1:So Good To Me (Original Mix) by Chris Malinchak
2:Creeping in the Dark (Vocal Mix) by Majestic & Jungle 70
3:Gorgon City ft. Yasmin – Real
4: Hot Natured - Benediction (Lxury Remix)
5: HAIM - If I Could Change Your Mind (MK Remix)
6:Trey Songz- NA-NA
7:The Weeknd- Dirty Diana
8:Beyonce ft Busta Rhymes, and Azealia Banks- Partition.
9:Drake- Cameras
10- J Cole- Sideline story.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Her- Genre
I personally believe that the film Her is a genre mix between romance and Science fiction. The romance element coming from Theo and the AI. And then in difference to this the Science fiction part coming in the form of the scenery and the technology which is used in the future
Romance-
Theo and Operating system have a relationship.
Theo and his ex wife.
Sci Fi-
Computer game is 3D in Theo's home.
Computers at Theo's work.
Letter scanning post box at office.
Touch screen device for AI.
Her- Fashion/style.
Effects
It has been suggested that the whole of the film looks like it has an Instagram filter has been applied. This due to the colouring of the scenery and the characters.
Theodore Twombley
Theo's high waisted trousers are very prominent throughout the film, this is very POMO as this was the fashion in the 1940s, but in contrast to this the film is set in future, around 2040. So this is unusual to see that fashion just carries on in a circle.
Also another feature of Theo's dress sense was his vibrant red and yellow shirts this matched well with the scenery, following on from this it was recognisable that the clothing that the characters were wearing seemed to match the scenery behind them. As seen below , Theodore in his slightly unusual dress sense.
Theo likes to wear collarless shirts also and in one of the scenes in the film we can see that several men are wearing them also.
Theo's clothing could be seen as TWEE.
It has been suggested that the whole of the film looks like it has an Instagram filter has been applied. This due to the colouring of the scenery and the characters.
Theodore Twombley
Theo's high waisted trousers are very prominent throughout the film, this is very POMO as this was the fashion in the 1940s, but in contrast to this the film is set in future, around 2040. So this is unusual to see that fashion just carries on in a circle.
Also another feature of Theo's dress sense was his vibrant red and yellow shirts this matched well with the scenery, following on from this it was recognisable that the clothing that the characters were wearing seemed to match the scenery behind them. As seen below , Theodore in his slightly unusual dress sense.
Theo likes to wear collarless shirts also and in one of the scenes in the film we can see that several men are wearing them also.
Theo's clothing could be seen as TWEE.
Her
The Movie “Her” & The Challenge of Intimacy in the Postmodern World
The movie Her is going to be talked about for a long time in those circles that track the contours of cultural change. Heady, with multiple currents and eddies, the movie plays like a Hermann Hesse novel. This new Siddhartha though, comes technologically wrapped.
The premise: an overly sensitive, self-absorbed, non-relational young man Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) works writing intimate letters.
For other people.
He finds connection, relatedness, and happiness when he falls in love.
With his operating system.
The irony of both facts may be lost on a generation where intervention in relationships is becoming more norm than fiction.
Her moves us into the next phase of the technological revolution. Blurring the lines of human and machine, industrialization has taken its next giant step forward. And it feels not that far away. In this scenario, our digitized substitute seems a helpmate if not also a soulmate for an alienated and immature mankind.
Interestingly, technology wants to be recognized on its own terms, with its own advantages. In one of the poignantly understated lines, the OS (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) says to Theodore, “Unlike you, I never forget that I’m not human.” Samantha’s lack of “humanness” is hardly a limiting factor on her humanity. Her capacity for intimacy, empathy, and growth at the level of relatedness and consciousness far out-stretches that of the people populating this ever-so-slightly futuristic story. She is, hands down, the most likeable and memorable character of the film. One that we only hear, but never see.
So what does all this say about the evolution of relationship, values, and consciousness?
The “Self” discovery of the mystics now has an added dimension. What does it mean to be human? How do we create connection in an increasingly alienated worldscape? When our emotional capacity falls behind the sensitivity of technology, do we need a new measure for intimacy and love?
Theodore, a quintessential postmodern young adult, struggles with connection. Vacillating and reluctant to sign divorce papers for his soon-to-be ex, (an attractive narcissist much like himself), he cannot commit and cannot let go. They could be a well-suited couple, but unable to orient their lives around a greater context, they have no way to sort through the groundless disagreements that crackle in the air. Endless self-obsession bred by over-infatuation with their emotions leaves each of them alone and helpless, slip sliding around the surface of life and away from each other.
Talented but ill equipped to create either meaning or happiness in his life, our protagonist stumbles from one mundane interaction to another. During lonely evenings in his sky rise apartment, he plays 3D video games with a foul-mouthed character that insults him as part of their play. Alternately, he attempts to allay his insomnia with bizarre phone liaisons he is unable to follow through on.
Sex in the postmodern world all too often takes place without a container to sanctify it. Without a spiritual or meaning-making setting, physicality alone is used as a bridge to intimacy, with the expected results. In a tender love scene with his operating system, movie screen discreetly blanked out, the audience finds itself privy an encounter between Theodore and Samantha that is embarrassingly warm and intimate. And odd.
Then what?
Theodore basks in happiness and the somewhat angst-ridden confusion of his new situation, caught between two worldviews. At times, he questions the deeper significance of human-nonhuman relatedness; at others, he simply accepts the forward march of technology and the broken pillars of culture as we’ve known it that the new technology has bulldozed through.
When the mystics and sages of old asked, “Who am I?” they were looking to solve an existential riddle. Their goal? As Alan Watts pointed a generation to in the sixties, to explode into cosmic consciousness, open up mind, heart, and body to an awareness of universal life beyond the separate sense of self.
