A2 Media Studies 2009/10

Study Notes
Unit G325 Section B
Critical Perspecties in Media
Conte!porary Media "ssues
Part 2
Post!odern Media Aest#etics
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Conte!porary Media "ssues
$#at is %#eory&
Theory is really nothing more than a way of thinking that is more systematic and
sophisticated than 'thinking' in an everyday sense.
An example: When we learn to drive a car - a rite of passage that most of s will ndertake
at some stage in or lives - we mst think all the time a!ot how to steer" when to !rake"
where to indicate left or right" and so on. #owever" we do not stop to think a!ot why we
are learning to drive a car" or why a car is what we are driving" or how we are operating
within a particlar set of rles and conventions that constitte the '#ighway $ode'. After
all" if we did stop to think a!ot all these things" we wold pro!a!ly crash% &ome of s
might need to pass a 'theory test' - !t
this is really a practical test designed to
transform s into drivers. And then" a
few months after we have passed or
driving test and prchased or first car"
we will start to think far less a!ot the
'why' and 'how' 'estions" not to
mention the 'where' and 'when' ones.
(xperienced drivers often talk a!ot not
needing to think a!ot driving !ecase it
has !ecome sch a rotine" familiar"
everyday activity.
)t to do theory re'ires s to !reak away from rotine" familiar" everyday ways of
thinking - or not thinking.
To extend or example" we need to get ot of or cars and start to think with more depth
and !readth. *ntelligent 'estions are the fondations for intelligent theory" so the theorist
in all of s might ask: why has the motor car !ecome sch a vital means of transportation
in modern times+ #ow does a private - yet mass - method of transport reflect or social
and cltral vales+ What are the conse'ences of mass car prodction and consmption+
What alternative forms of transport might compete with the car+ Why is car transportation
more poplar" generally" than p!lic transport+ What wold happen if each driver practised
their own interpretation of the #ighway $ode+ These 'estions and others start to dig into
a theory of cars.
The task of this !ooklet" of corse" is to excavate postmodern theories of media.
What is the opposite of theory+ Answer: practice. The key to nlocking the !est theories
lies in the practical evidence that is !roght forward to spport them. Theory that has no
fondation in practice is likely to appear disconnected or contrived. ,n the other hand"
practice disconnected from theory is aimless and ninteresting to media stdents. (vidence
may derive from research" or perhaps from analysis of texts sch as a poplar song" film or
T- programme. ,n the whole" a theory !acked !y wide-ranging evidence from diverse
sorces will withstand the test of time longer than a theory !ilt on shaky evidence from
limited sorces.
1.
$#at is Media %#eory&
We now have some sense of theory is. &o
what is media theory+ *f we condense the
discssion a!ove" media theory can !e
defined as a systematic way of thinking
a!ot means of commnication inclding
those associated with today's digital media
technologies. This !ooklet is mostly a!ot
postmodern media theory - althogh we
will discss theories of modernism which
offer ways of thinking historically a!ot
the development of postmodern ideas. An
important point a!ot doing media theory
is to !reak free from or everyday
experiences" and to think a!ot them at a critical distance" throgh the different
perspectives that we will enconter.
The thing a!ot postmodernism that sometimes leads to it !eing ndermined is that if we
look at media texts from a certain angle" it is almost always possi!le to find postmodern
elements. And of corse" if we take the view that postmodernism is a" state that pervades
the way we se media" then all media is postmodern. )t here are some specific examples
that shold !e sefl in getting yo thinking a!ot postmodern media:
Music - in what ways do msic videos make interte'tual references to other
media/cltre that the adience will recognise+
Film - in what ways does film or the promotional materials for films" se
postmodern techni'es to make intertextal references" play with the !ondaries
!etween film and simlation or offer dis0ointed narratives+
Websites - we can arge that we!sites are #yperreal in the sense that links and tags
take the ser otside of conventional narrative and textal !ondaries. 1elate this
idea to yor own research.
