Postmodernism
po-mo blog for TCC Media Studies students
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Guide to internet memes & reminder of warm up
Hope the study is going brilliantly!
Below is a great little summation of what an internet meme is with some well known examples. Click the image for a bigger version. Enjoy!
See you in the exam warm-up in 101 at 12.55 this Thursday!!
Tuesday 7 June 2011
Link to great Postmodernism revision post by Pete Fraser
Also, don't forget revision basics like:
Monday 6 June 2011
POSTMODERNISM REVISION SESSION...
I have heard a rumour that Miss Hill is baking brownies so there is at least one good reason to be there!
...note the postmodern brownie stacking technique - clearly challenging mainstream ideology.
Thursday 26 May 2011
Lolcats
It's all just words....but they are useful for the exam!
Fragmented structure/non-linear narrative
Challenging of meta-narrative (Lyotard and Strinati)
Playing with time and space (Strinati)
Self-reflexivity
Emphasis of style over substance and context (Strinati)
Challenging cultural imperialism and mass production
Conventions of genre challenged/subverted
Breakdown of distinctions between high art and pop culture (Strinati)
Asks questions not giving answers, allowing audience interpretation
Juxtaposing old and new to make new meaning (bricolage)
Intertextuality
Multiplicity of meanings linked to audience interpretations
Post WW2-war being a catalyst for postmodernism
Parody and pastiche – creating something new through imitation, homage (tribute)
Web 2.0 and new technologies allowing people to become producers/celebrities outside traditional/mainstream methods
Instantaneity – accessibility now
Culture is no longer viewed as art mirroring life but a reality in itself (Strinati)
Experimentation with new forms – not necessarily the ‘glossy’ Hollywood approach
Meaning and purpose holds more significance than the skill involved in making it
Photoshop movement changing how we see reality
Cult of celebrity – celebrity obsessed society – style over substance
Truth is created and doesn’t exist in any objective sense
Text goes beyond what it is and comments on society
No single definition – open to interpretation – concept crosses art, media, literature, architecture, music, society
States of hyper reality (Baudrillard and simulacra)
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Digital media and postmodernism - student presentations
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Catfish (2010)
and wikipedia page and see where it takes you.
Then tackle the question below.
Essay question:
"To what extent is postmodernism a useful theoretical framework to analyse Catfish"
Essay due Tuesday 5th April.
Thursday 17 March 2011
Postmodern Comedy - Comic Relief
Comic texts...
For many years now Comic Relief has used humour to generate money for charity. Many high end comics have donated their time and effort into creating a wide range of vairous different acts. Many of these acts can now be viewed as being postmodern, by breaking the boundaries and pushing the limits between being funny, and taking it one step too far.
The first thing that springs to mind when thinking postmodern comedy is French and Saunders, as they are well known for pushing the boundaries. For Comic Relief 2009, French and Saunders produced a sketch of Mamma Mia, their own take on the film.
How is this postmodern...?
Firstly PARODY...
What is parody?
Parody refers to an imitation of a text in a ridiculous manner. A typical parody adopts the style of the original and applies it to an inappropriate subject to a humourous effect.
This sketch by French and Saunders is therefore a parody of the film Mamma Mia, over exagerating the characters and movements within the film. Its a parody because it takes everything that is in the Mamma Mia scene, such as the costumes, the actresses which appear, and even the song and turns all of these into a comical context.
Secondly Intertexuality...
What is Intertextuality?
Intertextuality is the idea that a text is a response to what has already been written, be it explicit or implicit. It's the multiple ways in which a text is entangled with or contains reference to other texts. However on the surface it can appear to be new and unique.
This text follows this 'intertextuality' as not only is it mirroring the film Mamma Mia, but also the band ABBA, of which Mamma Mia is based around there music.
Below is the link to watch the video...
Watch and enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq-FX1ced8g&feature=watch_response
Postmodern Comedy - IT Crowd
Intertextuality is also often used. The DVD menu for Season 1 of the IT Crowd is stylized after isometric adventure games such as Knight Lore and Head Over Heels. The same can be said for the opening title sequence, which is intended to look as though it is computer generated, until it malfunctions and displays that familiar blue screen.
There will also be the occasional skit or scene which can parody melodramatic texts which are usually associated with seriosity.
Postmodernist Comedy: The Office
It also uses bricolage by mixing genres and media texts such as "Sitcom", "Drama","Rom com" and obviously Documentary. These make it postmodern as it is hard to categorise the Office into one genre. It could also be seen as postmodern by it's use of fragmentation, this meaning it is hard to differentiate between David Brent and Ricky Gervais.
