal
version of herself with outrageous fashion, she is able to keep the public and
press attention away from her personal life.
At the beginning of the music video there are
conventions of a Hollywood Film, pastiche or homage to the film period due to
the classical titles. You don't usually see these titles in music videos. This music
video is acted as a 'short film' reflecting a powerful message of fame and
death of a celebrity, which is clearly demonstrated throughout the music video.
Pastiche to the 60s, the audience can see
this through the numerous close-ups of newspapers which are of the same format
as it was in the 60s.
Intertextuality: There is an intertextual
reference to 'Sunset Boulevard', both in narrative and in style, a fading star
desperate to be back in the limelight and after murdering her 'lover' is back
in the newspapers. Towards the end of the music video, the audience see Lady
Gaga wearing another postmodern outfit which in this case is a reference to the
Disney character Minnie Mouse.
Lady Gaga is best known for her over
exaggerated outfits which in this music video is highlighted numerous times.
The binary opposition of humans vs. robots is shown with Lady Gaga dressed as a
robot. Lady Gaga is seen wearing heavy black eye makeup and leather gloves with
diamond rings spelling 'Dior', this emphasises her over exaggerated fashion and
highlights her image.
A variety of camera angles including close
ups are used to highlight Lady Gaga and her boyfriend talking in Swedish; English
subtitles are displayed on screen just like a film.
A homeage to Hitchcock and his film 'Vertigo'
is used in the music video. Lady Gaga's video also blurs fiction and reality with
the use of lens shots. Which also uses the same type of swirling pattern.
Lady Gaga appears to have died after her
boyfriend pushing her off the balcony. And then we see that she isn't dead but has
injured her neck as she gets out the car wearing a postmodern outfit.
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Postmodernism in The Simpsons
What is Postmodernism - Youtube
Postmodernism in The Simpsons
Postmodernism in ‘The Simpsons’
Postmodernism
is a term which is applied to many disciplines, such as literature, art,
philosophy, architecture, fiction and literary criticism. It is said that
postmodernism is a concept that states that no theory/idea/perspective can
explain everything, that there are many sets of ideas. Postmodernism also
rejects the idea that any media product or text is of any greater value than
other.
Jean-Francois
Lyotard (1924-1998), Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) and Fredric Jameson (born
1934) argued that economic changes produced particular ‘structures of felling’
or a ‘cultural logic’ due to television, MTV in particular. This has
implications for realist forms of media as reality itself is saturated by
advertising, film, video games, and images. Moreover digital imagining is not
always correct as at times it is fake, due to software’s such as Photoshop.
Advertising no longer tries to convince the audience of its products real
quality.
Postmodern
writing involves a blurring of boundaries. For example a blurring of the
boundary between the reader or viewer and the fiction. However Postmodernism
can also be applied to fiction that mixes different genres into something new
with science fiction and various movie pastiches. Postmodernism in TV provides
a constant turnover of images and symbols; it is seen as a central explosion of
consumer culture.
A
quote from Jim Collins says that “TV is frequently referred to as one of the
main kinds of postmodern culture.
For
my case study I have chosen to do The Simpsons, I have chosen the 22nd
episode from the 23 season. I have chosen to do this as my case study, as my
music video case study is also based on Lady Gaga, therefore I thought it would
be a good idea to compare them both.
In
general The Simpsons is a parody of a family life “achieving the true essence
of satire”. The writers’ use of sarcasm, exaggeration and other comedic
techniques gives the show its true genius.
Most
of the episodes contain black humour, for example when Homer chokes Bart when
Bart laughs at him. Metafiction is another convention, Itchy and Scratchy is a
cartoon that happens with in ‘The Simpsons’, this makes the programme seem real
– this is an example of Hyperreality.
The
success of the show is due to the use postmodernism in all of the episodes for
over 20 years.
