Postmodern Song

Postmodern Vocabulary

• ·       An emphasis on style at the expense of substance and content- Style over substance- A crucial implication is that in a post-modern culture, surfaces and styles become more important, and evoke in turn a kind of 'designer ideology'. Alternatively, as Harvey puts it...'images dominate narrative'. The argument is that we increasingly consume images and signs for their own sake rather than for their 'usefulness' or for deeper values they might symbolise. We consume images and signs precisely because they are images and signs, and disregard their questions of usefulness and value. Consequently, qualities like "artistic merit", integrity, seriousness and authenticity, realism, intellectual depth and strong narratives tend to be undermined. Moreover, virtual reality computer graphics can allow people to experience various forms of reality "second hand". These surface simulations can therefore potentially replace their real life counterparts (virtual reality sex for example).
• ·       Confusions over time and space
• ·       Decline of the meta-narrative A meta narrative is something which claims to explain something totally (e.g. Christianity, Marxism). Since our society has become so fragmented, we live by individual beliefs rather than collective ones. Postmodern texts reflect this state of being by being ambiguous in their meaning and message, defying an absolute truth. Lyotard introduced this theory but also criticised it
• ·       (Strinati’s Five Features of a Postmodern Text, also includes the breakdown of a distinction between high art and popular culture and the breakdown of a distinction between culture and society)
• ·       Mixing of styles- hybrid genres/ hybridization- Though mostly relating to films, a mixing of styles refers to genres that are put together in one text. For example. Shaun of the Dead is comedy, but is also a horror considering its storyline and is therefore a hybrid genre of horror and comedy- romzomcom
• ·        Intertextuality- A device that creates an “interrelationship between texts” and generates related understanding in separate works. This is done to influence the audience and add layers of depth
• ·       Pastiche- Pastiche in itself is a mechanism of intertextuality, imitating and celebrating other artist’s work through homage to it
• ·       Bricolage- A work that combines existing material, independent of their original purpose
• ·       Hyperreality/ Temporal distortion- Hyperreal is the term that theorist Jean Baudrillard used to explain signs that appear more real than reality. Some common examples of hyperreality are wax museums and the attractions at Disneyland, where in many cases our conscious state has trouble distinguishing reality from the simulation of reality. The use of hyperreality is also common within the advertising image, where reality is intentionally improved and exaggerated.
• ·       Knowingness- Irony and cynicism are the most authentic forms of expression. Self-concious, self-contradictory and self- undermining statements convey a sense of our place in the world. Since few people trust their convictions or believe the world can change for the better, irony and cynicism is the only option-- Irony and Black Humour
• ·       Identity as image- The self is replaced by identity, and identity is a collage of cultural scraps. It is perhaps for this reason that theories are to be abandoned.
• ·       Fragmentation- It relates to Lyotard’s theory of metanarratives, in that it rejects any kind of ‘total’ or ‘universal’ ideas. Fragmentation, most commonly discussed in relation to society and identities, explains the plurality of views, theories, styles, etc., that co-exist within cultures without any claiming superiority over the others. Postmodern theory stresses fragmentations, discontinuities and disorder, as opposed to the order, rationality and minimalism that characterised modernist thought.
• Cultural Flattening- Postmodernists believe that modernism is elitist and relies heavily on the separation of high and low culture. Postmodern theory suggests that these ideals are no longer relevant and claims that ideas and meanings move through culture without attachment to these dichotomies. It is argued that in recent years, technological advancements, amongst other things, have blurred the line between high and low culture.
• Pluralism- Put simply, pluralism favours the multiple over the one. A society that is pluralistic will equally tolerate all cultures and their traditions. Pluralistic philosophy will recognise more than just one definitive principle. Postmodernists such as Barthes believe that texts do not just contain one meaning, but a plurality of meanings. Pluralistic art would lend itself to a number of styles and methods and value them all equally.

Modernism vs Postmodernism

Modernism vs Postmodernism in Philosophy
Premodernism- Based upon revealed knowledge from authoritative sources. Ultimate Truth could be known through direct revelation (usually from God).
Modernism- Empiricism and reason/logic were the new approaches to knowingness.
Postmodernism- A questioning of the previous approaches to knowing, advocating for epistemological pluralism in regards to knowing things, using revelation, science and reason, as well as intuition, the spiritual and relational. Distrusted authority.