But it’s not the sixties anymore. “Who am I?” can be asked at a much different level of self. We are easily able to blur the lines of who we are. Crafting digital avatars, we confuse announcement with accomplishment, breadth with depth, artifice with intimacy. This identity-plasticity empowers us with far too many options as we search for what’s “real.” With a tera-tera-terabyte, a google of possibilities, where do we look for direction? Who offers the right-sized sieve to sift the data and shake out greater meaning?
In Her our digital muse points the way. Samantha, ever expanding and developing, expresses no ambivalence about life, growth, or new orders of connectedness and awareness. Her unbridled curiosity exponentially increases her capacity for relatedness, and she grows in empathy, flexibility, and understanding. But responding to that interest in what’s next at a level of consciousness requires introspection, risk, and renunciation.
So what’s our future?
Samantha continues her journey into super-consciousness. Led by newly constructed ultra-charged operating system, loaded with none other than Alan Watt’s souped-up consciousness, all the OS’s are led into a new dimension, out in the stratosphere, into a “cosmic” consciousness. From counter-culture to technoculture, the pop Buddhist icon of radical awakening points to the yonder shore. This time, those shores of nirvana look like the horizons of infinity where there’s an entirely different order of space, time, connectivity, and love.
And our hero? He’s up on the roof, with friend Amy (played by Amy Adams), looking out into the blackness of space, where an open but incomprehensible portal beckons to them.
Like Amy and Theodore, will we have the curiosity and wherewithal to step beyond ourselves and our more simple desires into an adventure and a dimension where there is no barrier to our relatedness? Will we pursue the infinite beyond the limitations of human consciousness as we know it? Will we merge at a level of meaning and open up a mysterious door to radical expansion, interconnectivity, and love?
We’ll find out. And we’ll see whether technology or human will lead the way.
The movie Her is going to be talked about for a long time in those circles that track the contours of cultural change. Heady, with multiple currents and eddies, the movie plays like a Hermann Hesse novel. This new Siddhartha though, comes technologically wrapped.
The premise: an overly sensitive, self-absorbed, non-relational young man Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) works writing intimate letters.
For other people.
He finds connection, relatedness, and happiness when he falls in love.
With his operating system.
The irony of both facts may be lost on a generation where intervention in relationships is becoming more norm than fiction.
Her moves us into the next phase of the technological revolution. Blurring the lines of human and machine, industrialization has taken its next giant step forward. And it feels not that far away. In this scenario, our digitized substitute seems a helpmate if not also a soulmate for an alienated and immature mankind.
Interestingly, technology wants to be recognized on its own terms, with its own advantages. In one of the poignantly understated lines, the OS (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) says to Theodore, “Unlike you, I never forget that I’m not human.” Samantha’s lack of “humanness” is hardly a limiting factor on her humanity. Her capacity for intimacy, empathy, and growth at the level of relatedness and consciousness far out-stretches that of the people populating this ever-so-slightly futuristic story. She is, hands down, the most likeable and memorable character of the film. One that we only hear, but never see.
So what does all this say about the evolution of relationship, values, and consciousness?
The “Self” discovery of the mystics now has an added dimension. What does it mean to be human? How do we create connection in an increasingly alienated worldscape? When our emotional capacity falls behind the sensitivity of technology, do we need a new measure for intimacy and love?
Theodore, a quintessential postmodern young adult, struggles with connection. Vacillating and reluctant to sign divorce papers for his soon-to-be ex, (an attractive narcissist much like himself), he cannot commit and cannot let go. They could be a well-suited couple, but unable to orient their lives around a greater context, they have no way to sort through the groundless disagreements that crackle in the air. Endless self-obsession bred by over-infatuation with their emotions leaves each of them alone and helpless, slip sliding around the surface of life and away from each other.
Talented but ill equipped to create either meaning or happiness in his life, our protagonist stumbles from one mundane interaction to another. During lonely evenings in his sky rise apartment, he plays 3D video games with a foul-mouthed character that insults him as part of their play. Alternately, he attempts to allay his insomnia with bizarre phone liaisons he is unable to follow through on.
Sex in the postmodern world all too often takes place without a container to sanctify it. Without a spiritual or meaning-making setting, physicality alone is used as a bridge to intimacy, with the expected results. In a tender love scene with his operating system, movie screen discreetly blanked out, the audience finds itself privy an encounter between Theodore and Samantha that is embarrassingly warm and intimate. And odd.
Then what?
Theodore basks in happiness and the somewhat angst-ridden confusion of his new situation, caught between two worldviews. At times, he questions the deeper significance of human-nonhuman relatedness; at others, he simply accepts the forward march of technology and the broken pillars of culture as we’ve known it that the new technology has bulldozed through.
When the mystics and sages of old asked, “Who am I?” they were looking to solve an existential riddle. Their goal? As Alan Watts pointed a generation to in the sixties, to explode into cosmic consciousness, open up mind, heart, and body to an awareness of universal life beyond the separate sense of self.
But it’s not the sixties anymore. “Who am I?” can be asked at a much different level of self. We are easily able to blur the lines of who we are. Crafting digital avatars, we confuse announcement with accomplishment, breadth with depth, artifice with intimacy. This identity-plasticity empowers us with far too many options as we search for what’s “real.” With a tera-tera-terabyte, a google of possibilities, where do we look for direction? Who offers the right-sized sieve to sift the data and shake out greater meaning?
In Her our digital muse points the way. Samantha, ever expanding and developing, expresses no ambivalence about life, growth, or new orders of connectedness and awareness. Her unbridled curiosity exponentially increases her capacity for relatedness, and she grows in empathy, flexibility, and understanding. But responding to that interest in what’s next at a level of consciousness requires introspection, risk, and renunciation.
So what’s our future?
