Document of Postmodern Case Studies

Postmodernism

CREATED BY GEETA GOHIL

WHAT IS POSTMODERN?

Postmodern media rejects the idea that any media product or text is of any greater value than another. All judgements of value are merely taste.

Anything can be art, anything can deserve to reach an audience, and culture ‘eats itself ’ as there is no longer anything new to produce or distribute.

The distinction between media and reality has collapsed, and we now live in a ‘reality’ defined by images and representations – a state of simulacrum.

Images refer to each other and represent each other as reality rather than some ‘pure’ reality that exists before the image represents it – this is the state of hyper-reality.

All ideas of ‘the truth’ are just competing claims – or discourses and what we believe to be the truth at any point is merely the ‘winning’ discourse.

Modernisn vs Postmodernism

KEY CONVENTIONS OF POSTMODERNISM

• Hyper-reality, image saturation, simulacra seem more powerful than the "real"; images and texts with no prior "original".

• "As seen on TV" and "as seen on MTV" are more powerful than unmediated experience.

• Disruption of the dominance of high culture by popular culture.

• Mixing of popular and high cultures, new valuation of pop culture, hybrid cultural forms cancel "high"/"low" categories.

• Demassified culture; niche products and marketing, smaller group identities.

• Art as process, performance, production, intertextuality.

• Play, irony, challenge to official seriousness, subversion of earnestness.

• Hybridity, promiscuous genres, recombinant culture, intertextuality, pastiche.

• Hypermedia as transcendence of the physical limits of print media.

KEY POST MODERN THEORISTS Jean Baudrillard

5 Key work of Baudrillard 1. Simulacra and Simulations 2. Utopia deferred writing from the utopie.

3. The System of Objects 4. Symbolic Exchange 5. The spirit of terrorism.

Baudrillard’s work consisted a book called ‘simulacra and simulations’. Simulations meaning that it is simulating a process, display or imitating something real. Simulacra meaning the repetition of another thing, object, person and any static object.

Baudrillard’s uses these meanings to explain that today’s reality is not real and that we all live in something called a hyper reality. Baudrillard’s definition of hyper reality is ‘the simulation of something that never really existed’.

The System of Object One key component to postmodernism is Technology.

Baudrillard analysed technology and expresses the emerging consumer society.

Technology has become non-fictional and designed according to fantasy and desire objects become representational of fetishism and fashion.

Hypermarkets become the new experimental space of technology and consumption, the new spaces of everyday life. Growth in objects, procession of generation of products, appliances and gadgets.

Jean- François Lyotard (19241998)

Lyotard rejected what he called the “grand narratives” or universal “meta-narratives.” Principally, the grand narratives refer to the great theories of history, science, religion, politics. For example, Lyotard rejects the ideas that everything is knowable by science or that as history moves forward in time, humanity makes progress. He would reject universal political ‘solutions’ such as communism or capitalism. He also rejects the idea of absolute freedom. In studying media texts it is possible also to apply this thinking to a rejection of the Western moralistic narratives of Hollywood film where good triumphs over evil, or where violence and explotation are suppressed for the sake of public decency. Lyotard favours ‘micronarratives’ that can go in any direction, that reflect diversity, that are unpredictable.

Frederic Jameson (b. 1934)

Jameson rejects postmodernism! Jameson essentially believes that postmodernism provides pastiche, humorously referencing itself and other texts in a vacuous and meaningless circle. Pastiche is distinct from parody, which uses irony, humour and intertextual reference to make an underlying and purposeful point. Postmodernists would have no problem in making no particular point - that is their point, but for Jameson, literary and cultural output is more purposeful than this and he therefore remains a modernist in a world increasingly dominated by postmodern culture.

Jameson also sees reason for the present generations to express themselves through postmodernity as they are the product of such a heavily globalised, multinational dominated economy, which carries the multinational media industry as one of its main branches.

MUSIC VIDEO

ARIANA GRANDE - BREAK FREE • Break Free is a music video which has an aspect of postmodern into it.

• There is some sort of intertexuality reference, parody and consumerism.

• The music video links to sci-fi flicks from the 60’s, 70’s and the 80’s.

• The music video is jam packed, that there is so much going on. The storyline features the artist Ariana Grande saving the enslaved humans from aliens, but then being captured herself. As the title suggests, she manages to ‘break free’ from the devilish alien and joins Zedd in party spaceship with all their alien and human friends. The spaceship itself has reference to Star Trek.

