2. Postmodernism in films
• “Postmodernist film attempts to subvert the
mainstream conventions of narrative
structure, characterization and destroys (or, at
least, toys with) the audience's suspension of
disbelief. Typically, such films also break down
the cultural divide between high and low art
and often upend typical portrayals of gender,
race, class, genre, and time with the goal of
creating something different from traditional
narrative expression.” - Wikipedia
3. Postmodernism in films
• Postmodernism applied to film has four main concepts to
think about.
• Simulation- taking what has been made, and reusing it. -
Through pastiche: intentionally replicated style. -Through
parody: drawing irony from styles to make new styles
• Pre-fabrication- similar to simulation, draws even closer to
already existing and noticeable scenes, and simply reuses
them, in narrative, dialogue, etc.
• Intertextuality- similar to prefabrication, it’s a text that
draws upon other texts. The clearest example is the blatant
remake.
• Bricolage- building a film like a collage of different film
styles and genres
4. Conventions of Postmodern films
• Pastiche Self-referential, tongue-in-cheek, rehashes of
classic pop culture
• Flattening of Affect Technology, violence, drugs, and the
media lead to detached, emotionless, unauthentic lives
• Hyper reality Technologically created realities are often
more authentic or desirable than the real world
• Time Bending Time travel provides another way to shape
reality and play "what if" games with society
• Altered States Drugs, mental illness and technology
provide a dark, often psychedelic, gateway to new internal
realities
• More Human than Human Artificial intelligence, robotics,
and cybernetics seek to enhance, or replace, humanity
5. Conventions (Continued)
• Quite a lot of the time, they don’t take themselves too
seriously, and will often draw attention to the fact that the
film is fictitious.
• Leading on from this previous point, the characters in a
post modern film will quite often stop what they’re doing,
and stare straight into the lens, as if they’re talking to the
audience.
• The structure is usually a disrupted linear narrative. It is
rare it will be a simple linear structure or circular narrative.
• The characters are usually quite lonely, both physically and
mentally. Alienated from society, possibly due to either
appearance or ambitions.
• A lot of the time they will ‘steal’ from other cultures e.g.
Kill Bill has huge oriental/Asian themes to it.
6. Examples of Post Modern films
• There have been many Post Modern films over the
decades, but these are perhaps the most popular:
PULP FICTION 1994 – (Quentin Taratino) Uma Thurman,
Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis
Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are
out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob
boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to
take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself
will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is
paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these
seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising
of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents.
Pomo elements: more than one tale being told, Pastiche,
Quirky tribute to old Hollywood crime dramas and "Pulp"
magazines, filled with numerous pop culture references, the
director himself stars in a cameo part.
7. Examples of Post Modern films (cntd)
KICK ASS – 2010 (Matthew
Vaughn) starring Aaron
Johnson, Chloe Moretz,
Chris Mintz Plasse, Mark
Strong and Nicholas Cage.
Dave Lizewski is an
unnoticed high school
student and comic book fan
with a few friends and who
lives alone with his father.
His life is not very difficult
and his personal trials not
that overwhelming.
However, one day he makes
the simple decision to
become a super-hero even
though he has no powers or
training.
Post Modern elements: Hyper-reality, Comic book
geeks turned vigilantes make their superhero fantasies
a bloody reality in this dark action-comedy, it’s based
on an existing comic book, he’s not actually
supernatural – he’s normal – not how superheroes are
typically portrayed
8. Examples of Post Modern films (cntd)
AVATAR – 2009 (James
Cameron) starring Sam
Worthington, Zoe Saldana,
Sigourney Weaver
When his brother is killed in a robbery,
paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides
to take his place in a mission on the
distant world of Pandora. There he
learns of greedy corporate figurehead
Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving
off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in
order to mine for the precious
material scattered throughout their
rich woodland. In exchange for the
spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake
gathers intel for the cooperating
military unit spearheaded by gung-ho
Colonel Quaritch, while
simultaneously attempting to infiltrate
the Na'vi people with the use of an
"avatar" identity. While Jake begins to
bond with the native tribe and quickly
falls in love with the beautiful alien
Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves
forward with his ruthless
extermination tactics, forcing the
soldier to take a stand - and fight back
in an epic battle for the fate of
Pandora.
Post Modern elements:
weapons, war, new
technology, human/vs
non human – humans
transforming into ‘aliens’,
machines vs nature, the
human desire for
conquest and control,
science, individuality vs
unity, consumerism.
Crippled Marine dons
"new flesh" and regains
his humanity among an
indigenous alien
population he was sent
to eradicate
Avatar is a film that
brings to life the worst
parts of human nature.
9. Post Modern films: Audiences
• I think the main thing that audiences get whilst viewing a post
modern film is the questioning of what the film has proposed –
going against conventions that society (most likely) has laid out.
• It has been said that post modern films help destroy an audiences’
suspension of disbelief, and their feelings are toyed with hugely.
This gives the audience a chance to appreciate the message of the
film. Pomo films rely on the fact that its audience will have a seen
a similar film of the same genre, and it works to disrupt the
audience’s expectations.
• Certain pomo genres, such as horror are said to have been
designed and created specifically to cause the audience to feel
fear and panic on the surface, but also to allow us to see our most
human primal nature and its fears e.g. Our nightmares (of which
many people have the same recurring vision), our vulnerability,
our alienation, what we consider to be repulsive, the damage we
do with too much knowledge, the fear of the unknown, fear of
death, even loss of identity.
10. Criticism
• Philosopher Noam Chomsky has argued that
postmodernism is meaningless because it adds
nothing to analytical or empirical knowledge. He
asks why postmodernist intellectuals won't
respond like people in other fields when asked:
“Seriously, what are the principles of their theories,
on what evidence are they based, what do they
explain that wasn't already obvious, etc? These
are fair requests for anyone to make. If they can't
be met, then I'd suggest recourse to Hume's
advice in similar circumstances: to the flames.”
11. Criticism
• Alex Callinicos attacks notable postmodern
thinkers such as Baudrillard and Lyotard, arguing
postmodernism "reflects the disappointed
revolutionary generation of 1968, (particularly
those of May 1968 in France) and the
incorporation of many of its members into the
professional and managerial 'new middle class'. It
is best read as a symptom of political frustration
and social mobility rather than as a significant
intellectual or cultural phenomenon in its own
right."
12. My Case Studies
• These are just a few ideas of which film I am going to choose to be my
Post Modern filmc case study:
1. The Lego Movie (2014) Chris Miller, Chris McKay, Phil Lord. Starring Chris
Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett
2. Boyhood (2014) Richard Linklater. Starring Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane
3. Maleficent (2014) Robert Stromberg. Starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning
4. Lucy (2014) Luc Besson. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman
5. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) James Gunn. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe
Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel
