Pros and Cons of Postmodernism

 

Chris

Pros and Cons of Postmodernism   Postmodernism is a concept used in a variety of media texts that aims to be controversial, however this can have benefits and consequences. Postmodernism originated from the reaction to modernism, which is where people thought that science and technology was improving ttheir heir lives. However, during WW2 people realised that these new ideas and advancements were being used against them in the form for m of bombs and weapons. Thus postmodernism was born, putting a cynical edge on reality. Baudrillard stated that the majority of the world is presented through ‘hyper reality’ a fake reality created c reated by the media. Thus postmodernism can be seen as both positive and negative, as it toys with reality in ways that people either accept or reject. Postmodernism likes to deconstruct other media texts so they can be reconstructed through use of parody and Spoofs using intertextuality. An example of this is when the comedy show ‘Brass eye’  did a spoof of the news by portraying it as something that is fake f ake and hyper-real itself, even though it is a suppose to be representing real life. They were able to mock the structure of the news readers in a sarcastic way by mimicking the style and following stereotypical codes and conventions of news programmes such as ‘meaningless  graphs and figures’. This could be seen as a positive for postmodernism as it shows that people are able to laugh about serious things, and allows for tongue in cheek humour. This is i s further represented in the animated comedy seri es ‘Family Guy’ which uses a lot of parodies and outtakes from other texts by using cross references. E.g. major narratives such as Christianity are mocked as Jesus turns the water to wine for a teenage party, which provoked controversial backlash from religious leaders. One problem of postmodernism is that it uses generic blurring. This is when media texts merge together different styles or genre into one text to create something new, this technique is used in the film and music industry. E.g. the pop artist Lady Gaga uses generic blurring in her everyday life and in her live performances, this is because she wants to create a character so flamboyant and interesting that everyone will forget her real persona of ‘Stefanie Germonatta’ Germonatta’ and only think of the

fabricated ‘Lady Gaga’ .This can be seen as a negative aspect of postmodernism as by merging these texts, we lose sight of the original genre or text. E.g. Stefanie Germonatta ceases to exist, and is replaced by ‘Lady Gaga’ in the eyes of the media.

Postmodernism states that it is no longer possible to create anything original. Everything is made up of blending or a mixture of older works. Postmodernism takes this to extremes using bricolage and intertextuality. This leads to many original origi nal narratives being treated with irreverence. The film ‘The cabin in the Woods’ for example uses intertexuality to showcase the many monsters and creatures

from other iconic horror films, such as the twins from the shining, and the masked murderers from ‘the stranger strangers’ s’. A key example of this is when ‘Sigourney weaver’ who is well known for playing the protagonist from the iconic horror horror trilogy ‘Alien’ is revealed as the ‘Director’ at the end of the film.

By integrating all these iconic horror scenes/characters into one film, creates a homage for the horror genre, as audiences with prior knowledge of these films wil willl understand the references. The postmodern tendency towards cross reference and intertextuality creates a relationship with the audience by both playing with and complimenting their knowledge of film, which is beneficial to the audience. The death of representation is a concept used in postmodern texts because it allows for new representations to be made. . E.g. the Pop star ‘Lady Gaga’ used the Death of represe ntation, as she

 

Chris

is constantly reinventing herself to avoid being labelled by the media and paparazzi. Cleverly she released a controversial controversial song ‘Paparazzi’ where in the music video she is quite literally pushed to the

point of near death by these people who want to feed off her pain. She also al so wears bizarre artistic outfits that you would expect to see on a catwalk as they are so outlandish, e.g her 2ft heelless shoes. This technique can also be applied to computer games, e.g. ‘the Sims’ franchise have taken it

one step further and have created an immersive hyper reality in which people can create themselves and live out their life virtually, through an avatar. This amount of control over life can be considered controversial as games like this can make you more concerned for your avatar life, as opposed to your real life, games such as these contain no grand narrative or moral guidelines, as young people are given power over life and death, and can explicitly watch their avatars burn to death. This is quite a negative aspect of postmodernism, as it has provided so much immersion and escapism, that people are losing sight of what is reality. (baudrillard). This can also lead to crime and anti-social behaviour as the younger audience is easily influenced by violence, and are losing their consciences. In conclusion Postmodernism can be seen in both a positive and negative light depending on how it is viewed. Lyotard’s notion that there are no ultimate truths lends us the idea that it’s about taste and opinion and that one text is not better than the other. On one hand, postmodernism can cause controversy as it deliberately pokes fun at well known texts and historic events. E.g. the film Inglorious basturds mocks the story of the World War by including fictional ficti onal scenes and not following the true story. However Postmodernism can also be seen as positive as it has allowed for a new breed of media texts, as films and media can reuse well known scenes, and present them with a unique twist. E.g. Lady Gaga uses bricolage as she collectively uses iconic props and outfits from other artists and texts. E.g. the fireworks bra she uses was previously used by ‘Madonna’ .