Define Postmodern Media with examples.

Postmodernism is the term given to the movement that includes taking the old and making the new. This idea can be demonstrated through the use of intertextuality, self-reflexivity, bricolage, pastiche and parody. Gerard Genette lends to these ideas as he proposes transtexuality that includes both intertextuality and hypotextuality. Levi-Strauss also is a key theory as he created the idea of bricolage and that texts can be constructed by using debris found from other texts. An example of a postmodern film is Inglorious Basterds. It includes many intertextual links such as during Nations Pride someone is shot in the eye and a pram rolls away- both that are reminiscent of scenes from Battleship Potemkin. The Good The Bad and The Ugly is also referenced through the choice of framing shots along with the similar Spaghetti Western music choices. Pulp Fiction becomes referenced through the choice of substituting classic white on screen text for yellow text and The Searchers springs to mind through the similar doorway framing shot as Shoshanna runs away. Again further references include The Sound of Music, which can be linked through the green hills and fields scenery during the opening of the film. Shaft is also referred to through the choice to include Blaxploitation music and finally Romeo and Juliet like scenes are shown as Shoshanna and Frederic lie dead together. Self-reflexivity is another apparent postmodern feature within Inglorious Basterds. The camera goes both above and below the set to reveal beams and floorboards showing that this is just a film. Another way the film does this is through the use of painted backdrops that make the film apparent as a film. The use of chapters and on screen text to point out key characters furthers this idea as in reality there are no pointers to tell us who is who. As well as this there are cutaway scenes such as the Hugo Stigliz clip and the nitrate film clip, both that give us background information that in reality we wouldnt be given. A circle cut out appears through a shot to reveal where bombs are hidden before shrinking back into the shot- this again refers to itself as a text as we, the audience, are given information that many of the other characters are unaware of. Finally the film refers to itself by using slow motion, as Shoshanna dies which lends to the idea that postmodernism is a mix up between time, narrative and space (George Ritzer). The text can be considered a hybrid text as it is a mix of genres. It is a bricolage (Levi-Strauss) consisting of war, romance, action and even aspects of humour. This humour can be demonstrated through the various uses of parody. Hitlers character is exaggerated and stereotyped and is probably far from what he was actually like. Likewise both Aldo Raine and Archie Hicox have been exaggerated to create extreme stereotypes of both the American and the English accents. Similarly another postmodern film is Drive. This also consists of many intertextual references including that of Grand Theft Auto, Vice City, through the use of neon pink text at the beginning and the map and birds eye shots of the city that are similar to if you were playing the game. Grease can also be referenced

through the inclusion of the drainage slops where the Driver takes Irene and Bernicio. The night shots of the city are reminiscent to those in Blade Runner and the Drivers lack of dialogue could be owed to the similarity of Clint Eastwoods character in The Good The Bad and The Ugly. The text could be deemed self-reflexive through the change of lighting and the slow motion used in the lift. Both of these aspects are unlike anything that would happen in reality and show the audience that the film is just a text. Drive can also be considered a hybrid text as it combines action and romance. It can also be considered to use bricolage as it uses 80s music in a gangster type film that could be seen as unusual and creates something new by combining these two existing ideas. Parody can also be found within the text through the stereotypical use of a Pizzeria to be where the gangsters hang out. This idea is often related and stereotyped to gangsters because of the Italian roots of the Mafia. Fight Club is again another postmodern text. It includes many intertextual links including to Ikea, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Krispy Crme, Starbucks, VW Beetle and Nike. It also references Forest Gump when Tyler shouts Run Forest Run. The film can also be considered self-reflexive because the whole thing is from the narrators perspective and the camera is directly addressed during the cigarette burn scene. Tyler also says tell them which addresses the fact there is an audience watching. The use of cutaway scenes, such as those to show Tylers many occupations and the cave in the narrators mind also act as techniques to show the audience that this is just a film. Pulp Fiction yet again includes intertextual links. Yellow writing is included like many other Tarrantino films as well as the inclusion of the foot fetish. The film is a bricolage as it consists of many genres including action, comedy and romance which allow the text to be considered hybrid. Self-reflexive elements include when Uma Thurman draws a square on screen and then it just disappears. Television that can be considered postmodern includes Flight of the Concords as it also references other texts such as Daryll Hall from the Hall of Oates and ZZ Top. Alike all the other texts it can also be considered a hybrid text through its many genres including sitcom, musical, drama and reality TV. The show is selfreflexive as it often directly addresses the camera and includes quirky graphics in its title sequence that draw attention to itself as a constructed product. Parody can also be demonstrated through exaggerated ideas of New Zealand and the New Zealanders. The IT Crowd, episode Moss and the German is another TV programme that can be considered postmodern. It includes intertextual references to Tarrantino and Oceans 11 as well as having similar elements to Hannibal Lector through the inclusion of a cannibal and a cello. The TV show Rod Hull + Emo is also referenced through the quote theres somebody at the door. The show is selfreflexive through the opening sequence that pays homage to an old computer game but also highlights that this is a constructed text. Again parody can be

found when Jen speaks with an exaggerated Russian accent and also the stereotyped German who has a strong accent and likes meat. The main use of parody however is when the Piracy is stealing video is remade in a mocking way. Music that can be considered postmodern includes that of M.I.As work. She can be labelled as a hybrid artist as her genres vary from and between Asian folk, rap, reggae, hip-hop, world music and dance. She intertextually references culture and politics through her lyrics and samples Asian music such as in Bad Girls when the track begins. Bad Girls can also be considered to challenge barriers between high and low styles (Kramer) as the traditional Asian music is seen as high whereas the contrasting rap is seen as low. These examples of each film, TV and music all are postmodern texts and can be defined through the various techniques used such as those of intertextual references, self-reflexivity, bricolage and parody.