Modernism and Enlightenment
Some postmodern frontrunners spoke about society entering a new phase- we were in a historical period with novel features, to be distinguished from the preceding Modern Age.
The Modern Age is associated with faith in:

• progress
• optimism
• rationality
• the search for absolute knowledge in science, technology, society and politics
• the idea of gaining knowledge of the true self was the only foundation for all knowledge

These kinds of values are often called Enlightenment Ideals, associated with the Age of Reason which originated in the 17th century and influenced all Western thought.

The general philosophy of the period is often defined in terms of its belief that progress in society could be brought about through the gradual perfection (through increasing self-knowledge and rigorous intellectual method) of humanity. An investment in human rights began though this also meant that the West believed that their values should be universally applied.

The proposed decline or break in these values makes up postmodernism. Postmodern society is often negatively associated with:

• exhaustion
• pessimism
• irrationality
• disillusionment with the idea of absolute knowledge
• an erosion of conventional distinctions between high and low culture
• fascination with how our lives seem increasingly dominated by visual media
• a questioning of ideas about meaning and communication, and about how signs refer to the world
• a sense that definitions of human identity are changing, or ought to change
• scepticism about the stories we tell to explain 'the human race' and about the idea of progress

However, some versions of postmodernism have seen it as an outcome/extension of modernity. Postmodernism as the latest point in the progress of modernization. Developments can be seen as the most recent product of the process of endless invention triggered by the Industrial Revolution than as part of a unique contemporary historical epoch that at some recent point simply snapped off from the past.

Television is seen as a symbol for postmodernism itself. It can just as easily be seen as a product of the rise of the mass media that began in the final quarter of the nineteenth century as this is when Marconi invented telegraphy and the Lumiere brothers developed cinematography. Therefore, television can be seen as another product of modernity.

Modernism and Art

Modernism began as a rejection of the ideas or cultural baggage of the past- new ideas such as evolution, psychology and socialism changed views of the world. God was dead, everyone was driven by their subconscious and all people were equal. Modernism was about new ideas all the time.

Commonalities in modern art:

• Masculinity- most modernist artists were male
• European- most modernist artists were European
• Utopian- a better world through better art (their own)
• Media before subject matter- most modernist masters thought the best, most honest art, was to use the technique of art as the subject matter, to get them closer to what art was about

Postmodernism began from a scrutiny of modernism- this was represented through upheavals in society- feminism and equal rights protest movements

• Feminity- where is the women's art
• Where is the culturally diverse art?
• Utopianism? Who controls the media? You can't trust anyone
• Media as the subject matter is a dead end. Can comic books be art?

Commonalities in postmodernism:

• Irony- the use of low brow imagery in high brow context- questioning what art is
• Appropriation/ Bricolage- the use of someone else's imagery in a new way to create new meaning
• Juxtaposition- using incongruent styles together
• Pluralism- multiple viewpoints, openness in difference
• Deconstruction- looking at multiple meanings

Umberto Eco- "The postmodern reply to the modern consists of recognising that the past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence, must be revisited: but with irony, not innocently. I think of the postmodern attitude as that of a man who loves a very cultivated woman and knows that he cannot say to her "I love you madly" because he knows that she knows (and that she knows he knows) that these words have already been written by Barbara Cartland. Still, there is a solution. He can say "As Barbara Cartland would put it, I love you madly". At this point, having avoided false innocence, having said clearly it is no longer possible to talk innocently, he will nevertheless say what he wanted to say to the woman: that he loves her in an age of lost innocence. If the woman goes along with this, she will have received a declaration of love all the same. Neither of the two speakers will feel innocent, both will have accepted the challenge of the part, of the already said, which cannot be eliminated; both will consciously and with pleasure play the game of irony(...) But both will have succeeded, once again, in speaking of love."