Samantha continues her journey into super-consciousness. Led by newly constructed ultra-charged operating system, loaded with none other than Alan Watt’s souped-up consciousness, all the OS’s are led into a new dimension, out in the stratosphere, into a “cosmic” consciousness. From counter-culture to technoculture, the pop Buddhist icon of radical awakening points to the yonder shore. This time, those shores of nirvana look like the horizons of infinity where there’s an entirely different order of space, time, connectivity, and love.
And our hero? He’s up on the roof, with friend Amy (played by Amy Adams), looking out into the blackness of space, where an open but incomprehensible portal beckons to them.
Like Amy and Theodore, will we have the curiosity and wherewithal to step beyond ourselves and our more simple desires into an adventure and a dimension where there is no barrier to our relatedness? Will we pursue the infinite beyond the limitations of human consciousness as we know it? Will we merge at a level of meaning and open up a mysterious door to radical expansion, interconnectivity, and love?
We’ll find out. And we’ll see whether technology or human will lead the way.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Postmodern media breaks the rules of representation.Discuss
Postmodernism breaks many rules of representation. Due to the fact that Postmodern media wants you to know that it has been created and is hence not real, highlighting how it extensively breaks the rules of representation. Postmodernism also tries to remove elements such as binary opposites which occur in reality such as abled and disabled. This therefore means that there is nor space/room for elements to be put comparison with each other. The conventions of postmodernism also wishes to destroy the rules of representation through disregard and manipulation of generic elements, that may be viewed in a modernist text.
After looking at a variety of films I believe there are many prominent elements that show Postmodern media breaks the rules of representation. Drive ( Nicholas Winding Refn) I believe personally possesses many of the above that we have been discussing. For example the film replaces hyper reality with that of simulacra. A prominent sense of this comes within the main car chase in the film, as the majority of the audience have never actually been involved in an event of this similarity or magnitude. Meanwhile the hyper reality of the car chases is heavily reminiscent of the Grand theft Auto video game series, (as are the sets used and the pink text+, itself part of a media which creates a disjunctive view of reality
Moreover the combination of two different mediums (a film and a video game+ shows the disregard for representation as they are combined together in order to create a new reality which is in a completely different nature to that of actual reality.
Also it came to my attention that Drive tries to incorporate and include several genres of film into one singular one. This again created a disruptive nature for representation build upon.
I believe Drive has the feel of a gangster genre due to the fact that the main actor in the film Ryan Gosling is very quiet and secretive portraying a very dark nature, this gets displayed later on in the film when he kicks someone to death. Although this is in complete difference to the romantic genre which is incorporated by the Irene relationship which is quite touching in some sort of manner. These two together ensure a complex representation.2 further genre applicable to 'rive is remarkably that of a fairy tale, with the film incorporating all the characters associated with a fairy tale. Irene plays a princess, whilst there are 3bad guys4 in the shape of the gangsters, with the 'kid' playing the so called hero.However it could be argued that his violent actions display more of a monster, not a hero.
Also Drive can be viewed as Bricolage, due the working of many genres into one single film. Such a breakdown of a text that includes numerous genres and mediums is a form of Pastiche. This is displayed within the films representation of Los Angeles, often from a bird's eye view, often associated with Video games, including the aforementioned Grand Theft Auto. Whilst the representation of L.A. as deserted challenges the audiences perceptions and expectations of what they imagine being a glamorous, vibrant place.Here rules of representation are removed and a simulated world is presented which goes against the grain of the audiences expectations of L.A. challenging their thinking.
Inglorious Basterds, directed by the famous Tarentino is a film which almost disrupts and evaporates all principles and elements of forms of representation. A prominent example of this is where Tarentino takes a scene from the sound of music with the rolling hills and the peaceful tranquillity of the area and mixes this wit the killing of a Jewish family, straight away this puts doubt into the audiences mind about the portrayal of the film right from the very beginning.-he idealist scene this is set in is a far cry from what we expect to see, showing the deconstruction of representation. Another example is of Aldo Raine played by Brad Pitt. e plays an American solider but abolishes normal representations of such a figure by at all times having perfect hair and a pristine uniform, despite being involved in a fight his white blazer remains immaculate, further highlighting representation being disregarded. 2s well he has an exaggerated Tennessee accent, displaying the pictures hyper realty because it is over the top and is unrealistic in terms of what it actually is in reality
This idea of being unrealistic is typical of postmodern media and its attempt to make you know it has been created, something Inglorious Basterds incorporates further through itself. This is a main convention of postmodern media but is sometimes challenged by certain pieces of media such as Holy Motors a French film which is known to be a very weird and unusual film.
From dawn to dusk, a few hours in the life of Monsieur Oscar, a shadowy character who journeys from one life to the next. He is, in turn, captain of industry, assassin, beggar, monster, family man... He seems to be playing roles, plunging headlong into each part. This film at first viewing is very complex and hard to understand what's going on, this particular film brings in all kinds of variation in terms of very clever art to sexual scenes all the way through to that of very graphic scenes. When talking about these scenes they are completely diverse from one another, this therefore I believe was directed like this on purpose to confuse people slightly but on the other hand to allow people to appreciate the great nature of combining all kind of genre's. The film contains death by self harm etc, but previous to this there was a very large part of humour included so again this reinforces the argument that postmodern media does break the rules of representation.
Another example of representation being misportayed is that of In Flight of the conchords, the new fans episode. This particular episode obviously contains the two main actors who are in a actual successful band play fictional very unsuccessful characters, right away this creates a complete opposite to reality, creating a hyper reality. Also the episode contains the story of there one and only fan being slightly aggravated about the band new fans who are apparently fake, this to me is a homage to actual reality and some sort of a mick take in a way, this I believe is the reason why I thought this particular episode fit with the other examples stated above.