Lisa
goes Gaga was originally aired on May 20 2012, starring Lady Gaga portraying an
animated version of herself and Kevin Michael Richardson as Lady Gaga Express
Conductor. The episode was written by Tim Long and directed by Matthew
Schofield. Recording sessions for "Lisa Goes Gaga" took place in Los
Angeles, California over four days in August 2011. According to the Nielsen
ratings, the installment attained 4.79 million viewers and a 2.1 rating in the
18–49 demographic American viewers upon its original airing.
Many
aspects of Gaga's career are referenced in the episode. "You're All My
Little Monsters", a musical number specifically created for the episode,
it is a parody of Gaga's relationship with her devout "Little
Monsters", this is a phrase Gaga uses to refer to her fans.
To
Spin columnist Devon Maloney,
the song was ultimately an overtly cartoonized version of her single "Born
This Way" (2011) that embraces the "freakiness" of Springfield. Spin is a
music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr. The magazine
stopped running in print in 2012 and currently runs as a webzine.
The
design team conceived eighteen outfits to complement Gaga's eccentric persona.
A dress consisting of pork chops is a parody of the singer's meat dress, which
she wore at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.
During
the credits of "Lisa Goes Gaga", main character Homer Simpson
performs a rendition of "Poker Face" (2009). At the end of the
episode, a title card promotes the Maggie-starring short film The Longest Daycare, which showed
before the animated film Ice Age:
Continental Drift (2012).
Jameson
believes that nowadays media texts are made just for money and not for art.
When the Simpsons was first aired there wasn’t many programmes of the same
kind, therefore the programme got famous for its originality and was being made
for art. However now it is being made for profit. And with Gaga’s appearance in
this episode millions of viewers where watching it due to the intertextual
reference, however this can be argued as an offensive to the audience.
“And
yet, as annoying as this episode was in concept and generally in execution, it
wasn’t that painful to actually watch. Cartoon Lady Gaga’s costumes and
theatricality were still entertaining. And even some of the Gaga-specific
portions made me laugh, like Homer cooking Gaga’s meat dress and eating it, or
Bart dressing Maggie up as ‘Baby Goo-goo’. Against my better judgement, I was
moderately entertained. This was a quote from Rowan Kaiser, The A.V. Club.
What is Postmodernism - Youtube
This clip is telling us a definition of postmodernism
from one’s point of view. He states that postmodernism is no ‘philosophy’ but
is just way of analyzing things. It is a critique of structures. He suggests
that postmodernism is a social construct such as gender, power, class. He is
trying to put forward that people take the media for granted as believe
everything media says. It is somewhat trying to say that people stereotype
everything because of media and tend to forget what is right or wrong and real
or fake.
He uses examples and simple language for beginners to
understand, which can allow a beginner and learners to have
a better knowledge of postmodernism. This suggests that YouTube is a good
source of learning as information is put forward visually as well as being able
to listen. It is also a good way to engage with the audience listening as they
won't get bored or lose distraction. Another advantage of YouTube is that it
gives you the option to fast-forward, pause and rewind any section or sections
of the video. That gives the individual a lot of power because it allows them
to learn, only the parts of the video that they want and see it any desired
parts as many times as they want as well. This particular clip allows viewers
to grasp the main points by putting the words up on the screen.
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Blade Runner from JulianaMariz
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Po-Mo Poem
Postmodernism comes
After modernism
One is in the 19th century
The other is in the 20th
I’m so postmodern
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Postmodernism is also
Known as Po-Mo
Irony, parody, intertextuality,
Hyperrealityyyyyyyy
I’m so postmodern
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Postmodernism is a jumble
That’s what Baudrillard said in a mumble
Lyotard also jumps in the muddle
And attempts to fix the puzzle
I’m so postmodern
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Aesthetic or philosophical,
who the hell knows?
Gaga and Madonna do put
on quite a good show -
disturbing the binary opposite
of what we like to know,
as Po-Mo.
I’m so postmodern
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Television
Pastiche in glee
Pattern Recognition in Community
how about intertextuality?