Video games - whether playing a game level" or stdying the promotion of a new
game" this is a form that many see as typically postmodern !ecase of the way that
games relate to other media forms 2interte'tuality3" !lr the !ondary !etween
media and reality" player and reader 2#yperreality3 and do not follow linear
narrative strctres. Think a!ot yor own gaming in these contexts.
TV - Soap opera - the promotion of soaps is intertextal" !ecase they se
maga4ines as well as we!sites to promote this television prodct. &oaps" despite
!eing an 'older' media form" have always !lrred the !ondaries !etween fiction
and reality" when other media 2newspapers" maga4ines" other T- shows3
deli!erately confse the actors with the
characters" and when the physical space
the soap is set in is represented as a real
location 2e.g. the we!cam on Al!ert
&'are or the 1overs 1etrn as a torist
attraction3. #ow do they se
postmodern" cross-media techni'es to
constrct a physical soap world and the
characters that inha!it it" as 'real'+
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(e)inition * Post!odernis!
This is a term that is sed a lot" althogh there is still some de!ate and ncertainty a!ot
what exactly 'postmodern' means" the vale of the term and the extent to which we are
living in a postmodern society
According to art historians" +!odernis!+ was a
movement that started in the late nineteenth centry and
ended arond the 1678s. &o 'postmodernism' is a term
that is sed to characterise the type of society and cltre
that has developed in western societies since the 1698s
and into the !eginning of the twenty-first centry.
The modernist movement in the arts and media is sally
dated from arond the :irst World War" as part of a hge
set of social and economic changes. These prompted new
ways of expressing new ideas and sensi!ilities.
*n literatre writers sch as -irginia Woolf and T.&. (liot
rptred existing traditions of ;good 'taste" 'proper' rhyme
schemes" and the settled ways of writing novels.
&ch !reaks often took the form of a kind of
experimental play with different high-stats media sch
as painting" classical msic or novels and poetry. These
might take the form of playing with extreme pns and
allsions or even the montage editing of (isenstein's in
early &oviet cinema.
Another part of artistic modernism was often a sel),re)le'iity - texts made open reference
to !eing constrcted as a text and did not try to conceal it. *n the theatre of the <erman
playwright )ertold )recht " whose work was politically motivated" tried to demystify the
prodction of art" showing it as 0st work and trying to connect it to the rest of the political
world. =odern media forms and technologies now rotinely play with this" from the open
discssion of film pro0ection in :ight $l!" to
the self-reflexive play of ads sch as ;Tango> or
the opening welcome to television programmes
like The =ighty )oosh. )t they are rarely now
sed for political prposes.
The idea of postmodernism is partly !ased on a
particlar view of contemporary life - a high-
tech post-indstrial society dominated !y the
+)lo-+ of media images and information arond
the world.
*t is claimed that we are increasingly living in a +-orld ti!e+ where news financial trading
or sporting events are all transmitted 'live' arond the world. *t is possi!le to !e at home in
?ondon on a &nday morning and watch 'live a-:ormla 1 car race as it takes place in
=alaysia. We can trade money and shares arond the world 25 hors a day. (normos
amonts of information and imagery can !e distri!ted arond the glo!e almost
instantaneosly and accessed !y large nm!ers people in a way that wold not have !een
1@
possi!le 28 years ago. *ncreasingly we '!orrow' from other cltres for or msic"
frnishings" fashions" food" clothes" etc. What =arshall =c?han called the +.lo/al
illa.e+ is increasingly !ecoming a reality.
Aostmodernism is also said to reflect modern society's feelings of alienation" insecrity
and ncertainties concerning identity" history" progress and trth" and the !reak-p of those
traditional agencies like religion" the family or" perhaps to a lesser extent" class" which
helped identify and shape who we are and or place in the world. Artists like =adonna"
=ichael Backson and Cavid )owie are all cited as examples of postmodernism in the ways
in which they have created or re-created different identities for themselves.
According to some theorists" or identity is now defined !y or lifestyle and what we
consme" the la!els we wear" the shops we fre'ent" rather than !y what we prodce or !y
or !ackgrond.
