Postmodernism

Postmodernism = A philosophical approach that changes everything. 

Postmodernism emerged in the middle and late 20th century. The miracles of science and technology had provided medicine, mass production of goods and new forms of communication. 

However, science and technology were also starting to be questioned. 

Technology had facilitated the mechanised slaughter of millions of soldiers in the two world wars and science was used by the Nazi's to attempt to justify the horrors of the holocaust. 

Over the 75 years since WWII, our 'progress' has compounded some problems that were set in motion during the industrial revolution, such as the burning of fossil fuels and global warming. 

Metanarrative = an overarching account or interpretation of events and circumstances that provide a pattern or structure for people's beliefs and gives meaning to their experiences. 

Jean-Francoise Lyotard defined postmodernism as an'incredulity towards metanarratives'. 

People in the same religion no longer share confidence in an all-encompassing explanation for the universe and how to understand it. 

Faith in religion has been replaced by concepts that can be scientifically proven. 

In postmodernism, there is no single truth instead lots of micronarratives. This is called relativism. 

Fredric Jameson argues 'Postmodern media history is just another set of signifiers to be played with.'. 

An example of this is Warner Bros' Wonder Woman (2018). Wonder Woman is not just there during WWII but actually ends the war. Fighting in no man's land and is able to stop a mythical god who turns out is responsible for the war.  Altering not only history and the facts of WWII but also Greek Mythology. 

2019

Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunes. 

Directed by: Taika Waititi 

Starring: Stephen Merchant

Studio: 20th Century Fox 

Awards: Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay

Plot: Jojo is growing up in a small town under Nazi control during WWII and has Hitler as his imaginary friend. He finds a Jewish girl hiding in his house later in his house and begins an unlikely friendship. 

Having Hitler played by Taika Waititi as an obscene character is changing the history of Hitler as one of the most notorious figures of the 20th Century.

He is presented at the start as a comedic character. This subversion of what we know creates comedy itself.

This subversion of a well-known figure creates pleasure in doing so, though also very likely creating offence. 

This not only creates comedy but also allows the audience to see an alternative point of view. Jojo is seduced into this 'ideal' image of a powerful leader, not unlike that of Germany at the start.

As the plot develops Jojo sees what Hitler is and what he has done, not unlike Germany itself throughout the war.

This creates a poignant and very relative lesson in following without questioning and blind obedience. 

The Gestapo, led by Stephen Merchant's character, break into Jojo's house and begin to tear it apart. 

The darker comedic parts of this scene - repetitive 'Heil Hitler'. The ironic extent to which this is said highlights how bizarre Hitler's ideology and beliefs were. Within this scene 'Heil Hitler' is said 31 times in under a minute. 

Another postmodern element is the colourful and trendy set design, intended to show the wealth of Jojo's family. Instead, it conveys to an educated audience how the facade is failing and in reality, the country is crumbling to pieces. 

Stephen's character is both buffoonish and intimidating through his conversational delivery style. 

Simulacra are artificial copies. Audiences often prefer simulacra to real life.

When simulacra become hard to tell apart from reality this is hyperreality. 

1. The image is the reflection of a profound reality - the image is a good reflection of reality (vloggers/ lifestyle reality shows) 

4. The image is disconnected from reality - the order of simulacra rather than reality (Love Island)

There are four stages of simulation, starting with a copy that is faithful to the original and step-by-step the representation becomes less connected to reality, until the fourth state where there is no connection of the simulation to any reality. 

Baudrillard predicted the future? 

'Simulacra and Simulation' was first published in 1971. He predicted augmented reality. 

Writer: Charlie Brooker - Explores the idea of technology in the series Black Mirror, all of which follow a postmodern approach. 

Studio: Netflix

Year: 2018 

Director: David Slade

Cast: Fionn Whitehead and Will Poulter

Awards: Nominated for a Bafta TV award

Plot: A young video programmer starts to question his own reality while adapting a classic novel into a multi-layered game. 

An interactive 'choose your own adventure' film, putting the audience in full control of the narrative and the structure of the media text itself. Like most Black Mirror episodes these endings are dark, with the idea of darker endings based on your choices. 

Intertextuality - Throughout the episode a symbol appears that is a link to a famous episode of Black Mirror in Series One. As well as a post featuring a monster from Series Three. 

Pearl Ritman ending - the ending that will be most commonly reached according to Netlfix. 

• We see the daughter of the game developer try to finish 'Bandersnatch' for her father.
• It is then revealed to the audience that the film they have been watching is actually Pearl's attempt at finishing the game for her father but she starts to lose control. 
• This most popular ending is very postmodernist with it's meta-ending. 

In doing so Bandersnatch becomes the ultimate 4th wall break, which is also becoming popular in Marvel films like 'Deadpool'. 

• Encourages feelings of intellectualism in audiences 
  • Postmodern audiences often make an audience feel clever if they understand them or recognise intertextuality
  • Audiences feel superior if they recognise the references or understand what is being parodied
• Encourages the audience to be more aware of the media around them 
  • If audiences can recognise a product as having been manipulated or constructed then they can be more informed about the media world around them. 
  • Understanding the media texts or simulacra can prevent us from being fooled by the media. 

Lyotard believes that the hegemonic control in traditional media creates a metanarrative that often functions to legitimise power and social customs. 

George Floyd was at a grocery store in America when the staff called the police as they thought he had used a fake $20 bill. Police came to arrest him and during the course of his arrest he died. 

Lyotard talks about how the traditional media creates a dominant system of understanding which oppresses marginal voices. 

Police chiefs released an official statement saying the officers involved followed procedure and that they feared for their lives as Floyd was a criminal. 

Later a bystander uploaded a video taken of the incident. The officers knelt on his neck and did not get him medical help until he had been unconscious for 10 minutes. 

Postmodern media offers ordinary people the chance to break the metanarrative. George Floyd's name was mentioned 42 million times in the 30 days after his death. The main officer is being charged with second-degreee manslaughter. 

Habermas has argued that post-modernism will lead to a fragmentation of discourse in society. How can people reach a conclusion if we all have our own truths and logics? 

For example, the day after Trump's inauguration ceremony Sean Spicer White House press secretary called a press conference to be critical of the 'false reporting' of the media. He argued that the media had deliberately misrepresented the size of the crowd trying to underplay the volume of support for the president. He then gave 'evidence' that this was the largest crowd ever attended and used a comparison of Metro figures from that day and other inaugurations. Spicer's factors were challenged by the news media and photographic evidence. Are even quantifiable facts like no. of people in a crowd now subjective? 

During Trump's presidency, he accused journalists and news organisation of being 'fake news' more than 2,000 times.

Habermas argued that 'post-truth democracy' would 'no longer be a democracy'. For effective communication, it is necessary that opposing parties can hold different views and debate them in order to form a consensus. 

Relativism denies people the truth. 

An example of this is Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories. 

The massacre of millions of innocent Jewish men, women and children is not subjective. It is an objective fact that can be proven through an overwhelming amount of physical evidence and testimony. 

It is also a very recent historical event that ended less than 80 years ago. 

Despite this, some people try to deny the scale or occurrence of the holocaust. 

This is why Habermas argues that there must be a space where society can freely debate and arrive at a collective understanding of the world, instead of a fragmented world with hundreds of micronarratives.