I’m so postmodern
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
SCREAM at film or
try MATRIX around it -
Po-Mo is gonna get yah!
mixing the odds of animation
with the likes of real element
gets us in quite a predicament.
I’m so postmodern
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Video Games are meta-reflections,
Game Over - Round One - FIGHT
I’m so postmodern
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
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Task 1
Why are some media
products described as ‘postmodern’?
Postmodernism is a term given to media products that are
aimed at a literate audience and provide opposing views on culture, literature,
fiction, scientific reason and hierarchy, and generally subvert and reject the
grand narrative ideas – love, war, death, science, religion - of the previous
Modernism era. I have researched into a postmodern music video, film and
television series. For my music video case study I have chosen ‘Lady Gaga –
Paparazzi’, it was written by Rob Fusari and Gaga. It was released in 2008, as
the fifth and final single from her debut album The Fame. Secondly my television series case study is an episode of
‘The Simpsons – Lisa Goes Gaga’ directed by Matthew Schofield in 2012. Finally
my film case study is ‘easy A’, directed by Will Gluck and released on Blu-ray
and DVD in 2010. Typical postmodern conventions found in these case studies
are; Hyperreality, pastiche, intertextuality and black humour.
Task 2
At the beginning of the music video there are
typical conventions of a Hollywood Film, pastiche or homage to the film period
due to the classical titles. You don't usually see these titles in music
videos. It is acted as a 'short film' reflecting a powerful message of fame and
death of a celebrity, which is clearly demonstrated throughout the music video.
A variety of camera angles including close ups are used to highlight Lady Gaga
and her boyfriend talking in Swedish; with English subtitles displayed on
screen just like in a film. These shots are establishing shots of the mansion Gaga
is in, and consists of a variety of close ups of different parts of the mansion
and flowers. This scene is then taken to the bedroom with Gaga and her
boyfriend talking in Swedish.
Task 3
Why are some media
products described as ‘postmodern’?
In
conclusion postmodernism is not simply mirrored in human understanding but
constructed as the mind tries to understand its own personal reality. Therefore
postmodernism is sceptical of explanation which claim to be valid for all
groups, cultures, traditions or races and instead focuses on the relative
truths of each person. Many people
believe that postmodernism is meaningless as it adds nothing to analytical or
empirical knowledge. In my opinion I think postmodernism will eventually stop
as many people today are looking back to old school music which at that time
wasn’t so much revolved around postmodernism. However I do also believe that
postmodernism in music video and films will continue but not as much as now as
it makes it non realistic to the audience making them not as interesting as before. I think in the
future postmodernism and modernism will combine together to make something
different which will bring in art rather than just money as Jameson stated.
Task 4
Task 5 - Examiner’s
Report
DO’s
|
DON’TS
|
Centres
are advised to prepare candidates to reflect on processes, logistics and the
mechanics of production – research and planning cannot be reduced entirely to
looking at real media texts or discussing audience needs. Better answers
offered a broader range of pre-production activities and decisions arising
with a clear sense of how the more ‘glamorous’ idea of creativity is often a
product of serious ‘nuts and bolts’ operational care in the process.
there
was a distinction between those that could focus in on the precise ways in
which their work was influenced by
the
stronger answers used appropriate theoretical or technical language to
explain how creative decisions were informed by research into real media at
the micro level.
They
are also urged to be clear about the outcomes of research
Evaluation/critical
reflection is required here and the question demands explanation
progression
is an important part of this section
The
higher level answers were able to synthesise all of these aspects – specific
examples with emphasis on the outcome of the research in relation to creative
decisions; critical reflection on the process of the research; and an
awareness of progress made from AS to A2 and with reference to other media
production work where relevant – the distance travelled.
it
is important that Candidates can be specific and informed about real media
conventions but there are a range of ways of relating their own work to real
media – these might be more institutional. For example the institutional
information in magazine contents pages or the title sequence of a film –
these are equally conventional to the more genre ingredients examples that
proliferated in answers. Or they might be more technical – observing industry
practice in a particular medium.
|
Weaker
answers offered a basic narrative of the process. It is best practice to prepare
examples that demonstrate more or less successful decisions as this gives
scope for higher levels of critical reflection.