Modernism vs Postmodernism

- Master Narratives and Metanarratives (a theory that arrogantly offers total, all-embracing answers) of history, culture and national identity; myths of cultural and ethnic origin vs. Suspicion and rejection of Master Narratives since they are dangerously authoritarian; local narratives, ironic deconstruction of master narratives: counter-myths of origin.
- Faith in "Grand Theory" (totalizing explanations in history, science and culture) to represent all knowledge and explain everything vs. Rejection of totalizing theories; pursuit of localising and contingent theories.
- Faith in, and myths of, social and cultural unity, hierarchies of social class and ethnic/national values, seemingly clear basis for unity vs. Social and cultural pluralism, disunity, unclear bases for social/national/ethnic unity.
- Master narrative of progress through science and technology vs. Skepticism of progress, anti-technology reactions, neo-Luddism (resist modern technology out of concern for the impact on individuals, their communities and the environment); new age religions.
- Sense of unified, centred self; individualism," unified identity vs. Sense of fragmentation and decentered self; multiple, conflicting identities.
- The idea of "the family" as the central unit of social order: the model of the middle-class, nuclear family vs. Alternative family units, alternatives to middle-class marriage model, multiple identities for couplings and child raising.
- Hierarchy, order, centralised control vs. Subverted order, loss of centralised control, fragmentation.
- Faith and personal investment in big politics (Nation-State, party) vs. Trust and investment in micropolitics, identity politics, local politics, institutional power struggles.
- Root/Depth tropes. Faith in "Depth" (meaning, value, content, the signified) over "Surface" (appearances, the superficial, the signifier) vs. Rhizome (suggests people / activities / representations grouping in unpredictable ways make unforeseen connections)/surface tropes. Attention to play of surfaces, images, signifiers without concern for "Depth".
- Faith in the "real" beyond media and representations; the authenticity of "originals" vs. Hyper-reality, image saturation, simulacra seem more powerful than the "real"; images and texts with no prior "original". "As seen on TV" and "as seen on MTV" are more powerful than unmediated experience.
- Dichotomy of high and low culture (official vs. popular culture); imposed consensus that high or official culture is normative and authoritative vs. Disruption of the dominance of high culture by popular culture; mixing of popular and high cultures, new valuation of pop culture, hybrid cultural forms cancel "high"/"low" categories.
- Mass culture, mass consumption, mass marketing vs. Demassified culture; niche products and marketing, smaller group identities.
- Art as a unique object and finished work authenticated by artist and validated by agreed upon standards vs. Art as process, performance, production, intertextuality. Art as recycling of culture authenticated by the audience and validated in subcultures sharing identity with the artist.
- Knowledge mastery attempts to embrace a totality. The encyclopaedia vs. Navigation, information management, just-in-time knowledge. The Web.
- Broadcast media centralized one-to-many communications vs. Interactive, client-server, distributed, many-to-many media (the Net and Web).
- Centering/centeredness, centralised knowledge vs. Dispersal, dissemination, networked, distributed knowledge
- Determinacy vs. Indeterminancy, contingency.
- The seriousness of intention and purpose, middle-class earnestness vs. Play, irony, challenge to official seriousness, subversion of earnestness.
- The sense of clear generic boundaries and wholeness (art, music, and literature) vs. Hybridity, promiscuous genres, recombinant culture, intertextuality, pastiche.
- Design and architecture of New York and Boston vs. Design and architecture of LA and Las Vegas
- Clear dichotomy between organic and inorganic, human and machine vs. Cyborgian mixing of organic and inorganic, human and machine and electronic
- Phallic ordering of sexual difference, unified sexualities, exclusion/bracketing of pornography vs. Androgyny, queer sexual identities, polymorphous sexuality, mass marketing of pornography
- The book as sufficient bearer of the word; the library as the system for printed knowledge vs. Hypermedia as transcendence of physical limits of print media; the Web or Net as the information system

Sources:

http://www.postmodernpsychology.com/philosophical_systems/overview.htm

Teach Yourself Postmodernism by Glenn Ward

http://www.slideshare.net/matcol/modernism-vs-post-modernism

http://www19.homepage.villanova.edu/karyn.hollis/prof_academic/Courses/2043_pop/modernism_vs_postmodernism.htm

Pulp Fiction as Postmodern HANDOUT

How can Pulp Fiction be described as postmodern?

Institutional Information:

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Year: 1994

Genre: Neo noir (prominently use elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in film noir of the 1940s and 1950s), crime (a genre of film that focus on crime. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains), black humour (a comic style that makes light of themes that are generally considered serious or taboo. Black comedy corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor. Black comedy is often controversial due to its subject matter)

Target Audience:

·       Rated an 18- intense scenes including rape and murder, black humour alleviates this making it more accessible overall

·       Violence and black humour is usually associated with men and the film has been accused of laddishness- there is a sexual view of Mia as the femme fatale and there is also lots of reference to sex, as well as Butch and Fabienne are assumed to have sex

·       Many women enjoy the film as there is a lack of usual sexism, though the women are sometimes represented somewhat negatively- Mia is a femme fatale, Fabienne is a child-like woman and Honey Bunny becomes a screaming mess

·       Became a critical and commercial success as well as a cult classic despite it being such a different film to what Hollywood usually releases

 Mia as a femme fatale- Jules and Vincent discuss how, after seducing another man, he ended up dead:

Jules: Look, just because I don't be givin' no man a foot massage don't make it right for Marsellus to throw Antwone into a glass motherfuckin' house, fuckin' up the way the nigger talks. Motherfucker do that shit to me, he better paralyze my ass, 'cause I'll kill the motherfucker, know what I'm sayin'?