Post!odern %#eory * an 0erie-
Writers on postmodernism 2sch as ?yotard" )adrillard and Bameson3 arged that recent
social-economic changes prodced particlar +structures o) )eelin.+ or a +cultural lo.ic+.
Typical assertions inclde claims that" mostly thanks to television" and =T- in particlar"
we now live in a 'three-minte cltre' 2the length of most people's attention spans" it is
said" shaped !y advertising and now 1appin.3D or that we are part of an over-visal
society" a +society o) t#e spectacle+ - de to the preponderance of television and the
*nternet.
This has implications for realist forms of media" since or sense of reality is now said to !e
tterly dominated !y poplar media imagesD cltral forms can no longer 'hold p the
mirror to reality'" since reality itself is satrated !y advertising" film" video games" and
television images. =oreover the capacity of digital imaging makes 'trth claims' or the
relia!ility of images tricky E think a!ot the se of Ahotoshop in maga4ine and advertising
images. Advertising no longer tries seriosly to convince s of its prodcts' real 'ality
!t" for example" 0st shows s a cool 0oke a!ot the prodct.
&ch theorists have also written of the +deat# o) t#e !etanarraties+ or the death of the
(nlightenment pro0ect' 2now often called 'modernity'3. -ery !roadly" this refers to those
movements in political thoght and other ideas from a!ot the eighteenth centry onwards
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which proclaimed the importance of reason" and the knowa!ility of the world throgh it.
The next step was to arge that" if the world cold !e known" it cold !e changed.
Aostmodernism" however" descri!e these ;.rand narraties2 - =arxism" feminism" !elief
in scientific progress and so on - as nothing more than stories a!ot history" naively
strctred with happy endings. *nstead postmodernism offers !icro,narraties which do
not necessarily add p" !t which may !e woven together.
1emem!er that postmodernism is a theory that doesn>t always hold p to rigoros analysis
and yo mst !e a!le to see all sides of these tricky ideas.
There is some trth in the perception that large claims to political trth are often
narratively shaped" sch as =arxism's claim that working people acting together will
eventally !ring a!ot socialism. )t however conscios we are now of narratives in
science and politics" it seems we cannot easily do withot them and the meaning they give
to experience. And" 0st to confse things" what else is postmodern theory !t another sch
story or ;grand narrative>+
*sn>t it 0st a very cynical one" pretending to not !e a ;metanarrative> at all+ *n some
versions postmodernism sees the whole of glo!al cltre as 'partying at the end of history'"
with politics completely pointless in the aftermath of the trimph of glo!alisation.
Which 'story' will yo choose to try to live !y" and how closely does it correspond to yor
experiences+ #mmmm. =akes yo think" doesn>t it+
Post!odern Media as an aest#etic c#oice
As an aspect of style - 'postmodernism' refers to several" now familiar" aspects of
contemporary media:
13 4y/ridity - 2the mixing and sampling of different
kinds and levels - of hip hop msic" of material in
television ads" films" etc.3. #y!rid forms are said to
level hierarchies of taste. *t is said that all distinctions
!etween high cltre and poplar cltre" have gone"
or !ecome !lrred. Aostmodern texts 'raid the image
!ank' which is so richly availa!le throgh video and
compter technologies" recycle some old movies and
shows on television" the *nternet etc. =sic" film and
T- provide excellent examples of these processes.
This is similar to /ricola.e5
23 Bricola.e E 2a :rench word meaning '0m!le'3
this is sed to refer to the process of adaptation
or improvisation where aspects of one style are
given 'ite different meanings when compared
with stylistic featres from another. :or Cick
#e!dige 216963 yoth s!cltral grops sch as
pnks" with their !ondage gear and se of
swastikas were eclectic as they took clothes
associated with different class positions or work
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fnctions and converted them into fashion statements 'empty' of their original meanings. A
more recent" feminised example wold !e the com!ination of Coc =artens and smmer
dresses worn !y yong women and girls and the central figre of Amelie 228813 or <host
World 228813.