There is also examples of intertextuality in the Office, especially in one scene where Brent finds out that his nicknames are "Bluto" (The bad guy from "Popeye") and "Mr Toad" (a character from "The Wind and The Willows"). Here Merchant and Gervais are referencing other texts to create humour. Below is the video link of this scene:
The Office also uses mundane and boring topics like business appraisals and makes them funny by using subtle humour. This is an example of mixing high and low art together and is a very postmodern feature.
Written by Ruaraidh, Davide and Hannah
Postmodern Comedy
Spamalot The stage show
PARODY!
- The title itself is a parody of the 'Lancelot' Myth in that it integrates the legendary knight's name with the branding of a notoriously 'low-brow', processed meat. This in turn also links to Strinati's theory of 'the breakdown between high art and popular culture'.
- The popular song; "The Song That Goes Like This" parodies the conventional romantic ballad often found in musicals. Follow the link below to watch it :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-fG8c-CMoU&NR=1&feature=fvwp
AWARE OF IT'S OWN CONSTRUCTION!
- The plot basically encapsulates a play within a play. To complete the quest and pass through the forest, the characters are ordered to make a show. Towards the climax of the play, the characters publicly announce that they are aware that they are already in a play!
- There are a number of moments of direct address in the show, where actors engage with members of the audience. This therefore breaks the fourth wall and destroys the verisimilitude of realism.
HYPERREALITY AND SIMILACRA!
- Being on a stage, the characters are 'real' beings that can be touched by the audience. As a TV show, actors can be readily separated from their roles due to the distinction between reality and the intangible programme; however, the lack of a 'silver screen' makes deciphering person from imaginary persona all the more difficult.
INTERTEXTUALITY!
- Frequent references to popular celebrities (Britney Spears, Cheryl Cole etc) and social networking sites such as facebook immediately engages the audience. These very modern features also contribute to 'Confusions over time and space'. Although the play is set in 936 AD, the characters are aware of such things as the internet and pop music - adding a modernist ironic twist to the plot. Follow the link below to view the particular song that mentions Britney Spears.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJqAYUAJbTk
BRICOLAGE!
- Being a staged production bricolage could not come in the form of film stock of a mix of old and new footage. However, bricolage is still evident in the play's vast range of genre types and styles. The plot includes conventions of action, adventure, romance, comedy and musical.
By Gemma Sandry and Jade Sharpe-Welsh
Postmodern Comedy - Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
- It is highly intertextual, as it parodies aspects of 1980's low budget television, for example fashion, special effects and music.
- It creates a state of hyper-reality as the show is filmed in a documentary style, with characters commentating on their role within the show.
Intertextuality:
This clip shows an example of how this show parodies the late-night, low budget shows of the 80's with deliberately bad continuity (the coffee cup turning into a spade) and wooden acting.
Hyper-Reality:
As with promotion for their earlier Perrier Award-winning stage show, Darkplace's creators confounded media by producing promotional material in-character. The official website speaks of Garth Marenghi, and other characters as though they were real people, while making no mention of the real actors. Press releases also contained realistic looking fake back stories for Marenghi and the other characters instead of making any mention of what the real cast have appeared in, and an article by 'Garth Marenghi' appeared in The Telegraph discussing his "groundbreaking television series" in Comic's Corner...Link Here
At the beginning of every episode they use a 'retro' Channel 4 logo from the 80's to further heighten the hyper-real state of the 'show' that they make, within the show itself.
By Rachel and Roisin
There are many reasons for this, which make it undeniably postmodern.
Firstly it follows a non linear narrative, creating confusions over time and space. Every episode is a new start, and ends with a narrative resolution. This is a very postmodern trait, and is quite typical of these sorts of comedy programs, for example Family Guy. They make the audience aware of this when one of the characters claims "ohh don't worry, it'll all be alright by the next episode". This is just one of the example of when the 4th wall is broken in the Simpsons.
In addition to this, a conscious decision has been made not to localise The Simpsons to any distinct region besides America, nor to any one period of time besides the postmodern era… What’s more, the Simpson children never age or progress in school. In 17 years Maggie has not learned to walk or talk, and still uses her dummy. The family are timeless as well as placeless. The Simpsons are nowhere, living at no time, and representing no specific family – but paradoxically they are every family everywhere at any point in the postmodern era.
The decline of the meta-narrative is a frequent theme throughout the entirety of the Simpsons, and they are constantly poking fun at religion, government, and other influential characters. Examples of this are, when Homer gives his soul to the devil for a doughnut, when he is killed by some brocolli and goes to the gates of heaven, and is told he cannot enter until he does a good deed. When he does St peter misses it because he was reading the newspaper. Another example is when homer tries to vote for Obama, but the vote goes to Mcain, suggesting that the votes were rigged. The video is available through the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aBaX9GPSaQ
The video also shows a specially made "Fat Booth" highlighting the rising problem of obesity in the united states, making light of pressing social issues.