• The singer sports a metallic bra, like ‘Barbarella’ and blows face off a creature straight out of the ‘Star Wars’, Cantina, tosses a ‘Flash Gordon’ ming-link overlord into a fiery it and uses her cannonball-shooting breasts to blast a ‘Power Rangers’ themes giant robot.

• Consumerism - Beats product placement was very evident towards the end of the video in the party space ship, with a speaker being used to amplify the music, and both Grande and Zedd wearing a pair of head phones. While product placement is fairly normal in videos these days, it didn’t really suit the outer space theme.

• The symbol which Ariana took off her, chucked it on the floor and stepped on it, is appeared on the evil aliens outfit to represent themselves.

• The symbol which appeared at the beginning of the video when Ariana took it off her, chucked it on the floor and stepped on it, is appeared on the evil aliens outfit to represent themselves.

• The stepping over the symbol signifies that she wants to destroy the evil alien troop.

• There is some sort of a Power Ranger themed robot which she destroys using her cannonball-shooting breasts.

• Consumerism is a big contribution of the music video at the end, with products of Beat being shown to vierwers. Beats pills is used to amplify the music and both the singer and zed is wearing a pair of beats headphones. While product placement is fairly normal in videos these days, the idea of having consumerism in this certain music video didn’t really suit the outer space theme.

TV SHOW

THE BIG BANG THEORY The Big Bang Theory is a show primarily centred on five characters living in Pasadena, California: roommates Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who later becomes a pharmaceutical representative, who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon’s equally geeky and socially awkward friends and co-workers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali. The geekiness and intellect of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny’s social skills and common sense. The first episode of the show was aired on September 24th 2007 and is still running with 8 seasons and 176 episodes throughout the show, it runs for 18-24 minutes.

Like every American sitcom, The Big Bang Theory has its own way to appeal to the audience. The themes that are included in each episode are very unique; there is a common theme of 'science', especially physics. The four main male characters are employed at Caltech and have science-related occupations. The characters frequently joke around about scientific theories or news (notably around the start of the show), and make science-related jokes.

There are many postmodern features in the big bang theory, first is the idea of consumerism. In one episode as per Leonard's suggestion, Sheldon goes to the jewellery store to try to buy back Amy's forgiveness. This is acceptable because in our consumerist/capitalist society, things have psychological and social meanings. In this case, jewellery means love and dedication. An expensive piece of jewellery is supposed to say, "I love you and you must be important to me because I spent a lot of money on you." Another common consumerism aspect is when Sheldon wears a Green Lantern symbol t-shirt which has been sponsored by DC comics. The Big Bang theory is a “new form” of the sitcom genre show developments found in postmodern texts evolved during the 20th century. The emphasis of achronological discourse, multiperspectivity, unreliable narration, intertextuality, anti-heroes as characters (Sheldon/ Barney) are all features prominent in postmodern (often high culture) texts.

But, as in postmodern times the borderline between high and low culture has started to dissolve, this development only shows what we have already stated on an intellectual level, but have lacked to admit in everyday life: that high and low culture cannot be differentiated at all – not even in ordinary TV entertainment today.

In terms of institution the Producer of the show is Faye Oshima Belyeu alongside the show being created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. The Director of the show is Mark Cendrowski who is also known for directing episodes from Rules of Engagement and Disney shows Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana. The Production companies of the show are Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television – also the distributor.

The Big Bang Theory is viewed in the UK on channel 4 and E4. The show made its UK debut on Channel 4 on February 14, 2008 bringing in an average audience of 1 million viewers. Over the past few episodes of season 1, the viewership is averagely around the 1 million mark. Audiences watch TV shows for 4 main reasons: Escapism from stressful everyday life, Personal Identity - building up your personality, Personal Relationships - being part of a group; conversation about media; substitution of media for companionship, and Education- information about the world around us. ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is the only comedy programme aimed at young people due to the airing channel being E4 which is common for a younger audience to typically watch the channel.

Postmodern is in all aspects of television, whether it’s in a drama show or a reality TV show. The TV’s part in the expansion of consumer culture is an important factor for postmodern. TV can be examined in terms of its relation to the industrial, economic and technological developments of ‘advanced’ society. As well as looking at the economic and industrial role of TV in the growth of a new global mass culture, some approaches focus on the content of specific programmed by looking at how particular stories reflect postmodern social conditions.