)ricolage is 'ite a sefl way of looking at certain media forms sch as msic videos and
advertising that increasingly seem to mix together a wide range of different images that do
not appear to have any connection" except that they are somehow 'modern'. Another film
that is often called postmodern is Fentin Tarantino's Alp :iction 216653" which also
mixes pieces from varios different types of genre: gangster films" sporting films" comedy"
etc. Aart of the 'pleasre' in watching this film is its 'intertextality' 2see later3 identifying
the references to other types of film. An example of !ricolage might !e the scene at a
restarant" 'Back 1a!!it &lim's'. *n this scene Bohn Travolta is dressed like a cow!oy and
'copies' his &atrday Gight :ever dance rotine srronded !y images of dead film stars
from the 16@8s and 1678s. ?ater he does 'the twist'" a dance from the 1678s. The people
working in the restarant are dressed like Cisney cartoon characters.
33 Si!ulation - the !lrring of real and ;simlated>" especially in film and reality T- or
cele!rity maga4ines. &imlation or
hyperreality refers to not only the
increasing se of $<* in films like The
?ord of the 1ings films 22881-28853
and Avatar 228863" !t also in the se
of docmentary style in fiction sch as
=ichael Winter!ottom>s *n This
World 228823 or in the narrative
enigmas of science fiction sch as The
=atrix 216663 or )lade 1nner 216H23:
'*s it hman or artificial>+
63 "nterte'tuality * from referencing the strctre of the slasher horror film in &cream
216673 to the *talian American gangsters watching The <odfather films in The &opranos
television series 22881I63" intertextality is now a familiar postmodern florish across
most moving image media and Bameson specifies pastic#e and parody as !elonging to a
similar idea. This self-reflexive awareness of itself as a text is also termed
#yperconsciousness.
53 (is7ointed narratie structures ,
These are said to mimic the
ncertainties and relativism of
postmodernity in films like Alp :iction
216653 as contemporary narratives often
won>t garantee identifications with
characters" or the 'happy ending' or !eta
narraties like the Cefeat of the
(nemy" which have traditionally !een
achieved at the end of films. They often
manage only a play with mltiple" or
heavily ironic" perhaps 'nfinished' or
even parodic endings - see =emento
1H
228883" :ight $l! 216663" or Atonement 228893. Garratives can also !e dis0ointed in time
and space E see modern / retro films like )ra4il 216H@3 or )lade 1nner 216H23.
83 %#e erosion o) #istory , in non-fiction forms sch as television newsD in the deli!erate
!lrring of time in films sch as $ock and )ll &tory 2288@3 or the extravagant play with
historical fact in" say" (li4a!eth 2166H3 or &aving Arivate 1yan 2166H3 or Aearl #ar!or
228813 historical facts and characters are telescoped" merged or discarded entirely. #istory
can !e viewed nostalgically or with sspicion.
93 %#e actie audience E postmodern theories sggest that there is a decoding process
going on among adiences who no longer se the passively media for gratification.
Aostmodern adiences read texts actively !ecase they recognise the importance of the
analysis of varios cles or signs" particlarly visal signs" that shape so mch of modern
media otpt !y the adience. At its simplest level" the adience accept or agree with the
encoded meanings sent ot !y a text" they accept and refine parts of the text's meanings or
they are aware of the dominant meaning of the text !t re0ect it for cltral" political or
personal reasons.
:3 Blurrin. o) /oundaries - *t's easy to
spot how !ondaries !etween 'high' and
'low' cltre have !een eroded. This idea
is allring !ecase of the democratic
implications - there's no sch thing as
!ad tasteD yo can en0oy" consme" shop
for what yo like - all class hierarchies
have disappeared. #owever"
paradoxically" for there to !e any thrill
in transgressing !ondaries" like those
!etween 'high' and 'low' forms in )a4
?hrman's 1omeo J Bliet 216693 or
&hakespeare in ?ove 2166H3" those
!ondaries need still to have some meaning I and indeed they do" if yo think of the hge
indstry still associated with the stats and name of &hakespeare and his contining
cltral importance.
93 A society o) spectacle E Aostmodern media texts share a delight in srface style and
sperficiality" a delight in trivial
rather than dominant forms from
conversations a!ot !rgers in
Alp :iction 216653 to ?indsay
?ohan or -ictoria )eckham
appearing in Kgly )etty 2288H3 E
and an alternative" excited" ironic
tone involving scepticism a!ot
serios vales.
Andy =edhrst 216693 points ot
that this approach contains
elements of ;camp> E a
traditionally male homosexal
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personality trait - no ;camp> man can claim the pompos athority of many white males" so
he may as well lagh at things that are taken seriosly. #e contines:
Camp, eludes a single, crisp definition ... It is a configuration of taste
codes and a declaration of effeminate interest... It revels in exaggeration,
teatricalit!, parod! and bitcing"postmodern aestetics can easil! be
confused #it camp, but #ile camp gro#s from a specific cultural
identit!, postmodern discourses peddle te arrogant fiction tat specific
cultural identities ave ceased to exist. 2=edhrst 16693.
103 This delight in sperficiality is contered !y a different postmodern approach that
involves an at!osp#ere o) decay and alienation E +structures o) )eelin.+ that find echoes
in the msic of 1adiohead or Aphex Twin " the films )lade 1nner and :ight $l!" the
msic videos and advertising of $hris $nningham.
,ne pro!lem with the postmodern approach to
media is that many postmodern media texts seem
ninterested in the extent to which spectacle"
simlation and special effects" hy!ridity and
remakes" intertextality and generic mixing" have
al#a!s !een a part of #ollywood 2the first Ling
Long 2see right3 was released in 16..3 and
poplar genres" and have always !een nderstood
as sch !y adiences. *t is assmed instead that
adiences and the poplar forms they en0oy are
always to !e distrsted and !emoaned. The extent
to which special effects and spectacle are part of
contemporary media may indeed !e
nprecedented. )t do these changes render any
kind of realist media work impossi!le or
nattractive to adiences+
Post!odern Media * a su!!ary
Althogh postmodernism seems at first like a very 'deep' philosophical idea" it is really a
fairly simple theory. We sally think of the media as !eing 'in !etween' s and reality"
hence the word 'media' and the idea of +!ediation+
Aostmodernists claim that in a media-satrated world" where we are constantly immersed
in media - on the move" at work" at home - the distinction !etween reality and the media
representation of it !ecomes !lrred or even entirely invisi!le to s. *n other words" we no
longer have any sense of the difference !etween real things and images of them" or real
experiences and simlations of them. =edia reality is the new reality.
&ome see this as a historical development: the !odernist period came !efore dring which
artists experimented with the representation of reality" and the postmodern comes next"
where this idea of representation gets +re!i'ed+" played arond with" throgh pastic#e"
parody and interte'tual references - where the people that make texts deli!erately expose
their natre as constrcted texts and make no attempt to pretend that they are 'realist'.
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There are many media examples of texts or prodcts which deli!erately set ot to explore
and play with this state of hyperreality. These texts are said to !e intertextal and self-
referential - they !reak the rles of realism to explore the natre of their own stats as
constrcted texts. *n other words" they seek not to represent reality" !t to represent media
reality.
(xamples we>ll look at inclde the televised images of the 6/11 attacks on the World Trade
$enterD The =atrix and )lade 1nner as postmodern filmsD the msic of CB &hadowD an
advert for $ad!ry>s Cairy =ilkD the films of =ichael Winter!ottom and the $oen
!rothersD )ig )rotherD The =ighty )ooshD the television of 1icky <ervaisD The Wire and
?ife on =ars as postmodern T-D postmodern maga4ine readersD <rand Theft Ato *- as a
postmodern video gameD and &econd ?ife as the ltimate hyperreal media experience 2so
far3.
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