Showing posts with label Theories. Show all posts

Postmodern Theories: Bricolage and Intertextuality.



Levi-Strauss developed the concept of bricolage. He defined bricolage as texts constructed from debris of other texts. Texts borrow things from a variety of different texts to form something new. An example a a bricolage text is the album art for the Sex Pistols 'God Save The Queen' cover. The cover uses the image of the Queen which has been used with cut out words from a newspaper to create something new. Neither of the things used on the cover are new or original, but together they have been used to create something new.

Intertextuality is a similar concept, it is defined as the shaping of a text's meaning by another text.
It is used in many different films to create inside jokes within the text that will only be understood by those who have experienced/seen the other text that is being referenced. A prime example of the use of intertextuality is in the film Flushed Away when the main character meets an orange fish who says "Have you seen my dad?". This is an example of intertextuality as the film Finding Nemo is being referenced within another animated film. Intertextuality can also be seen in Shrek with the use of various popular fairytale characters and in the film The Lego Movie through their use of already existing characters who have been turned into Lego characters.

Intertextuality and bricolage are both used by theorists to define postmodernism but they also cross over other postmodern theories such as parody and pastiche.

Postmoden Theories: Pastiche, Homage and Parody


Pastiche, homage and parody are all similar styles but there are slight differences which differentiate them from one another.

Pastiche is defined as 'a medley of various ingredients; a hotchpotch, farrago, jumble'. It is a style which is a tongue-in-cheek light-hearted imitation of another's style which unlike a parody is respectful. Star Wars has been considered as a pastiche of traditional science fiction television and radio shows. Tarantino's films are also often considered as pastiche because of how they mis together a variety of different styles and generic convention. The theorist Jameson said that we imitate old dead styles from the past through pastiche.

A parody is a work which mimic in an absurd or ridiculous way the conventions and style of another work. It aims to ridicule, derive ironic comment or affectionate fun. There are many examples of parody in television and film, such as the Scary Movie films and the film The Starving Games. There are also more subtle versions of parody such as the imitation of Antonio Banderas of himself as Puss in Boots in Shrek. 

Homage is a text which pays respect to another text or style. It is usually used by creatives to pay respect to those who have influenced them. An example is the television series Sherlock which is based upon the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories but set in modern day. The creators of the show, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, were childhood fans of Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle, they use Sherlock as a way to honour and pay respect to the stories that they grew up loving. 

Postmodern Theories: The Collapse of Metannarratives


A metanarrative put simply is a big story off which people base their beliefs, the most well known metanarrative is the bible and religion. Other examples of metanarratives include science, art and modernism, they are narratives which make universal and all-embracing claims of knowledge and truth. It is believed that in the postmodern world metanarratives are beginning to decline and are less important to people's lives. Postmodernism is very skeptical of the metanarratives and believes that they are open to criticism, the validity of the metanarratives is beginning to decline. 

Whats next?...
Lyotard proposed that the metanarratives should give way to smaller localised narratives. Postmodernists attempt to replace the metanarratives by focusing on local contexts and the diversity of different peoples experiences. They believe that there are a series of smaller narratives rather than just one all-encompassing narrative. 

I think that Lyotard's theory can be seen in many different media as I believe that the metanarratives are no longer used as much in media. Metanarratives are becoming a smaller part of many peoples lives, for example churches in England have been in decline since the 1950s with an estimated 1 million giving up church going in the 1990s alone. Only 7.5% of the UK's population attended church  regularly in 1998. I think that the media is coming to reflect this change which is leading to a decline of metanarratives. 

With the decline of metanarratives I believe that we are seeing the creation of smaller narratives which better represent smaller minorities. An example of this is the Jedi census phenomenon. On 2001 many residents recorded their religion as "Jedi" or "Jedi Knight" on the national census. In England and Wales the national census revealed the religious affiliations as being: 70% Christian, 14.7% no religion, 3.1% 7.8% chose no response, Muslim, 2.1% Hindu and 0.7% Jedi. In 2011 176,632 people responded as Jedi. This suggests that people are choosing to identify with stories/narratives that better appeal to them and that are more relevant. 
I thin that this can also be seen in pop culture among teenagers and the rise in popularity of 'fandoms'.  A 'fandom' is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterised by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. It is suggested that the first fandom was compromised of fans of Sherlock Holmes. Public demonstrations of mourning after Holmes was "killed off" in 1893 were held and some of the first fan fiction was created as early as 1897-1902.  