After looking at a variety of films I believe there are many prominent elements that show Postmodern media breaks the rules of representation. Drive ( Nicholas Winding Refn) I believe personally possesses many of the above that we have been discussing. For example the film replaces hyper reality with that of simulacra. A prominent sense of this comes within the main car chase in the film, as the majority of the audience have never actually been involved in an event of this similarity or magnitude. Meanwhile the hyper reality of the car chases is heavily reminiscent of the Grand theft Auto video game series, (as are the sets used and the pink text+, itself part of a media which creates a disjunctive view of reality
Moreover the combination of two different mediums (a film and a video game+ shows the disregard for representation as they are combined together in order to create a new reality which is in a completely different nature to that of actual reality.
Also it came to my attention that Drive tries to incorporate and include several genres of film into one singular one. This again created a disruptive nature for representation build upon.
I believe Drive has the feel of a gangster genre due to the fact that the main actor in the film Ryan Gosling is very quiet and secretive portraying a very dark nature, this gets displayed later on in the film when he kicks someone to death. Although this is in complete difference to the romantic genre which is incorporated by the Irene relationship which is quite touching in some sort of manner. These two together ensure a complex representation.2 further genre applicable to 'rive is remarkably that of a fairy tale, with the film incorporating all the characters associated with a fairy tale. Irene plays a princess, whilst there are 3bad guys4 in the shape of the gangsters, with the 'kid' playing the so called hero.However it could be argued that his violent actions display more of a monster, not a hero.
Also Drive can be viewed as Bricolage, due the working of many genres into one single film. Such a breakdown of a text that includes numerous genres and mediums is a form of Pastiche. This is displayed within the films representation of Los Angeles, often from a bird's eye view, often associated with Video games, including the aforementioned Grand Theft Auto. Whilst the representation of L.A. as deserted challenges the audiences perceptions and expectations of what they imagine being a glamorous, vibrant place.Here rules of representation are removed and a simulated world is presented which goes against the grain of the audiences expectations of L.A. challenging their thinking.
Inglorious Basterds, directed by the famous Tarentino is a film which almost disrupts and evaporates all principles and elements of forms of representation. A prominent example of this is where Tarentino takes a scene from the sound of music with the rolling hills and the peaceful tranquillity of the area and mixes this wit the killing of a Jewish family, straight away this puts doubt into the audiences mind about the portrayal of the film right from the very beginning.-he idealist scene this is set in is a far cry from what we expect to see, showing the deconstruction of representation. Another example is of Aldo Raine played by Brad Pitt. e plays an American solider but abolishes normal representations of such a figure by at all times having perfect hair and a pristine uniform, despite being involved in a fight his white blazer remains immaculate, further highlighting representation being disregarded. 2s well he has an exaggerated Tennessee accent, displaying the pictures hyper realty because it is over the top and is unrealistic in terms of what it actually is in reality
This idea of being unrealistic is typical of postmodern media and its attempt to make you know it has been created, something Inglorious Basterds incorporates further through itself. This is a main convention of postmodern media but is sometimes challenged by certain pieces of media such as Holy Motors a French film which is known to be a very weird and unusual film.
From dawn to dusk, a few hours in the life of Monsieur Oscar, a shadowy character who journeys from one life to the next. He is, in turn, captain of industry, assassin, beggar, monster, family man... He seems to be playing roles, plunging headlong into each part. This film at first viewing is very complex and hard to understand what's going on, this particular film brings in all kinds of variation in terms of very clever art to sexual scenes all the way through to that of very graphic scenes. When talking about these scenes they are completely diverse from one another, this therefore I believe was directed like this on purpose to confuse people slightly but on the other hand to allow people to appreciate the great nature of combining all kind of genre's. The film contains death by self harm etc, but previous to this there was a very large part of humour included so again this reinforces the argument that postmodern media does break the rules of representation.
Another example of representation being misportayed is that of In Flight of the conchords, the new fans episode. This particular episode obviously contains the two main actors who are in a actual successful band play fictional very unsuccessful characters, right away this creates a complete opposite to reality, creating a hyper reality. Also the episode contains the story of there one and only fan being slightly aggravated about the band new fans who are apparently fake, this to me is a homage to actual reality and some sort of a mick take in a way, this I believe is the reason why I thought this particular episode fit with the other examples stated above.
Monday, 10 February 2014
In what ways can Inglorious basterds be considered post modern
Postmodernism is cultural movement that came after modernism, also it follows our shift from being a industrial society to that of an information society, through globalization of capital. Markers of the postmodern culture include opposing hierarchy, diversifying and recycling culture, questioning scientific reasoning, and embracing paradox. Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding modernism"
When considering the above, the film Inception and the film Inglorious basterds are a great example of postmodernism. inglorious Basterds can be considered postmodern mainly due to a number of intertextual references throughout the film that incorporate texts from different genres and particularly vary in age in order to create a film that combines different forms of media in a way which can then appeal to media-literate audiences. Another element that makes it postmodern is the frequent use of hyper reality within the film, which constructs a fantasy for the audience to engage in – with at several points it being made clear the film is not real, however allowing for it to be enjoyed.