TV as a postmodern medium • In its resistance to simplification or generalisation, TV is sometimes seen as one of the clearest embodiments of postmodernism.

• TV provides a constant turnover of images and symbols.

• TV is seen as central to the explosion of consumer culture – unlike Modernist Art, which was thought to be characterised by “integrity, authenticity and originality” and therefore stood against capitalism and consumerism, TV often focuses on these ideologies.

• Jim Collins said about TV: “TV is frequently referred to as one of the main kinds of postmodern culture.”

FILM

SCREAM

What makes films postmodern?

Postmodernist film attempts to articulate postmodernism (its ideas, themes and methods) through the medium of film.

Postmodernist film attempts to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative structure, characterization and destroys the audience's suspension of disbelief.

Typically, such films also break down the cultural divide between high and low art and often upend typical portrayals of gender, race, class, genre, and time with the goal of creating something different from traditional narrative expression.

Conventions of Postmodern Film • Playfulness and self reference • Generic blurring and intertexuality • Popular and commercial media meets High Culture • Fragmentation and the death of representation • Uncertainty and the loss of context Conventions of Horror movies

All typical conventions of a horror film are included but knowingly e.g there is a ‘final girl’. The opening sequence is set is an isolated place , it follows the traditional Todorov narrative of equilibrium-disruption-new equilibrium, iconography of knives and masks, etc.

NARRATIVE •Scream follows the equilibrium – disturbance – new equilibrium pattern of most horror films. The killing of Casey breaks the peace of the small town, and chaos ensues as other characters become victims the mid-section of the film charts the successive killings and the inability of the local police to solve the crime. It is only with the final confrontation scene that peace is reinstated.

First of all the 'final girl theory' is used in almost every ‘Slasher’ film since it explains that the main girl is often the outcast out of her friends since she isn't loud, sexually active or confident, yet at the end of the film when she has to confront the killer she is the only one who is able to stop/kill him/her or it. Good examples of the finall girl theory are featured in 'Scream'.

What do audiences get out of postmodern film?

Rutter says, audiences play a more important role in postmodern films. Audiences make sense of things due to their frame of references, which leads to a focus on performance and spectacle, rather than on a coherent, linear narrative story line.

Who is the hero and who is the villain? How do you know?

There is an unknown villain in terms that the character is not on screen but the audience are allowed to hear a distorted voice of the villain character through a telephone call with the potential victim. Within the first few minutes the audience do not get a hint to if there is a hero.

Where is the story set? What does this tell you about the genre of the film?

In a house where there appears to be just a field and trees surrounding the house. This suggests that because it set in a place where not many people appear to be or go that the film may build up moments of spookiness and that the film is going to be a horror slasher because of the location. Where if the villain attempted murder the on screen character its easily possible the villain could easily get away. Also the location of the film suggest that there might be killings involved because killings are normally done where there are less people there to witnesses the incident.

How many principle characters?

2 main characters at the start the villain and the first potential victim.

How is the story told?

The story is told chronologically. Within this film the effect that is having is that it provides good flow for the sequence of events which happen. Also produces better momentum and tension for when they happen.

Who is the villain and why is it that these characters are being targeted?

Also how far will the villain go to attempt to torture this character?

These questions which the audience are left with link to Rolande Barthes narrative theory.

Propp’s narrative theory is used vaguely in terms of there is a villain within the opening of film however is not shown on- screen this done so not everything shown and told within the opening but still keeps the audience engaged for the rest of the film so there are still things to find out and to be shocked about for the audience. Todorov narrative theory is not used in this film because the film gets straight to the plot and action. This enables the audience to get into the film from the off and be engaged.

Scream is what can be called a 'slasher' film - a sub-genre of the horror genre. Conventions that are typically seen in slasher films and are present in Scream are: a psychotic masked killer stalking and systematically butchering a group of young adults away from parental supervision so normally up to no good the 'final girl' prevails and overcomes the power of this systematic killer However, the killer tends to come back in multiple sequels - Scream, 2, 3 and 4.

In terms of the setting, Scream relates to the typical conventions of slasher films as it is set in a High School. (other typical settings you might see are summer camps and in the woods).