Responded
to specific media texts/products and those that dealt with research and
planning in a less applied and relevant manner (to the question set).
Candidates in the latter category were restricted to levels 1 or 2 for use of
examples.
Candidates
are advised against the ‘scattergun’ approach – merely listing every instance
of research and planning
Reporting
that they used YouTube to watch trailers, for example, is not sufficient for
credit at A2.
Many
Candidates provided description only
|
Question
1B
DO’s
|
DON’TS
|
What
was required was a robust discussion of how the media product selected can be
analysed as representational – candidates can discuss whether or not this is
straightforward or more complex but they MUST engage with the theoretical
concept either way and reference reading they have undertaken on this area in
relation to specific examples from their product.
Stronger
answers to this question were able to do three things well. Firstly, they set
up the concept of genre for discussion, with reference to writing on the
subject from the likes of Altman, Buckingham, Buscombe, Neale, McQuail, Stam,
Boardwell, Miller, Goodwin or in some cases, with varying relevance, Propp
and Todorov, Mulvey and Barthes, Strauss and Saussure. Level 4 answers
generally offered references to writing about the particular genre in
question as well as the more general work. Secondly, these higher-marked answers
went on to apply these ideas to a range of specific elements of their own
chosen production. And thirdly, the extent to which the ideas in the
referenced writing fit with the product being analysed would be discussed
|
1b
was generally the weakest area and this appeared to be largely due to the
difficulties candidates faced in adapting their material to the concept
identified. Representation was, by many, described only in terms of
conventions or simply what was produced, as though ‘representing the school
in a positive way’ (with regard to a preliminary task) is demonstrative of an
A2 level of understanding of a complex idea.
Of
more concern was the fact that some candidates appeared to be unfamiliar with
the concept of representation entirely. Further problems arose from some
candidates referring to more than one production item (one was disregarded in
this case) and from too much overlap with 1(a).
|
Question
2
DO’s
|
DON’TS
|
Stronger
answers demonstrated an informed and intelligent understanding of the
concept, and supported their answers with well researched case studies.
Lyotard
and Baudrillard were often referenced (perhaps due to their prominence in the
Hodder A2 textbook) and on one level this was impressive
The
candidates who had understood and engaged with the concepts and the debates
surrounding postmodernism had clearly benefited from the course, and offered
some very interesting answers.
Candidates
able to set up philosophical ideas about hyper-reality and then apply them to
a range of texts with confidence. The choice of questions allowed for a more
or less textual response. Fewer Candidates were able to weigh up the debate
in each case and to discuss the critical responses to postmodernism and
equally few chose sufficiently contrasting examples – for example a text
which is postmodern in style as opposed to themes, or a postmodern reception
(or remix) as opposed to a postmodern engagement context (for example, a
virtual world). Baudrillard and Lyotard featured often, with their more basic
ideas generally well handled. Some of the most commonly used texts are a
little old for this topic
|
But
it seemed that many students had learned by rote some phrases that they
repeated ‘parrot fashion’ and this rarely worked. One centre had clearly
urged its students to remember the term 'immersion' as a feature of
postmodernist texts. One candidate must have mis-heard and repeatedly
referred to 'emulsion'.
but
this was accompanied by varying degrees of understanding so centres are
encouraged to be more strategic in differentiating the material they work
with.
|
Theorists:
- Jameson believes that nowadays media texts are made just for money and not for art. When the Simpsons was first aired there wasn’t many programmes of the same kind, therefore the programme got famous for its originality and was being made for art. However now it is being made for profit. And with Gaga’s appearance in this episode millions of viewers where watching it due to the intertextual reference, however this can be argued as offensive to the audience.
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