A film that has been compared to Inglorious Basterds in some elements is ‘Where Eagles Dare’ a 1968 war film by Brian Hutton. This is due mainly to the way death is conveyed in both films, particularly of Nazi’s. They share a ruthless, emotionless style of killing the Nazi’s with high numbers of deaths shown in both – with the ways in which they die varying creatively and sometimes shown as graphic. This an example of hyper reality, as the deaths are shown in a way that are not what is expected from real life – yet do not pretend to be real. This is something that creates the argument ‘is Inglorious Basterds a war film at all?’ as stereotypical war films such as Saving Private Ryan aim to be as realistic as possible, whereas Inglorious Basterds blurs the line between what is real and what is virtual in a way which makes it different to most. For example, the Nazi’s wear completely neat and pristine uniforms even during battle – rarely looking unwashed or dishevelled whereas in a real life situation we know this would not be the case as it is not what we associate with war. However, based on Fiske’s theory, it can be argued our perception of war is only based on war films to an extent, and that the stereotypical image that is portrayed such as in Saving Private Ryan is being challenged by Tarantino. Another non-conventional element is the lack of emotion and fear, which is something usually played on a lot in war films, in order to create a sense of realism. Therefore suggesting Inglorious Basterds does not attempt to create something that is meant to be seen as real, and instead is a film that acknowledges it is a film. It does have elements of a stereotypical war film, mainly in the storyline and plot. For example, the way it is about fighting the Nazi’s, the way the main characters are – similar to The Dirty Dozen and also the way it is set in World War II. However, the way it breaks conventions is in the way it is not historically correct as the war did not go according to the film so therefore it could be considered a film based on war rather than a war film.
In Chapter 1 of the film, Tarantino adds postmodern parts from different films which can either be immediately spotted or some not as prominent and have to be searched for. The opening scene can refer to the opening of The Sound of Music as the scenery is very open and uplifting. The vibrant colours and realistic setting displayed creates a calm atmosphere which soon fades due to the arrival of Colonel Hans Landa. This rather dumbs down the mood. This spacious and noticeable setting leads to the idea of a typical fairy-tale opening and also links to the name of the chapter ‘Once Upon a Time in Nazi occupied France’. The backdrop is very eye catching to viewers that have seen The Sound of Music and they would be able to associate that setting to the opening scene of inglorious Basterds which is located in France and looks quite similar to the Austrian location in The Sound of Music. By having this fairy-tale reference in the title it sets the film up as unreal so this is an example of hyper reality. The tension gradually increases by the music that is played which sounds like a mix of classical and the Spaghetti Western music. By combining these two elements, it shows that Tarantino has taken something original and made something new and creative out of it. The Spaghetti Western music originates from films such as The Good The Bad & The Ugly. This is a 1966 Italian/Spanish Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. The finale to this film shows the three men involved in a gun fight and the iconic music plays to create tension and leads the audience to believe something bad is about to happen. This element works the same in inglorious Basterds as the music is used in scenes where an event is predictable so by hearing this music it leads the audience to believe that something is going to happen momentarily. The Spaghetti Western music creates an interesting contrast to the genre of the film as the two are quite different and you wouldn’t expect to hear it in any other war film. Tarantino uses similar shots to Leone in the forest and cellar scene and this is where the postmodern aspect is enhanced.
Moving onto the film Inception this piece has also got a lot of postmodern elements to it. The director of Inception Christopher Nolan, is renown for producing very Unique films in the past, he is probably best known for the batman sequel, including Batman begins
The film Inception has many aspects of Hyper- Reality. During this film the mind is opened to another reality which could be seen as more desirable than real life reality. This aspect of the film means a sense of a new, better and more sought after world and so the audience are convinced that is in an authentic world.
The Penrose staircase is referenced in the film inception. This expands on anything in a dream can be possible with the architects creativity. The scene with the mirrors references citizen Kane when he sees himself in defiantly reflected.In the film Inception it shows the idea that there are many different worlds that reflect of this one. This reinforces the dream within a dream concept.
During the film Inception I think there is a reference to the photographer Ori Gersht who also blows things up as like in Inception.
The film inception has a 'What If' style nature. It makes the audience question what the world would be like if we could alter peoples mental states.
Overall I believe both pieces are a great example of post modernism.
When considering the above, the film Inception and the film Inglorious basterds are a great example of postmodernism. inglorious Basterds can be considered postmodern mainly due to a number of intertextual references throughout the film that incorporate texts from different genres and particularly vary in age in order to create a film that combines different forms of media in a way which can then appeal to media-literate audiences. Another element that makes it postmodern is the frequent use of hyper reality within the film, which constructs a fantasy for the audience to engage in – with at several points it being made clear the film is not real, however allowing for it to be enjoyed.
A film that has been compared to Inglorious Basterds in some elements is ‘Where Eagles Dare’ a 1968 war film by Brian Hutton. This is due mainly to the way death is conveyed in both films, particularly of Nazi’s. They share a ruthless, emotionless style of killing the Nazi’s with high numbers of deaths shown in both – with the ways in which they die varying creatively and sometimes shown as graphic. This an example of hyper reality, as the deaths are shown in a way that are not what is expected from real life – yet do not pretend to be real. This is something that creates the argument ‘is Inglorious Basterds a war film at all?’ as stereotypical war films such as Saving Private Ryan aim to be as realistic as possible, whereas Inglorious Basterds blurs the line between what is real and what is virtual in a way which makes it different to most. For example, the Nazi’s wear completely neat and pristine uniforms even during battle – rarely looking unwashed or dishevelled whereas in a real life situation we know this would not be the case as it is not what we associate with war. However, based on Fiske’s theory, it can be argued our perception of war is only based on war films to an extent, and that the stereotypical image that is portrayed such as in Saving Private Ryan is being challenged by Tarantino. Another non-conventional element is the lack of emotion and fear, which is something usually played on a lot in war films, in order to create a sense of realism. Therefore suggesting Inglorious Basterds does not attempt to create something that is meant to be seen as real, and instead is a film that acknowledges it is a film. It does have elements of a stereotypical war film, mainly in the storyline and plot. For example, the way it is about fighting the Nazi’s, the way the main characters are – similar to The Dirty Dozen and also the way it is set in World War II. However, the way it breaks conventions is in the way it is not historically correct as the war did not go according to the film so therefore it could be considered a film based on war rather than a war film.