The show’s refusal to adhere to the norms of accepted sitcom subject matter is one of its foremost postmodern traits. It is an attitude that corresponds well to postmodernism’s aim to celebrate cultural differences and bring them to the surface. The Simpsons is a testament to the postmodern decentering of contemporary mass consciousness, by embracing diversity of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.
By Emma, Dan and Jake
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Task for Thursday 17th March
- Read the article below from Media Magazine about comedy - what do you think?
- In small groups - create a blog post on what you might consider another example of postmodern comedy. It does not have to be a TV show. It should NOT be something you have posted on previously.
- Give a couple of specific examples, like the author does below for The Inbetweeners, Gavin and Stacey and The Mighty Boosh
- Try to include some video
- Try to include reference to one or more of the concepts below:
- intertextualityparodypastichehomagebricolagesimulacrahyperrealityfragmentation
Where do we start? How about some definitions? George Ritzer (1996) suggested that postmodernism usually refers to a cultural movement – postmodernist cultural products such as architecture, art, music, films, TV, adverts etc.
postmodernism
In my opinion postmodernism is a trend. It's a completely obscure, fashionable term with no real meaning or relevance to anybody. There IS no point to it. why does anything need to be defined by a theory? why do things need to be deconstructed and applied to theories? the answer - there is no need.
Nobody needs to know about it, it's hardly going to affect the lives of anybody is it? "uhh yeah, so the doctor told me all about postmodernism yesterday, and when i woke up this morning, i was cured of all my problems" - (bit of a random scenario i know, but i'm just trying to illustrate the fact that there are far more important things to worry about than if something is "postmodern" or not) if this was the case, however, then maybe i would accept it as some sort of useful existence, but...as it stands, this clearly is never going to be the case, and as such - my conclusion is: it's pointless and nobody really needs to know about it to further them in life.
Monday 14 March 2011
Postmodernism : Its so old, its new.
Since THEORIES began about postmodernism there has been opposing opinions to this such as seen in the article below by Mark Ramey. Some of the biggest question marks when it comes to Post-modernism is the fact that it offers no solutions to the problems created in our society. It is not clear to define and has different meanings to different postmodernists.
There are some critics of Post-modernism such as Alex Callinicos. Callinicos attacks notable postmodern thinkers such as Baudrillard and Lyotard, arguing postmodernism "reflects the disappointed revolutionary generation of '68, (particularly those of May 68) and the incorporation of many of its members into the professional and managerial 'new middle class'. It is best read as a symptom of political frustration and social mobility rather than as a significant intellectual or cultural phenomenon in its own right."
So basically Callinicos says we shouldnt take it serious and should consider it more as a interesting IDEA.
Sunday 13 March 2011
Anti Postmodernism
Post modernism is a theory of a time after postmodernism, therefore, the fact that it is a theory shows that people can have an opinion on it, which this article obvious does. However, no body can actually say that postmodernism is wrong, as its only a theory, someones opinion.
Opposition to Post Modernism:
Formal, academic critiques of postmodernism can be found in works such as Beyond the Hoax and Fashionable Nonsense.
The term postmodernism, when used pejoratively, describes tendencies perceived as relativist, counter-enlightenment or antimodern, particularly in relation to critiques of rationalism, universalism or science. It is also sometimes used to describe tendencies in a society that are held to be antithetical to traditional systems of morality.
Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy, and Culture is a book by Alan Sokal detailing the history of the Sokal affair in which he submitted an article full of "nonsense" to Social Text, a critical theory journal, and was able to get it published.
Beyond the Hoax is Sokal's second book on this topic, the first being the 1997 Fashionable Nonsense, in which Sokal and coauthor Jean Bricmont examine two related topics:
1 ) the allegedly incompetent and pretentious usage of scientific concepts by a small group of influential philosophers and intellectuals;
2) the problems of cognitive relativism, the idea that "modern science is nothing more than a 'myth', a 'narration' or a 'social construction' among many others"[2] as seen in the Strong Programme in the sociology of science.
The Times wrote that “Sokal's essays - and his hoax - achieve their purpose of reminding us all that, in the words of the Victorian mathematician-philosopher William Kingdon Clifford, ‘It is wrong, always, everywhere and for any one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.’” Michael Shermer praised the book as “an essential text” and summarized the argument, writing that:
There is progress in science, and some views really are superior to others, regardless of the color, gender, or country of origin of the scientist holding that view. Despite the fact that scientific data are "theory laden," science is truly different than art, music, religion, and other forms of human expression because it has a self-correcting mechanism built into it. If you don't catch the flaws in your theory, the slant in your bias, or the distortion in your preferences, someone else will, usually with great glee and in a public forum — for example, a competing journal! Scientists may be biased, but science itself, for all its flaws, is still the best system ever devised for understanding how the world works.