The Killer Stereotype of a slasher film killer is often that the killer is a supernatural boogie man wilding a machete. The killer is an ordinary person who has suffered some kind of great trauma abuse or injustice in there life and there killing streak is a way to get revenge and forward angers trailing from past events. The victims are never random but linked with the killers past.

Another typical convention, is that the killer seems a lot stronger and ‘immortal’ in some senses which allows there to be sequels - in terms of scream, the killer is a different person in each film, however, the killer in those films does have the strength that allows them to stay until the end.

FILM

SCREAM

A signature device, started in Scream and continued in Scream 2 and Scream 3, was the typical "rules" for the slasher sub -genre of horror movies being stated by the characters. In Scream, those rules (as described by Randy) are: You may not survive the movie if you have sex.

You may not survive the movie if you drink or do drugs.

You may not survive the movie if you say "I'll be right back", "Hello?" or "Who's there?"

A similar set of "rules" was used for the movie's trailer: Don't answer the phone Don't open the door Don't try to hide But most of all don't scream

Intertextuality

Scream features many intertextual references to other horror projects - most references being to A Nighthmare on Elm Street and Halloween such as: Craven says that he almost took out the line where Casey Becker says the first A Nightmare on Elm Street was good but the rest sucked, because he thought it would make him seem egotistical. However, it was pointed out to him that he had co-written the third film and also wrote and directed the seventh the high school janitor. Fred, played by Craven, wears an outfit resembling Freddy Krueger's When Ghostface asked Casey what's her favourite scary movie and she told Halloween, when Casey's parents come home and see that something is wrong, her father says to her mother, "Drive down to the Mackenzies'", which is a quote from Halloween During the party scene, Randy Meeks, Stu Macher and the other party goers are watching the horror film.

Institution

Scream is an American slasher film released in 1996. It was Written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven.

The film stars, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, and David Arquette.

The film combined comedy and "whodunit" mystery with the violence of the slasher genre to satirize the cliché of the horror genre popularized in films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. The film was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters who were aware of real world horror films and openly discussed the cliché that Scream attempted to subvert.

Budget- $15 million Box office - $173,046,663 Dimension Films The studio's movie franchises include the later Halloween films, Children of the Corn, Scream, Spy Kids and Scary Movie. As of 1992, the company usually releases horror films, comedy films and action films.

Self - Reference

Scream survives on the postmodern premise that the past is a recyclable source for the artist. One of the ways Craven and the screenwriter Kevin Williamson display the self-referential nature of their film is through the characters’ knowledge of slasher film clichés.For instance, one of Ghostface’s trademarks before attacking a victim is to call him or her (usually her) on the telephone and engage in a conversation about popular culture. Scream is very much aware that it is a movie, and has fun with this. During the opening scene, Casey discusses movies, sequels, and trivia with the killer on the phone. Randy seems almost unable to tell the difference between a movie world and his own world. He constantly compares what is going on to situations in horror films, and at one point even says: “If this was a scary movie, I would be the main suspect.” Randy also seems to believe very devoutly in his “Rules For Surviving a Horror Movie;” he eventually believes that the only reason he himself survives is because he’s a virgin. Billy also comments that life is just “one big movie. Only you can’t pick your genre.”

VIDEO GAME

• • • • • • • • •

BATMAN ARKHAM SERIES

Institution Publisher - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Founded: 1993, Burbank, California, United States They are also known for products such as the Lego Series, F.E.A.R seriesand the Spy hunter series.

General Information Batman: Arkham is a series of action-adventure video games based on the DC Comics character Batman, developed by Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. Games Montréal, and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

The first game, Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), focuses on Batman trying to prevent Joker from destroying Gotham City after he takes control of Arkham Asylum.

The second game, Arkham City (2011), is set a year later, after Hugo Strange expands Arkham into a massive super-prison enclosing a dilapidated segment of Gotham City; Batman is incarcerated and must uncover the secret behind Strange’s sinister scheme, “Protocol 10”.

Arkham Origins (2013) is a prequel set years before the events of Arkham Asylum in which a younger and less-refined Batman must deal with a bounty that has been placed on him by crime lord Black Mask and has lured eight deadly assassins to Gotham on Christmas Eve. The next and final Rocksteady installment, Batman: Arkham Knight, is scheduled to be released in 2015 and is set one year after the events of Arkham City. It features Scarecrow and a mysterious new foe, called the Arkham Knight as the main villains

Sales Batman Arkham Asylum (released

Worldwide – nearly two millions in the first three weeks of release.