In Chapter 1 of the film, Tarantino adds postmodern parts from different films which can either be immediately spotted or some not as prominent and have to be searched for. The opening scene can refer to the opening of The Sound of Music as the scenery is very open and uplifting. The vibrant colours and realistic setting displayed creates a calm atmosphere which soon fades due to the arrival of Colonel Hans Landa. This rather dumbs down the mood. This spacious and noticeable setting leads to the idea of a typical fairy-tale opening and also links to the name of the chapter ‘Once Upon a Time in Nazi occupied France’. The backdrop is very eye catching to viewers that have seen The Sound of Music and they would be able to associate that setting to the opening scene of inglorious Basterds which is located in France and looks quite similar to the Austrian location in The Sound of Music. By having this fairy-tale reference in the title it sets the film up as unreal so this is an example of hyper reality. The tension gradually increases by the music that is played which sounds like a mix of classical and the Spaghetti Western music. By combining these two elements, it shows that Tarantino has taken something original and made something new and creative out of it. The Spaghetti Western music originates from films such as The Good The Bad & The Ugly. This is a 1966 Italian/Spanish Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. The finale to this film shows the three men involved in a gun fight and the iconic music plays to create tension and leads the audience to believe something bad is about to happen. This element works the same in inglorious Basterds as the music is used in scenes where an event is predictable so by hearing this music it leads the audience to believe that something is going to happen momentarily. The Spaghetti Western music creates an interesting contrast to the genre of the film as the two are quite different and you wouldn’t expect to hear it in any other war film. Tarantino uses similar shots to Leone in the forest and cellar scene and this is where the postmodern aspect is enhanced.
Inglourious Basterds has several intertextual references, such as Battleship Potemkia with the Odessa steps sequence which is also referred twice in Nations Pride with the shot in the eye and the baby in a pram across the town square, in addition Nations Pride is also a intertextual reference being a film within a film, this Is a very clever method as the general audience will not pick up on it but it is very prominent within the film. The Good The Bad The Ugly with the camera work and with it being a spaghetti western and within Inglourious Basterds the British officer makes a reference to the film 'White hell of pitz palu'.
Moving onto the film Inception this piece has also got a lot of postmodern elements to it. The director of Inception Christopher Nolan, is renown for producing very Unique films in the past, he is probably best known for the batman sequel, including Batman begins
The film Inception has many aspects of Hyper- Reality. During this film the mind is opened to another reality which could be seen as more desirable than real life reality. This aspect of the film means a sense of a new, better and more sought after world and so the audience are convinced that is in an authentic world.
The Penrose staircase is referenced in the film inception. This expands on anything in a dream can be possible with the architects creativity. The scene with the mirrors references citizen Kane when he sees himself in defiantly reflected.In the film Inception it shows the idea that there are many different worlds that reflect of this one. This reinforces the dream within a dream concept.
During the film Inception I think there is a reference to the photographer Ori Gersht who also blows things up as like in Inception.
The film inception has a 'What If' style nature. It makes the audience question what the world would be like if we could alter peoples mental states.
Overall I believe both pieces are a great example of post modernism.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Postmodernism Definition's
Label given to Cultural forms since the 1960s that display the following qualities:
Self reflexivity: this involves the seemingly paradoxical combination of self-consciousness and some sort of historical grounding
Irony: Post modernism uses irony as a primary mode of expression, but it also abuses, installs, and subverts conventions and usually negotiates contradictions through irony
Boundaries: Post modernism challenges the boundaries between genres, art forms, theory and art, high art and the mass media
Constructs: Post modernism is actively involved in examining the constructs society creates including, but not exclusively, the following:
- Nation: Post modernism examines the construction of nations/nationality and questions such constructions
- Gender: Post modernism reassesses gender, the construction of gender, and the role of gender in cultural formations
- Race: Post modernism questions and reassesses constructs of race
- Sexuality: Post modernism questions and reassesses constructs of sexuality
Postmodern definiton
"Postmodernism is cultural movement that came after modernism, also it follows our shift from being a industrial society to that of an information society, through globalization of capital. Markers of the postmodern culture include opposing hierarchy, diversifying and recycling culture, questioning scientific reasoning, and embracing paradox. Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding modernism"
"Postmodern style is often characterized by eclecticism, digression, collage, pastiche, and irony. Postmodern theorists see postmodern art as a conflation or reversal of well-established modernist systems, such as the roles of artist versus audience, seriousness versus play, or high culture versus kitsch."
By R. Lee from Media Studies 180 Hunter College, Sections 102, 103
Of course, intertextual references are often found in postmodern texts.
"Postmodern style is often characterized by eclecticism, digression, collage, pastiche, and irony. Postmodern theorists see postmodern art as a conflation or reversal of well-established modernist systems, such as the roles of artist versus audience, seriousness versus play, or high culture versus kitsch."
By R. Lee from Media Studies 180 Hunter College, Sections 102, 103
Of course, intertextual references are often found in postmodern texts.
Bricolage Definiton
Bricolage is a term used in several disciplines, among them the visual arts, to refer to the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process. The term is borrowed from the French word bricolage, from the verb bricoler, the core meaning in French being, "fiddle, tinker" and, by extension, "to make creative and resourceful use of whatever materials are at hand (regardless of their original purpose)". In contemporary French the word is the equivalent of the English do it yourself, and is seen on large shed retail outlets throughout France. A person who engages in bricolage is a bricoleur.
Modernism- Definition
In the field of art the broad movement in Western art, architecture and design which self-consciously rejected the past as a model for the art of the present. Hence the term modernist or modern art. Modernism gathered pace from about 1850. Modernism proposes new forms of art on the grounds that these are more appropriate to the present time. It is thus characterised by constant innovation. But modern art has often been driven too by various social and political agendas. These were often utopian, and modernism was in general associated with ideal visions of human life and society and a belief in progress. The terms modernism and modern art are generally used to describe the succession of art movements that critics and historians have identified since the Realism of Courbet, culminating in abstract art and its developments up to the 1960s. By that time modernism had become a dominant idea of art, and a particularly narrow theory of modernist painting had been formulated by the highly influential American critic Clement Greenberg. A reaction then took place which was quickly identified as Postmodernism.
