What is meant by postmodern media (50) Postmodernism in its entirety means after the modernist movement.

Films, literature, art and the media can all be classed as postmodern. Postmodernism challenges many media conventions by effectively blurring the viewers vision of what is reality and what is fictional. Another definition of postmodernism suggests that it affirms that the truth is relative to ones perspective and there is no larger framework of meaning to language or our world. For example, media magazines present coverage on things in one perspective, forcing the audience to feel a certain way, or believing something that possibly is not the true reality, but how would the audience know when they are only being influenced by what is seen or read. A view that is particulary interested is that of Chrisitian apologists Ravi Zacharias who comments that postermodernism is simply a reconstruction, therefore suggests that postmodernism views can resconstruct the way in which others view the world, an opinion which I agree on. Writers, artists and directors can all construct an audiences view or perception of something if their work is strong enough to create a believeable illusion. Quentin Tarantinos 2009 Inglorious Basterds includes a wide range of postmodern elements. In the first chapter of the film, there is an intertexual reference to the Sound of Music as the scenery and background is homage to the musical, with the twee mountainous backdrop. The title of the first chapter is named Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France which gives a fairytale aspect of WW2 which is further enhanced by the fantasy style backdrop. Quentin Tarantino also uses a Western and Blaxploitation style music throughout the film which is consistently used as a motif to introduce characters or highlight the importance of a scene. This type of music can be indentified in films such as the 1956 The Searchers and the 2000 hit Shaft. In the first scene, Tarantino mixes classical and western music together, which is a postmodern element in itself, as it the combination of the two varied music styles together creates something new and different. The film is a hybrid as it is a text with more than one genre incorporated together- as the film is categorised as a black comedy and a war film. This links to Jacques Derridas theory as these genres can be recognised, although the postmodern elements such as the music and the unsterotypical conventions that are used makes it a unique and different film to others in the same category. The titles at the beginning of the film are in a bold yellow font which is a common convention that is used throughout Taratinos film such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Furthermore, the first chapter contains a comparision of the two mens pipes whilst they are smoking and engaging in a conversation at the table. Colonel Hans Landas pipe is significantly bigger than Perrier LaPedites which could infer that Tarantino is emphasising their differing statuss whilst adding farcical humour to the scene. Landas uniform is very smart compared to Perriers clothing which again highlights the different status of the two men. At this point in the film the two characters also switch languages as they go from speaking in French to speaking in English. This is an example of Tarantino playing with the expectations of the viewer. Taratinos film can be seen as a pastiche of The Dirty Dozen due to similarities between the convict members of the quad and their ultimate deaths, alongside this the portrayal of Major Reisman and Lt Aldo Rein are pastiche of The Dirty Dozen. Intertexual references included mentions of Max Linder, the doorway scene from The Searches and the trademark yellow text from Taratinos other films such as Pulp Fiction. Tarantion uses self-reflexivity of the film, like he does in previous work, as we see the joins of the set as

Shosanna walks through the corridor from one room to another. Some critics may interpretate that this is a manipulation of the physical space of the film set. Another intertextual reference that Tarantino makes is the long shot out of the front door of the farm house, which plays homage to the shot used in The Searchers. The shot shows Shoshanna running away from Colonel Han Landa and his soldiers as they were trying to kill her whilst her and her family were hiding under the floorboards in the farm house. Tarantino used this shot as he finds John Fords work inspiring and the scene is incredibly iconic so will be recognised by the audience. In the second chapter we are introduced to Aldo Raine and his accent is a deeply exaggerated with furthermore adds to the humour of the film. This similar humour is portrayed in the parody of Hitler that Tarantino creates, as he depicts the infamous character as overtly angry and vain. Tarantino uses British stereotypes, as applied to Mike Myers, Michael Fassbender and Rod Taylors characters. The postmodern element about Rod Taylor is that he specifically came out of retirement because he didnt have a Screen Actors Guild card. Tarantino admired his work so much that he wanted him to be in the film and play the role of Winston Churchill. For Fassbenders character, there is a link to Noel Coward from In Which We Serve- as he is witty and the complete opposite to the Americans. Moreover, Tarrentino introduces another intertexual link in the scene where Shoshanna and Frederick shoot one another at the premier, as this is parrelle to the scene where Romeo and Juliet both die. This introduces the idea of femme fatale as Shoshanna is dressed in red and Frederick is dressed in white which highlights the debate of good and evil. Slow motion is used during this scene with extends the deaths and emphasises the characters unrequited romance. The birds shot is similar to the one used in Romeo and Juliet as contrapuntal music is played which plays with the concept of reality and image. Tarantino takes elements from other films such as, Where Eagles Dare in 1968, The White hell of Pitz Palu in 1929, The good the bad and the ugly in 1966 and Inglorious Bastards in 1978. Tarantino adapted the title of the film from Inglorious Bastards and took elements of violence and recontexualised them to make them more modern. He took elements of the joy of the soliders killing Nazis and the famous shot in the eye from the Odessa steps in Battleship Potemkin. The idea of bricolage, from Claude Levi Strausss theory, can be applied to the film as the fairytal theme and Blaxploitation music that is added, the common war conventions are deleted, the yelloe text and the title is substituted and he uses transposistion from The Searchers. Nicholas Windings 2011 Drive is another postmodern film. The first noticeable postmodern element is the lack of dialogue throughout the entire film. The characters, on the whole, show little emotion and reaction to events that occur throughout the film, which creates a very surreal experience for the viewer. The characters are incredibly stylised, with Ryan Gosling constantly looking immaculate with a white silk bomber jacket. The characters are completely dehumanized to the extent where we know completely nothing about the main character-The Driver. We do not know his motivation of what he does, we are aware of his psychopathic traits what creates a feeling of fantasy, as we are unaware if he is real or not. This flat character that Winding has created in The Driver, to a significant extent highlights a completely hyper real character. Jean-Francois Lytards theory criticises The Driver as he believed that the idea of absolute freedom is rejected. This can be seen when The Driver drives off into the night in the ending when he has left the money to secure Irene and Benicios safety, we are unaware where he is going or what will happen to him. This postmodern element enhances his freedom as we didnt know anything about him at the start other than being a getaway driver.

This ambiguity of characters background is highlighted through the character of Irene, as throughout the film many unanswered questions arise such as- why is she a criminals wife when she comes across so innocent? There is a strange connection between Irene and The Driver as we know that their relationship is rapidly developing throughout the film, however their feelings are left mysterious due to no intimate scenes. There are two scenes in the film where the lighting and music changes to a slow motion to enhance the utopian aspect. This represents the driver trying to fit in with the family and introduces the fairy-tale theme as roles are identified. This is an example of hyper reality as Standard seemingly accepts The Drivers presence which is strange and creates an awkward atmosphere. The scenes lit with a golden hue represent the film idyllic heart. Such as in the scene in the lift where the Driver and Irene are kissing, is self reflexive because the postmodern elements, notably the lighting, music and slow motion complement each other. The music that is played is very emotive which makes the scene more intimate. Christopher Nolans 2010 sci-fi thriller Inception concentrates on the construction of a dreamscape within a word that is similar to reality. Nolan created a setting to parallel that of modern day society, however the film contains technologys that give a futuristic feel and time to the film. This complex idea of travelling between dreams with constructed cities manipulates the idea of space and what we perceive to be real in our own world. The structure of the film is highly fragmented, beginning near the end of the plot and throwing the audience into the middle of the storyline and jumping from moments to moments disorientates the viewer, therefore they lose track of the time of the story. Due to the plot line not following a conventional linear structure, we see time is shaped to help the audience with information when it becomes necessary to. A non-chronological order, is an interesting feature of the postmodern style, as to a certain extent it makes the film appear more unusual to the viewer. Nolan created a layout that followed a dream scape which allows for various levels of the subconscious to be explored. We are told that within each layer of the dream, that time is distorted and the length of time increased the deeper they delve into the dream. In reality they have 10 hours, approximately a week in the first layer, six months in the second layer and almost ten years in the last layer. Time is manipulated so that not only does the action within the film span over a logical amount of minutes, the idea of growing old and losing yourself and your mind within a dream is a significant possibility. Nolan uses a film within a film idea as time and space is distorted, as throughout the film, especially the ending, we are unaware what a dream is and what is reality. The song Edith Piaf Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien acts as a motif that is acknowledged within the film and incorporated into the soundtrack thus using something old to create something new, a technique used within post-modern texts. This technique was developed by Claude Levi-/Strauss as bricolage and is demonstrated in Inception b not only the soundtrack but by the blurring of genres that the film belongs to. Inception can be said to belong to Thriller, Romance and Action yet the film doesnt distinctively belong to just one genre. The film can be seen to play homage to texts such as James Bond: on her majestys secret service through the use of Genettes theory of intertexual references, such as the mirror scene and the snow scene, as in these scenes the elements work well within the modern and classic film. Words: 2000