How are postmodern media texts different from normal texts?

The ‘post’ in postmodern means after modernism; a movement in art and architecture. We live in an era of media saturation in which we are bombarded with signs and information. Most of our experiences are through media texts rather than direct, first-hand experiences that the signs become ‘more real than real’. Today we can see postmodern texts becoming even more popular and spreading across a wide range of media types. The case studies i have chosen are blade runner (1982 Ridley Scott), Pulp Fiction (1994 Tarantino), Scream 4 (2011 Kevin Williamson), Material Girl (Madonna), Telephone (Lady Gaga) and the Sims (Electronic arts).

Firstly, Blade Runner is a good example of how postmodern media texts are different. It includes many postmodern features within the film which together make it act against modernism, making it very different from normal texts. Genre hybridity can be found in the film as there’s a mix of film noir and science fiction. Together they give the film a completely different feel, making us question what is real. We also question the film as the storyline is about differentiating robots from humans, reflecting on how the audience have to establish what is real in the film and what is hyperreal.

There’s also pastiche within the film as it’s meant to predict the future and the skyline is very similar to that of LA today, thus signifying that Ridley Scott’s prediction of the future was right. However, he does only represent the negative side of upper class people in the film and we can see this through the mise- en –scene; how its constantly raining and very dark lighting to emphasise the film noir features. Baudrillard explained Scott’s ideas as ‘the openness of the truly postmodern text’ as he was not afraid to create a negative side that people don’t normally see. All these features together highlight how postmodern texts differ from the norm.

Another film that falls into the postmodern category is Scream 4. This is apparent right from the beginning of the film as the opening sequence consists of a film within a film, to confuse the audience and try and throw them off track from the typical Scream storyline. This is known as intertextuality as they are rein acting other films at the beginning and constantly refer to the well known villain, Ghostface. The two actresses at the beginning even moan about how horror films are ‘so postmodern’ highlighting that Williamson is aware of his films being categorised in this way.

The self-referential is also a important part of the film in the way that it relies on the audience to already know the traditional Scream storyline in order to put a twist on it. For example they trick the audience into thinking it’s the real film at the beginning, when really it’s just a film the characters are watching.

Postmodernism can also be seen in music videos. Many artists do this to help sell their songs and make them stand out. Lady Gaga’s ‘telephone’ does this as she makes sure she refers to many existing brands and media forms that her audience can relate to. This is called intertextual referencing as in the beginning she’s uses an opening title to introduce herself, imitating the convention from films. She also has it written in a style that’s similar to Jackie Brown in terms of font and colours. She also refers to Beyonce as ‘Hunny Bee’ which originally comes from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction; another postmodern text. Therefore Gaga is playing with the features of postmodernism to create something new and unique.

Hyperreality can also be found in the video as Lady Gaga is trying to make a hyperreal version of herself, in the way that she dresses with a telephone on her head and even her name as we have never heard something like this before. Lady Gaga’s image often reflects Laura Mulvey’s theory of ‘the Male Gaze’, stating that men see women in the media in a derogatory way E.g in the video Gaga starts dancing with only tape wrapped around her, revealing a lot to the audience. These features of postmodernism are what makes Lady Gaga stand out in the music industry and more importantly against modernist’s videos.

My second music video case study is on Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’. Many people say that Madonna and Gaga share a lot of the same ideas when it comes to postmodernism, as both use it as a way of presenting their work and making it popular. Pastiche is the most obvious in the video as the whole scene is a replica from Marilyn Monroe’s scene in ‘gentlemen prefer blondes’. This state’s what kind of audience Madonna wants to attract and what image she wants to give herself, which links with self reference. ‘Material Girl’ symbolises that Madonna is aware of her representation within the media at this time and is mocking them by embracing the image. Therefore Andrew Goodwin’s theory of music videos applies here as what we see in the video, links to the lyrics Madonna sings. Overall we see that by including postmodern features, Madonna is able to express how she’s feeling to the audience.

Another form of media that is often seen as postmodern is video games, and i have specifically chosen The Sims. Its a sandbox life simulation game, which already highlights postmodernism as you can create new, different versions of yourself. This use of hyperreality gives the player a chance to create new people and create a life for them, out of the real world. However it does reflect real life as there’s a lot of intertextuality, in the way that the game uses music and television programmes from real life in the Sims lives. There are also expansion packs available that allow you to interact with celebrity Sims, giving it more connections to the real world and what we know. The games also very self reflective in the way that the Sims can look at you as their creator and address you if they have any desperate needs. Therefore the characters know they are being controlled, which is not realistic. But Baudrillard does state that things are ‘not a copy of the real, it becomes truth in its own right’, thus highlighting that even though the Sims is similar to real life, it’s also completely different in its own way. Overall, this game as postmodern allows the player to have much more freedom than normal games do.

In conclusion, I think that the future of postmodern texts looks promising as they allow producers to have a lot more freedom, making it more interesting for the audience. The increase in audience interest will therefore make postmodern texts become overall more popular.