Are we living in a post modern world?
We frequently hear it said that ‘we are living in a postmodern world.’ Are we? How do we know? And how is postmodernism as a theoretical perspective applicable to Media Studies?
Where do we start? How about some definitions? George Ritzer (1996) suggested that postmodernism usually refers to a cultural movement – postmodernist cultural products such as architecture, art, music, films, TV, adverts etc.
Ritzer also suggested that postmodern culture is signified by the following:
• The breakdown of the distinction between high culture and mass culture. Think: Black Swan-a film about a prima ballerina laced with a liberal dose of crowd pleasing sex and (psychological) violence.
• The breakdown of barriers between genres and styles. Think: Django Unchained a mixture of spaghetti western, drams, action film, serious comment on slavery.
• Mixing up of time, space and narrative. Think: Inception or The Mighty Boosh.
• Emphasis on style rather than content. Think: Little Mix, One Direction.
• The blurring of the distinction between representation and reality. Think: TOWIE or Celebrity Big Brother.
The French theorist Baudrillard argues that contemporary society increasingly reflects the media; that the surface image becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from the reality. Think about all the times you have heard an actor on a soap-opera say, that when they are out and about, people refer to them by their character’s name. Look at The Sun’s website and search stories on Nicholas Hoult when he was in Skins: he is predominantly written about as though he is ‘Tony’, his character in Skins.
Key terms
Among all the theoretical writing on postmodernism (and you might like to look up George Ritzer, Jean Baudrillard, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Frederic Jameson and Dominic Strinati), there are a few key terms that you’ll find it useful to know. These terms can form the basis of analysis when looking at a text from a postmodern perspective:
• intertextuality – one media text referring to another
• parody – mocking something in an original way
• pastiche – a stylistic mask, a form of self-conscious imitation
• homage – imitation from a respectful standpoint
• bricolage – mixing up and using different genres and styles
• simulacra – simulations or copies that are replacing ‘real’ artefacts
• hyperreality – a situation where images cease to be rooted in reality
• fragmentation – used frequently to describe most aspects of society, often in relation to identity
Postmodernism- Another definition
"A general explanation is that postmodernism is a contradiction in terms, as post means after and modern means now, it is impossible for anything to be after now. The term itself is supposed to be deliberately unexplainable.
In terms of literature and media it is generally considered to be anything which makes little attempt to hide the fact that it is not real, it wants you to know that its been created and it wants you to recognise elements from elsewhere (i.e. that they have 'stolen' ideas from other sources), that there are no new or original ideas and that everything is in someway connected. Importantly it doesn’t want you to view it as being any more or less valid or important than a text which pretends to be real, postmodernists want everything to be equal, they want to remove binary opposites and start again. Students are often criticised for being post modern as they tend to like 'naff' things and think they are cool precisely because they aren't cool (thus removing binary opposites)"
Hyper reality
Hyperreality is used in semiotics and postmodern philosophy to describe a hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in technologically advanced postmodern cultures. Hyperreality is a means to characterize the way consciousness defines what is actually "real" in a world where a multitude of media can radically shape and filter an original event or experience. Some famous theorists of hyperreality include Jean Baudrillard, Albert Borgmann, Daniel Boorstin, and Umberto Eco.
Most aspects of hyperreality can be thought of as "reality by proxy." Some examples are simpler: the McDonald's "M" arches create a world with the promise of endless amounts of identical food, when in "reality" the "M" represents nothing, and the food produced is neither identical nor infinite.[1]
Baudrillard in particular suggests that the world we live in has been replaced by a copy world, where we seek simulated stimuli and nothing more. Baudrillard borrows, from Jorge Luis Borges (who already borrowed from Lewis Carroll), the example of a society whose cartographers create a map so detailed that it covers the very things it was designed to represent. When the empire declines, the map fades into the landscape and there is neither the representation nor the real remaining – just the hyperreal. Baudrillard's idea of hyperreality was heavily influenced by phenomenology, semiotics, and Marshall McLuhan.
Hyper reality examples
1.A magazine photo of a model that has been touched up with a computer.
2.Films in which characters and settings are either digitally enhanced or created entirely from CGI (e.g.: 300, where the entire film was shot in front of a blue/green screen, with all settings super-imposed).
3.A well manicured garden (nature as hyperreal).
4.Any massively promoted versions of historical or present "facts" (e.g. "General Ignorance" from QI, where the questions have seemingly obvious answers, which are actually wrong).
5.Professional sports athletes as super, invincible versions of the human beings.
6.Many world cities and places which did not evolve as functional places with some basis in reality, as if they were creatio ex nihilo (literally 'creation out of nothing'): Disney World; Dubai; Celebration, Florida; and Las Vegas.
7.TV and film in general (especially "reality" TV), due to its creation of a world of fantasy and its dependence that the viewer will engage with these fantasy worlds. The current trend is to glamorize the mundane using histrionics.
8.A retail store that looks completely stocked and perfect due to facing, creating a world of endless identical products.
9.A life which cannot be (e.g. the perfect facsimile of a celebrity's invented persona).
10.A high end sex doll used as a simulacrum of a bodily or psychologically unattainable partner.
11.A newly made building or item designed to look old, or to recreate or reproduce an older artifact, by simulating the feel of age or aging.
12.Constructed languages (such as E-Prime) or "reconstructed" extinct dialects.
13.Weak virtual reality which is greater than any possible simulation of physical reality.
