Discuss why some people are not convinced by the idea of postmodern media.

Modernism started around the 1850’s. Modern art was driven by social and cultural agendas appropriate to the time. For example industrialisation, emancipation of women, universal education and the impact of war, religion and science on everyday life. The modernist perspective was often utopian. Modernism is viewed as having ended at some point in 1960’s. Simply put, Andy Warhol began painting pictures of soup cans, postmodernism became the term to use. Postmodernism reached its zenith in the 1980’s and 1990’s. But it is still a useful catch all term and is used and misused to describe whatever you choose. George Ritzer suggested that postmodern usually refers to cultural movement involving architecture, art, music, films, TV and adverts. He also claimed that postmodern culture is signified by the following statements. For example the distinction between high and mass culture, the breakdown of barriers between genres and style, mixing up of time, space and narrative, emphasis on style rather than content and the distinction between representation and reality. Some people argue that postmodernism is too vague and question whether or not it is real as the texts are usually a copy of something so that the literate audience can identify these intertextual references. It can also be difficult to take seriously because postmodern texts generally include a range of parody, pastiche, homage and hyper reality. Postmodernism has also been said to be too complex for something supposedly so simple. Texts can sometimes be quite difficult to understand by some audiences as simple aspects are often over thought. If postmodern texts continue to evolve in the future; the whole idea of postmodernism may lose its value because no texts will be different and anything could be considered ‘postmodern’. Some texts are easier to explain than others although some are not serious enough to be considered postmodern. Another key argument is whether or not you can separate modernism and postmodernism as some would argue postmodernism is not as new as it claims to be. For example the use of intertextuality, parody and pastiche is used in many postmodern texts but also in modernist texts as well.

One postmodern film that I have studied is the 2011 film Drive. This particular film includes a wide range of postmodern elements but some would consider controversial as they are not convinced by the idea of postmodernism. The most obvious postmodern element in this film is the lack of dialogue. The characters that we are introduced to show no emotion or reaction to anything that goes on in the city. This is very unusual as the film is set in Los Angeles and it almost seems deserted because we are only introduced to a small amount of characters throughout the film. The murders get increasingly graphic in the film and the criminals never seem to get caught so the police seem irrelevant. This lack of dialogue enhances The Driver’s psychopathic traits as he shows no reaction to anything that he witnesses or does. An example of a scene which emphasises the lack of dialogue is the lift and driving scene. The lift scene is self reflexive and uses slow motion to highlight the connection between the Driver and Irene. The light also changes which also draws attention to the film as a text and introduces emotion for the first time. This emotion is very strong and genuine and introduces the human aspect for the first time. When the calming music fades and the scene resumes to real time, the violence begins and the audience is reminded that it is a reality and not a representation. At this stage, Irene finally see’s who The Driver really is. The expression on her face shows how shocked she is although The Driver still seems emotionless which the audience see’s as very unusual.

This lack of dialogue, use of slow motion and having scenes lit with a golden hue emphasises the utopian aspect and the film’s idyllic heart with the idea of a stereotypical fairytale. These particular scenes shows the Drive fitting in with the family, which Standard, Irene’s husband seemingly accepts which is also unusual because the audience see’s him as interfering. The lack of dialogue may confuse the audience so they may struggle to be convinced by this element. The lack of dialogue creates a very tense and awkward atmosphere which is very hard to understand if the audience has not witnessed this strange element in other films. We know very little about the Driver’s past but we can see that he is very dark, insular and violent but we do not know what his motivation is or what he does. We do know he is a criminal because he starts off as a getaway driver for bad people just like the getaway scenes from the 1978 film The Driver. The city and the characters are dystopian as the Driver is responsible for the deaths of Shannon and Standard and he has left Benicio fatherless and Irene a widow. Although he can also be seen as a hero as he left the money to ensure their security. He is not a flawless Hollywood conventional hero which makes his character very difficult to understand because he is so unique and sinister. Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and simulation can be applied to the film which claims that current society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs and that human experience is of a simulation of reality ‘like a movie’. Individuals who are not convinced by the postmodern aspects in the film may find it hard to separate image from reality. Levi Strauss’s theory of bricolage can also be applied as the film covers genres as diverse as crime, drama and thriller. Therefore it can be described as a hybrid when being applied to Jacques Derrida’s theory.