Sold 2.5 million end of September 2009.

Total sales – 4.3 million

Batman Arkham City (released

Worldwide, the game sold two million in the first week, approximately 4 million sold in total sales

Batman Arkahm Origins (released

Frist week in UK – no.1 best selling game. Sold 2 million in total.

August 25th 2009)

October 18th 2011)

October 25th 2013)

What makes it Postmodern?

• An aesthetic where style triumphs over substance. The use of what could be argued to be superficial characters and stories from the comics and video games instead of from novels and plays, as was more common in the cinema from its birth to at least the 1970s, can be seen as such a triumph. Added to this is the use of spectacular special effects in films that deal with comic-book heroes and villains, in effect replacing the more detailed character development of classical literature and theatre.

• The use of pastiche and recycling, especially recycling of characters and stories from one medium - comic books or video games - to another. Critics of postmodern culture might point to the use of such stories as an exhaustion of originality, a giving up on the modernist project of “making it new,“. Creators have run out of ideas for characters and stories, or are drawn deliberately to what some might see as “trash” culture for their narratives • With all the Batman games, there is a narrative. They are viewed from the third-person perspective. The playable character is visible on the screen and the camera can be freely rotated around him.

• The opening areas of the game are linear, serving as a tutorial for the moves and approaches available to the player. Once the player emerges onto the island he can freely explore the game world, although some areas remain inaccessible until certain milestones in the main story.

• There is a choice of whether you want to do the missions now or decide to go and explore Gotham city • This supports Lyaotard’s theory on the decline of metanarratives. The actions and interactions within the text itself is constructed by the gamers. This means one person playing the game would be very different from another person’s game.

• There is no time limit in completing the game, you have the choice in what you want to do. This can be seen as postmodern as people have their own choice, this game has no boundaries.

Controversies • The series overall has received widespread critical acclaim. Arkham Asylum holds Guinness World Record for Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever based on an average Metacritic score of 91.67. The game was praised as reaching to a darker side of Batman not seen in video games before. It was also acclaimed for its polished combat and stealth gameplay, as well as selection of gadgets under Batmans disposal and the extensive comic book lore and easter eggs implanted all over the map of Arkham Asylum.

Arkham Asylum also received positive feedback for its choice in voice actors, such as Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy as The Joker and Batman, respectively.

• Arkham City has received wider critical acclaim and won multiple awards including Game of the Year Award. It was heralded as taking the already innovative and intricate gameplay of its predecessor and largely expanding on it, as well as opening gameplay to a larger, greater detailed and intricate map. Hamill’s return as a sick and dying Joker was very well taken by fans and critics alike, as well as the addition of other villains and heroes such as Robin, Catwoman, Hugo Strange, Calendar Man, and The Penguin.

• Arkham Origins, while not as acclaimed as its predecessors, was still well received. The major consensus among critics was the game’s lack of innovation and series advancement, citing the similar gameplay and atmosphere of the game before while still having an interesting and engaging story. This was largely attributed to the change in developers from Rocksteady to Warner Bros. Montreal.

Arkham Origins was also criticized for its many bugs and glitches, especially on PC, as well as its odd and confined multiplayer. Most critics claimed that while it was a good game in and of itself, it didn’t live up to the standards of the last two games.

The post-postmodern viewpoint (wherever we are today after having absorbed the issues in postmodernism) seems to be taking the "postmodern condition" (postmodernity) as a given and creating new remixed works disassociated from the modern-postmodern arguments and oppositions. The post-postmodern takes the "always already" mixed condition of sources, identities, and new works as a given, not a question or problem. The metaphors of "network" and "convergence" in creative subcultures (e.g., musicians, art-

ists, designers, writers) are seen to be live operations or conditions received and re-performed, not just abstractions.

From this more recent p ersp ective, living in remixed hybridity is thus obligatory, not a choice, since it is the foundation for participating in a living, networked, globally connected culture.

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We could also argue that the terms in the discourses about

the postmodern are no longer be useful, or need to be redefined to be useful for today. Either way, the point is thinking through the problems and seeing if there are terms that do useful cultural work for us.

In 2000, a new debate on the

OST

“post-postmodern� has opened up. There

is a shared sense in many areas of cultural practice and university research that many of the issues in postmodernism are over or assumed, and the we are now in a different global moment, however that it to define.