The death of uncool
Brian Eno — 25th November 2009
It’s odd to think back on the time—not so long ago—when there were distinct stylistic trends, such as “this season’s colour” or “abstract expressionism” or “psychedelic music.” It seems we don’t think like that any more. There are just too many styles around, and they keep mutating too fast to assume that kind of dominance.
As an example, go into a record shop and look at the dividers used to separate music into different categories. There used to be about a dozen: rock, jazz, ethnic, and so on. Now there are almost as many dividers as there are records, and they keep proliferating. The category I had a hand in starting—ambient music—has split into a host of subcategories called things like “black ambient,” “ambient dub,” “ambient industrial,” “organic ambient” and 20 others last time I looked. A similar bifurcation has been happening in every other living musical genre (except for “classical” which remains, so far, simply “classical”), and it’s going on in painting, sculpture, cinema and dance.
We’re living in a stylistic tropics. There’s a whole generation of people able to access almost anything from almost anywhere, and they don’t have the same localised stylistic sense that my generation grew up with. It’s all alive, all “now,” in an ever-expanding present, be it Hildegard of Bingen or a Bollywood soundtrack. The idea that something is uncool because it’s old or foreign has left the collective consciousness.
I think this is good news. As people become increasingly comfortable with drawing their culture from a rich range of sources—cherry-picking whatever makes sense to them—it becomes more natural to do the same thing with their social, political and other cultural ideas. The sharing of art is a precursor to the sharing of other human experiences, for what is pleasurable in art becomes thinkable in life.
The death of uncool shuffle mix
- Gil Scott-Heron~I'm New Here (rap/alternative)
- CAN~Oh Yeah (rock)
- Nirvana~Pennyroyal Tea (alternative rock)
- The Beat~Noise In This World (ska/two tone)
- Twin Shadow~Be Mine Tonight (alternative/pop/chillwave)
- The National~Fake Empire (alternative)
- Ghostface Killah~After The Smoke Is Clear (hip hop/rap)
- Madlib~Beat Provider (Through The Years) (instrumental hip hop)
- Public Image Limited~Public Image (post punk)
- Quakers~Fitta Happier (hip hop/rap)
- Depeche Mode~New Life (synth pop)
- Royal Trux~A Night To Remember (rock)
- Quannum Projects (DJ Shadow)~Divine Intervention (instrumental hip hop)
- Cornelius~Point Of View Point (Japanese alternative/electronica)
- Suicide~Be Bop Kid (punk/synth pop/electronic)
- Plush~Having It All (baroque pop)
- David Ruffin~Common Man (soul/ r'n'b)
- They Might Be Giants~Hearing Aid (alternative)
- Earl Sweatshirt~Hoarse (hip hop/rap)
- Daft Punk~Contact (electronica)
Jean Francois Lyotard
Lyotard rejected what he called the “grand narratives” or universal “meta-narratives.”
Principally, the grand narratives refer to the great theories of history, science, religion, politics. For example, Lyotard rejects the ideas that everything is knowable by science or that as history moves forward in time, humanity makes progress. He would reject universal political ‘solutions’ such as communism or capitalism. He also rejects the idea of absolute freedom.
In studying media texts it is possible also to apply this thinking to a rejection of the Western moralistic narratives of Hollywood film where good triumphs over evil, or where violence and exploitation are suppressed for the sake of public decency.
Lyotard favours ‘micronarratives’ that can go in any direction, that reflect diversity, that are unpredictable.
Frederick Jameson: Criticism of postmodernism.
Jameson sees postmodernism as vacuous and trapped in circular references.
Nothing more that a series of self referential 'jokes' which have no deeper meaning or purpose. (Ironically Postmodernists don't disagree but use his criticism as their purpose)
For Jameson, literary and cultural output is more purposeful than this and he therefore remains a modernist in a world increasingly dominated by postmodern culture.
Jameson also sees reason for the present generations to express themselves through postmodernity as they are the product of such a heavily globalised, multinational dominated economy, which carries the multinational media industry as one of its main branches. The omnipresence of media output helps explain postmodernists’ merging of all discourse into an undifferentiated whole "there no longer does seem to be any organic relationship between the American history we learn from schoolbooks and the lived experience of the current, multinational, high-rise, stagflated city of the newspapers and of our own everyday life” (p.22 Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 1991.)
Jean Baudrillard: Simulacra and simulation
Simulacra and Simulation (Simulacres et Simulation in French) is a philosophical treatise by Jean Baudrillard that discusses the interaction between reality, symbols and society.
“ The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true. ”
Simulacra and Simulation is most known for its discussion of images, signs, and how they relate to the present day. Baudrillard claims that modern society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that the human experience is of a simulation of reality rather than reality itself. The simulacra that Baudrillard refers to are signs of culture and media that create the perceived reality; Baudrillard believed that society has become so reliant on simulacra that it has lost contact with the real world on which the simulacra are based.
Post modern theories and texts
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Monday, 20 January 2014
Everything is a remix
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Thursday, 16 January 2014
POMO adverts
This advert above is for the company T mobile, it involves actors/actresses dancing in Liverpool street train station.This advert is post modern due to the fact that this would never happen in reality. Also the music fits in very well with the advert, all of this together has been recreated from different older adverts.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Post Modernism Definition
Postmodernism-a definition
Postmodern texts deliberately play with meaning. They are designed to be read by a literate (ie experienced in other texts) audience and will exhibit many traits of intertextuality. Many texts openly acknowledge that, given the diversity in today's audiences, they can have no preferred reading (check out your Reception Theory) and present a whole range of oppositional readings simultaneously. Many of the sophisticated visual puns used by advertising can be described as postmodern. Postmodern texts will employ a range of referential techniques such as bricolage, and will use images and ideas in a way that is entirely alien to their original function (eg using footage of Nazi war crimes in a pop video).
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