The idea that the film is set in such a large city with such a small population makes the characters seem more vulnerable which links to the intertextual reference to the video game Grand Theft Auto. The city is also used to enhance characters that are shallow and oppressive as it offers little comfort and no escape.  The whole environment is portrayed as a playground and the murders that take place are very similar to those that are set in missions in the game. Some of the murders are every glamorised which makes the audience very hard to convince because they are so stylised. The graphic violence is also reminiscent to the violence in the 2005 film A History of Violence. The violence is brutal and very hyper real which makes it very hard to convince the audience that it is real. Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory can also be applied to the film as there is a scene in the club where the Driver is surrounded by a group of topless women. The use of mirrors and the way that the camera lingers around the women’s features highlights how the men look at and treat the women. Another link to the video game is the pink 80’s style font that is displayed in the titles. Similar style music is also played even though the film is set in the modern day. The music is described as an 80’s style synthesiser and an example ‘A Real Hero’ by College ft. Electric Youth. The music was pioneered by European electronic bands such as Kraftwerk and other retro 80’s style work.  These postmodern elements used throughout the film can be very difficult to convince the audience as to why they are used. If the audience do not understand postmodernism, they would find the film very hard to follow which is an issue. Not everyone agrees with the ideas of postmodernism and many dispute the ideas commonly associated with the term. Therefore people may reject some of the elements and concepts in Drive because they are not convinced by how it works.

Individuals are also not always convinced by postmodern TV programmes. An example is Flight of the Conchords. This programme is self reflexive as the characters make regular eye contact with the camera and quirky style graphics are also used. In one of the episodes that I watched there were intertextual references to Prince, Daft Punk, Pet Shops Boys and Shaggy. Bricolage is used as the programme is portrayed as a sitcom, musical, music video and a drama. Cut and paste style graphics are also used as well as a semi episodic structure. Parody and pastiche is also used as elements of music genres, music video conventions, romantic comedy and stereotypical New Zealand features. There are also references to Hall and Oates who were a pop duo in the 80’s, ZZ Top’s ‘Legs’ and Donovan’s ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’. In another episode that I watched, there were also intertextual references made such as Simon and Garfunkel, Elton John and other lookalikes. This episode mocked the idea of lookalikes by taking the image so far and making them like stereotypes. There was also a parody made for the Prime Minister of New Zealand which represented him as a shambolic idiot. If audiences do not understand the humour in postmodernism they may not be convinced by programmes such as this one because they take humour so far that it is quite silly. Television adverts can also be considered postmodern but are not always convincing. Parodies of original adverts are very common. An example is the Cadbury’s advert and the Wonder bra advert which is the parody of the video. By making a parody it makes the adverts more recognisable because the audience relate to what they have already seen which apples to John Fiske’s theory. However, there are a number of issues with postmodern adverts. For example they make it seem like everything is perfect. With the Smirnoff advert, they almost advertise the night out, rather than the drink itself. The experiences are sometimes unrealistic and there are also issues of authenticity.

Some people are also not convinced by postmodern music. This may be because people believe that genres are mutating too fats with the developments of technology and now there are just too many styles around. This relates to Brian Eno’s theory of ‘the death of uncool’. This claims nothing is ‘uncool’ anymore because are so many genres and styles to take an interest in. It also involves the idea that some artists are so bad that they are good because they are so diverse. One artist that is considered postmodern and took some time to convince her audience to take a liking to her is Lady Gaga. She is now considered an icon because of her unique fashion sense, song writing, singing, dancer and her role as an activist. When writing her songs, Gaga develops ideas from other inspirational songs from artists she admires such as Queen and David Bowie.  For example the song ‘Boys boys boys’ on her first album was written based on a mash up of Motley Crue’s ‘Girls girls girls’ and AC/DC’s ‘TNT’. Gaga echoes classic 1980’s pop and 1990’s Europop and her albums are said to include an element of pastiche which include seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q. She engages in bricolage as she can cover a wide range of genres such as opera, heavy metal, rock and roll and pop. She also constantly reinvents her sound and image. Lady Gaga can be applied to Jonathan Kramer’s theory because she challenges the barrier between high and low styles, she considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social and political contexts, she embraces contradictions and locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances or composers. Because of her unique and very unusual style, she can be considered cool in an ironic ‘I know it bad but it’s so bad its good’ kind of way. At the beginning of her music career, it took a while for people to warm to her unusual style and personality because they thought she was so strange but she expressed her confidence which shows she isn’t ashamed of who she is. She also fits into Jean Baudrillard’s theory as she is a prime example of how the barriers between art, literature and a wider political and social life are now non-existent. She has also created a new status for art culture. Art does not represent or reflect reality, it is reality. She shows this through her strong opinions, beliefs and iconic style.

These examples of postmodern media show that not all audiences are convinced by postmodernism. Many of the critics see postmodernism as offensive as they believe texts are just an imitation of another text. The phenomenon has emerged from so many different disciplines that it is difficult to define. Another criticism is that it is really a descriptive rather than a prescriptive movement. It tries to describe current phenomena but does not really move towards any idea of how we should progress from this point.