Useful links: 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5349132.stm
http://www.vexen.co.uk/UK/religion.html

Postmodern Theories: Hyperreality


Definition: 'a condition in which "reality" has been replaced by simulacra'

What is Hyperreality? 
In semiotics and postmodernism, hyperreality is an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies. It is seen as  a condition in which what is real and what is fiction is blended together so that people can no longer tell which is "reality" and which is not. 
The term was coined by Jean Baudrillard, he defined it as "the generation by models of a real without origin or reality". He suggested that the world in which we live has been replaces by a copy world, where we seek simulated stimuli and nothing more. 

 Application in the real world
Hyperreality can be seen throughout media in our world. The above image is a realistic image that has been digitally created by merging of two images. One of the images used is of a real place, the other image has been created digitally and merged with the real image. The image illustrates how the advancements in technology have allowed the boundary between what is real and what is not to become blurred. Some people would look at the image and think that it was real, its not unless you recognise the iconography in the image from Star Wars or unless you look closer that you realise that it is not a real image. 
Hyperreality can also be seen in TV news and the different place from which people get their information. Some newspapers report that global warming is a real process which is happening and is going to damage out world, other newspapers report that global warming is fake and that we shouldn't worry about it. Depending on which article you read you get two different views and pieces of information, so how do you know which is right and which is wrong? The answer is you don't, this is hyperreality, you are being given two different sets of information one which is fiction and one which is reality but they become blurred so you can no longer tell which is real and which is not. On TV news it can be seen when they televise news and wars as though they are reality TV. Wars are now reported in a similar fashion to reality TV. After the reports of terrible news have been shown they move on to a lighter segment such as entertainment news or an advert which shows a product being advertised happily. This can be seen as creating a hyperreality as the boundaries are being blurred. One moment you are being told that the world is a terrible place and the next you have a happy ad or news segment which is telling you the world is fine and everything is ok. How then can we tell the state of our world. People like TV to be this way because they like to know that they are ok and that their world/'reality' is safe, even when in another country others are suffering. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RwhEHzuulA&feature=youtu.be

What is Postmodernism?



Postmodernism is an art movement. It is a skeptical interpretation of culture which questions why things are the way that they are and aims to reinvent and redesign things from the past. Postmodernism can be seen in many different forms from cinema to architecture and from posters to pieces of art.

There isn't one set definition for postmodern which is what is important. There are may different ways in which postmodernism is defined. Numerous theorists have came up with their own thoughts and theories on what postmodern is. Baudrillard came up with the term hyperreality which has been used to define postmodernism and Lyotard believed that postmodernism was defined by the loss of metanarratives. One thing that many postmodern theorists believe is that postmodernism is the final art movement and that nothing will come after it. There are other theorists that believe that this isn't true however, they believe that it is simply an art movement similar to modernism and that something will come after it. Others would argue that postmodernism itself isn't a thing.

Postmodernism can be viewed all over society. There are many films that are said to contain postmodern element, almost any film you now see contains some sort of postmodern element. Although, the most popular postmodern films include Donnie Darko and The Matrix. There are also popular artists which are considered postmodern, Banksy is one of these artists. Banksy uses features of pop culture and famous iconography in his work that looks at topical issues. One of his recent pieces was a recreation of the Les Miserables poster to look at the migrant crisis in Europe ant the issues in the camps in Calais. In 2015 he also created his own temporary 'bemusement park' which looked at issues such as rioting in the UK and the migrant crisis. He recreated Disneyland but with art pieces such as a derelict Disney Land Castle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKomOqYU4Mw&feature=youtu.be
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)