The term postmodernism, when used pejoratively, describes tendencies perceived as relativist, counter-enlightenment or antimodern, particularly in relation to critiques of rationalism, universalism or science. It is also sometimes used to describe tendencies in a society that are held to be antithetical to traditional systems of morality.
Habermas' argument has been extended to state that postmodernity is counter-enlightenment. Richard Wolin in his book The Seduction of Unreason argues that key advocates of postmodernity began with a fascination for fascism. The view that Romanticism is a reactionary philosophy and that Nazism was an outgrowth of it is widely held among modernist philosophers and writers, who argue that the cultural particularity and identity politics of postmodernity, the consequence of holding post-structuralist views, is "what Germany had from 1933-1945"[citation needed]. They further argue that postmodernity requires an acceptance of "reactionary" criticisms that amount to anti-Americanism[citation needed].
This debate is seen by philosophers such as Richard Rorty as between modern and postmodern philosophy rather than being related to the condition of postmodernity per se[citation needed]. It also grows out of a common agreement that modernity is rooted in a rationalised set of Enlightenment values.
The range of critiques of the postmodern condition from those who generally accept it is quite broad and impossible to summarise. One criticism levelled at postmodernity from within is expressed by author David Foster Wallace, who argues that the trend towards more and more ironic and referential artistic expression has reached a limit and that a movement back towards "sincerity" is required on which the artist actually speaks with an intended, concrete, static meaning.
Certain criticisms also focus on the fact that postmodernism lacks a coherent rhetorical theory. "Consequently, a theory will always fail to make good on its claim to provide a set of rules independent of the practice it describes; and because a theory will always fail in its goal to guide and reform practice, it therefore, by definition, can have no consequence."
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anti-Post-Modernism/76813487566
I found this facebook page on Anti-Semitism. Which I found very ironic, as surely facebook is a factor of postmodernism, combining the confusions over time and space, as I am able to talk to my friends abroad, who are at a different time zone from England. Also, Facebook is a good example of the decline of the meta-narrative, as many people would prefer to use the internet than be going to church, for example, following the bible.
I believe that although the article had some good ideas, and statements about why postmodernism we are so past postmodernism, some of the statements were a bit irrational and unreasonable. As no one can say for sure that Postmodernism is true, as it is just a theory, a very broad one to say the least.
I don't believe that this article is accurate, as I believe that some of the theories which theorists, such as Strinati and Baudillard came up with make sence, and can be related to every day life, as well as being linked to media texts of today, such as the film 24 Hour Paty People.
what is Postmodernism and how can you be against it?
A postmodern time is a time after modernism. That is concrete. When the postmodern time begins and ends is up for debate. Theorists like Lyotard can only propose theories about post-modernism’s supposed concepts because there is nothing concrete in a theory until it has been proved. Yes, there is substantial evidence to suggest these theories are true, such as the decline of a grand narrative, as religion and science continue to be questioned. I personally believe postmodernism is only just a possibility, not pure fact. For example, yes the grand narratives are dissolving but only in light of awareness of difference in the world. There is still a universal belief or morality and human rights etc and these ‘micro-narratives’ form the grand narratives. You can’t put a label on an ever changing society without sounding ignorant.
From this article, I take it that the writer has a chip on his shoulder because these new apparent beliefs are affecting the way New Media is created and the ways audience receive it. According to him, the passivity of today’s culture breeds a willingness to indulge in the latest technologies and tacky media items has created an era of ‘idiots’, which he therefore concludes is not postmodern. He conveniently forgets the diversity of the media in today’s society also creates many items for those active audiences. This diversity has created the new narrative in the shape of questioning the truth of everything. But the belief and awareness that creates the new narrative within a post-modern world doesn’t create ‘idiots’ but individuals of a more diverse nature. So what if people want to believe they’re living in a post-modern era, it isn’t for the theorists or anyone else to decide otherwise, it’s their personal preference. If they want to watch or create mind-numbing reality shows such as Big Brother, so what? It certainly doesn’t them idiots. The only idiots involved in the postmodern argument are those too ignorant to recognise how a society is constantly changing and will therefore have different ideas.
I think this writer has got it wrong in his last paragraph, the society may not have a set of narratives collectively but individually via their own beliefs they’ve created new ones. There is no such thing as the consumerist ‘idiots’ in a postmodern culture. Who can actually say ‘I thouroughly understand what a postmodern time involves and it occurs/ed from here to here’. If we could say that, we wouldn’t have theories about it which is why I don’t think he can be ‘over’ something nobody quite understands. It’s ignorant.