R.I.P.D (2013)Rest In Peace Department

Postmodern Film

By Nurin Afiqah Azlan

Generic HybridisationThis happens when a film mixes the elements

of two or more genres together.

For example in R.I.P.D:

COMEDY + ACTION + FANTASY

Pastiche - imitates other media texts in a good way - in a sense that it celebrates the film.Parody – a mockery of a previous media text.Based on the film’s review and of my opinion after watching R.I.P.D, there is a similar feeling as if I’m watching Men In Black. For intertextuality reference, it would be a pastiche, where they are trying to catch criminals in different worlds.• The films can still be differentiated in some ways:

• Men In Black - Private agency, still alive, keeping eyes on aliens

• R.I.P.D - Afterlife police officers, dead but using other human bodies, keeping an eye on the undead criminals.

Pastiche

Men In Black

Rest In Peace Department

There are heavy elements taken from various other films like Hellboy (2004), Ghostbusters (1984) and Beetlejuice

(1988) especially when they are involving afterlife.

Disorientated IdentitiesConventionally, a disorientated identity is where the character doesn't have a name. This lack of identity conforms to postmodernism. The character’s name is blurred out and becomes unknown.

In this film, RIPD, both characters themselves and their name is unknown, predominantly to the undead criminals. The undead criminals can disguise themselves as real humans and sometimes the undead police officers can hardly recognise them. Even the undead policemen need to disguise themselves as humans in order to be able to find the undead criminals in the ‘real world’.

RIPD depicts a world consumed by disorientated identity.

Disorientated Identities

How the afterlife world sees them

How the“real" world see them

Disorientated IdentitiesUndead Criminals

Nonlinear NarrativeA nonlinear narrative is a technique used where a story is told out of order and can often disorientate the audience e.g. dream immersions.• In R.I.P.D, the film starts with Ryan Reynolds in the

Rest In Peace Police Department - this can bring confusion to the audience as to what is actually happening? Why is he there suddenly?

• Then it shows the flashback before he died and it depicts 3-4 days ago. This is not even an exact number again making the audience feel disoriented. There is no certainty in the film which is a successful application to the codes and conventions of postmodernist theory.

HyperrealityHyperreality is an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies.The postmodern theme as hyperreality is significant in

this film. No one actually knows what is going to happen in the afterlife "world". In this film, they are creating elements to make the audience believe that this is going to happen in the afterlife for selected police officers. I believe this film is more of a development of ideas as well as signifying the hypodermic needle theory.• Evidence of hyperreality:

• The character itself whenever they are disguised in the real world and being themselves in the afterlife world.

JuxtapositionJuxtaposition is simply when two things that contradict each other are being placed together.

• Applying to the film, when the undead police officers are transforming into ‘humans’, one is an attractive female and the other is an old Chinese guy

• This is ridiculously funny as it is a parody of contemporary stereotypes i.e. gold diggers, whereby the young attractive woman is only with an old man for his money.

Acceptable or Unacceptable?• Even if this film conforms to most of the codes and

conventions of postmodernist theory, it has to be a socially acceptable film especially for the audience.

• Some people accept hyperreality some people don’t.• The effects aren’t up to the standards that most films

have nowadays making it unacceptable for the audience. These days films, even if it is a hyperreality film, the editing and effects complete the film where everything looks real.

• When you are making a pastiche to MIB, the film should be more elaborate in many ways in order to be acceptable. There are no significant distinctions of the film.

• Even the storyline is not fully explained, thus confusing for the audience. This would be acceptable as its applying to the conventional of postmodernism.