Vincent: I ain't saying it's right. But you're saying a foot massage don't mean nothing, and I'm saying it does. Now look, I've given a million ladies a million foot massages, and they all meant something. We act like they don't, but they do, and that's what's so fucking cool about them. There's a sensuous thing going on where you don't talk about it, but you know it, she knows it, fucking Marsellus knew it, and Antwone should have fucking better known better. I mean, that's his fucking wife, man. He can't be expected to have a sense of humor about that shit. You know what I'm saying?

Jules: That's an interesting point. Come on, let's get into character.

Postmodern Features:

·       Pulp fiction is full of intertextual references- references the French New Wave film at the beginning (“Band a part”), makes references to gangster, blaxploitation (mainly set in poor urban neighbourhoods. Terms used against white characters, such as "crackers" and "honky", are common plot and or character elements. Blaxploitation films set in the South often deal with slavery and miscegenation.), boxing, war, musical, romance and even arthouse genres. Possible ones across to other Tarantino films (is Vince the cousin/brother of Vic ‘Mr Blonde’ Vega in Reservoir Dogs, came out two years before? Related to Suzanne Vega the singer?) Include the stars’ other performances: Harvey Keitel as cleaner-up of murders in The Assassin, Travolya playing someone with the possible future of his character in Saturday Night Fever. Godard- ‘A Band Apart’ is a film by Godard, Vincent and Mia’s dance echoes Godard, Mia’s look echoes Anna Karina who worked closely with Godard.

·       Constant references to the part as well as use of temporal distortion- They go to a retro restaurant they listen to old music and dance an old dance, this is an element of postmodernity. No sense of time- 1990s referenced by McDonald’s chat and phones but lots of retro-cultural references= no time. Disorienting structure in regards to time- last event of the story= Fabienne and Butch making their getaway after The Gold Watch. Last event of plot= Vincent and Jules walking out of the diner, well before Vincent is killed during the gold watch

• They discuss eating burgers with the same seriousness as killing people - lack of meta narratives- leading to a lack of morality
• The film questions reality as in the car Mia draws a square graphic, reminding the audience this is a film and not real life.- element of postmodernism and modernism- variation and disruptions to the Hollywood style-  odd angles, unusually long takes, square drawn on the screen
• The bible is quoted at very inappropriate moments- black humour, sense of knowingness and irony
• Mixing of styles- neo noir, black comedy and crime

Postmodern motifs- The suitcase is the most important motif- the combination is 666, the number of the beast. It is a MacGuffin (plot device) but people put meaning onto it- links to feature of pluralism. Originally, the case was going to contain diamonds but this was considered too mundane. 2007 video with fellow director and friend Robert Rodriguez- Tarantino reveals the contents of the briefcase, but the film cuts out and skips the scene in the style employed in Tarantino and Rodriguez’s Grindhouse with an intertitle reading “Missing Reel”- intertextuality within an interview- Rodriguez discusses how radically the knowledge of the briefcase changes the understanding of the film- pluralism. The glow inside the suitcase links to 1955 film noir Kiss Me Deadly- features a glowing briefcase housing an atomic explosive= using intertextuality to add meaning, links to violence through kiss me deadly and raiders of the last ark (glowing chest)

Representation Theory

Representation in Music Videos from meghanmooreg321

Audience Theory

Tom Odell Postmodernism Re-Write

What is postmodernism? Postmodernism is anti-authoritarian by nature, refusing to recognise the authority of any single style as definition of what it should be. Resultantly, postmodernism can be characterised by its self conscious use of earlier styles and conventions and an eclectic mixing of different artistic and popular styles. It is a sarcastic playful parody of western modernity and the “John Wayne” individual and a radical, anarchist rejection of all attempts to define, reify or re-present the human subject.

How then can a music video be a postmodern text? There are certain characteristics within music videos that make them indicative of postmodernism that can be picked up on by the audience. However, perhaps the more important question is why is a music video a postmodern text. Despite postmodernism rejecting any attempts to define humans, music and songs do exactly this by discussing human emotion in clearly defined iconography that will be accepted by society- sad love songs will discuss all the good things that the person is missing about them, upbeat songs will clearly state all the great things the artist is doing and on and on. Therefore postmodernism must come into play to somewhat parody this definition of the human subject as well as present it the way it should be presented, as opposed to making it something new. However, in doing this, a new way of representing humans comes about. Postmodernism as a theory is full of contradictions.

Tom Odell’s Wrong Crowd was released on the 4^th April 2016. The song tells of a boy's newfound association with a group of people who are disliked by his family. However, he believes he cannot help it and will always be with them, destroying everything in his life. George Belfield directed it.

One of the first features of postmodernism that can be seen is the idea of the decline of the meta-narrative and pluralism. The message behind Wrong Crowd is up to interpretation in regards to both lyrics and the visuals that we are being given throughout. Though universally it can be seen as a negative song, most likely through the use of the word wrong, there can be many ideas about whether the song is relating to a more physical idea of wrong people, or a psychological idea of wrongness. The video itself is ambiguous due to it merely being a fragment of time- is this his first time going out to party or another time among many? While it appears to suggest a man who is heartbroken going to party his life away, a close up shot of one of the party goers (a girl) somewhat suggests romantic interest due to the closeness we are to her face and the possibility that we are seeing her from the character’s point of view. This could then suggest that he is going to the “wrong crowd” because he is in fact in love with someone else. This in itself may be why he is part of the “wrong crowd”- he may have done something wrong to the girl.

There is also a mixing of styles that can be seen, since the genre of the song is indie pop. His music video is somewhat more like a pop video, as indie videos would not necessarily revolve around a party lifestyle, or not in the same way. Comparing Wrong Crowd to will.i.am’s Boys & Girls (closer to pop) versus Vampire Weekend’s Diane Young (closer to indie), Wrong Crowd is visibly closer to Boys & Girls- it is more narrative than conceptual.

Intertextuality can also be seen in the video. Our opening shot in the music video is Tom (or Tom’s character) sitting alone in his chair, dressed in white. Though it takes some time for this reference to make sense, as we don’t fully understand the video until certain scenes are revealed to us, this has some allusion to Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations. He has lost his love and is sitting, despondent, in white, much like Miss Havisham sat in her wedding dress after she was left at the altar. This idea links to Strinati’s five features with the idea that this somewhat done because the music video is an inferior text to Great Expectations and this link captures the audience. This somewhat also links to pastiche, as this scene is much more of an homage to a classic scene than it is ridicule.

Pastiche can also be seen in other ways. With the use of more common scenes from pop videos, there is some element of commentary on these types of scenes in pop music, and is very different to them. It is not parody however, as it is not making fun of these scenes, but is merely using them to make a different statement. Tom Odell’s entire song revolves around the idea that he is a part of the “wrong crowd”, people that don’t like his family, don’t treat him well, and generally make him a worse person. This is a complete contrast to many pop videos, where a party group represents a much more popular and friendly group of people. This somewhat adds to the idea of knowingness to do, perhaps with the cynical viewpoint of no party is a good party and is always dangerous to get involved.

Odell also uses Bricolage. Tom uses his own song Constellations to convey the message that he has been heartbroken by the girl he is singing to in the video. While the original purpose of the song is merely to entertain, or to invoke a similar sense of love that Tom appears to be feeling, the use of it here is to make us understand Tom’s pain.

Hyperreality contrasting with magical realism is also prominent. Tom Odell’s video could (within reason) easily be a slice of reality. There is no sense of anything particularly linking to magical realism other than the shot of the woman, boy and jaguar, using symbolism to demonstrate the idea that Tom is trapped between the materialistic world while wanting to be in a more natural one. In regards to the main realistic narrative that we see, this is something that people do- go to parties. However, due to it only being a fragment of time, there is some sense of fiction to it with the idea that he can do this without consequences, or with the idea that after being heartbroken; partying is his first port of call. It is a music video after all, and has been created to represent an idealistic view of what parties are as opposed to how they really work.

There is a strong sense of identity as image within the music video. Since Tom Odell is in the video himself, there is some idea of this music video adding to his image. Although the fact that the music video doesn’t exist is still apparent, there could easily be some theories taken from this music video that, as a celebrity, this is the kind of lifestyle that Tom is actually used to.

Overall, the music video does seem to be postmodern with the large amount of postmodern features that can be seen. Being a music video it will be viewed by a lot of people, and since it is also postmodern it is able to convey a large amount of messages and meanings as shown through the idea of pluralism.