Tuesday, 12 March 2013


H/W


' Telephone' by Lady Gaga and Beyonce which was released in 2010 and was directed by Jonas Akerlund. The music video for 'Telephone' was influenced and has by the film 'KIll Bill' (2003) and 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) and both of these films were both directed by Quentin Tarantino.Narrative and stylistic similarity’s from kill bill (pussy wagan) helma and Louise. Also the music video has intertexual references from the film Thelma and Louise were two friends who became fugitives in America, who were on video  run from the law. From the video, in the diner scene from and onwards the setting of the music video, imitates that of the story of Thelma and Louise.

8 - bit

 

H/W


HALF TERM WORK 

QUESTIONS
1. What does Post Modernism suggest about the value of high art (eg opera) and popular culture (eg TV)

It suggests that postmodern media rejects any media product or text and there is no actual value to these anymore as, anything can be art and can have an audience and there is no longer anything new to produce.

2. What does Post Modernism suggest about the ideas of truth or reality - how is this linked the the Media?

That media and reality has collapsed so we don’t know what the truth is anymore or reality. 

3.Who were the 2 big thinkers and what concept do their theories share?

Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudrillard  both shared that we need to challenge dominant ideas 

4.Give an example of 3 'Grand-narratives' or 'Meta-narratives' (2 will need you be your own not listed in the chapter)


Metanarrative
abstract ideas
Grand narrative 
Examples:  Christianity, (they believed that the human nature, is characteristically sinful, but has the possibility of redemption and experiencing eternal peace in heaven ) Marxism (Marxists believe that in order to be emancipated, society must undergo a revolution.)  etc are all grand narratives which purport to explain things and reassure people. But with the advent of Post modernism in 1970s and 80s, the grand narratives started to disappear. Theorists understood that things can be understood only in parts not completely as there are no absolute truths. That there are only mininarratives which are provisional, temporary and relative truths.


5.What is significant about Disneyland and simulacrum?
Disneyland is a place that is real yet clearly a functional representational of everything being perfect.  The significance of Disneyland and simulacrum is that we don’t actually live in a perfect nonviolent happy world that Disney is portraying.  

6.How is our understanding of the events of 9/11 hyper-real?
Our understanding of the event is hyper real as we wasn't actual there when it happened, images and videos showed us this so we don’t know what really happened and how people felt (the truth)

7.What is significant about the Matrix as an example of Baudrillards ideas of simulation & hyper-reality?
The guy Neo reads Baudrillard's books what shows it is hyper-reality and simulation he knows it is not real 

8.Why are Post-modern elements of The Mighty Boosh ?

Because it is a parody, there are many different intertexual references programs. So it is not just one genera it has a wide range of conventions.

9.Why are Post-modern elements of Extras ?
Because of the different elements
like parodye

10.Why is Grand Theft Auto Post-modern?

Grand Theft Auto is Post-modern because we can create ‘humans’ and do anything we want without never dying just come back to life and start again, there is no actual  limit. It’s a fake Simulated game version of reality.

11.Why is the Cadburys Gorilla ad Post-modern?
Because the advert focuses on entertaining people as we like being entertained rather than told to buy something, so they do this rather than selling the product as it makes us want the product more and be happy eating it.

12.What does FLOW and IMMERSION mean?

Flow
people participating in an activity and they give feedback
Immersion
what the gamer puts in and how they are involved. For example sims are a great example of the human life and world, games go beyond to achieve things virtually rather than reality, they are putting more emotion  the game.

ESSAY 

"Explain why your case study is post-modern, analysing how it constructs meaning through its post-modern features"
Black mirror
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/black-mirror/4od#series-2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld9m8Xrpko0

I have chosen to talk about Black mirror serious 2 as this is a very good example of postmodern as this explores our modern reality. Martha loses her boyfriend Ash and her friend Sarah tells her about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased. By using all his past online communications and social media profiles, a new 'Ash' can be created. Martha at first doesn't want to know and in the end out of curiosity, loneliness and sadness decides to talk to 'him'. By using technology she can call him up have a full convocation and take him places, show him things and by the next day she want more, a real life virtual Ash. All this that she has of Ash is fake, however she starts to think it is real and bonds with him even sexually. The fact that technology can take over our world and start to make things even people, constructs the meaning of postmodern, as technology and media can take over lives and become tour way of life. As clearly she prefers to have more and lives in a virtual world. Her life isn't real anymore however she is blinded and taken over by technology. That fact that people die every day and want the people they love come back can happen, due to technology. This is hyper real as it shouldn't happen but can in the future. It shows that reality is no longer pure or truth as our culture is full of media and we can no longer separate them as there is a full blur of boundaries. What is real what is true? No one knows anymore.

MATCH UP 

1. Post-modern
 E. A historical period in Western culture after the Second World in which society became dominated by information technology


2. Post-modernit
C. The semiotic landscape of a society dominated by consumer culture and information technology

3. Parody
 A. to copy something in a humorous and tongue in cheek way.- stylistic approach
 
4. Pastiche= H. 
To copy something without humour, irony or anything else that communicates difference

5. Hyper-reality
K. collapse of the distinction between the real and simulated. - can be argued style and a theme. a hyper real style and hyper real theme.

6. Consumer culture
 B.  A culture and society in which individual and collective identity is constructed in material acts of economic exchange e.g. shopping 

7. Simulacrum
D. A copy without an original- it is a theme not a style.
 
8. Cultural capital

I. the dominant way of thinking about society and 
culture enforced by the ruling class. 

9. Signifier and the signified
 G. The basic units of semiotic analysis.

10. Multi-accentuality
 L. The way in which meaning changes according to context and over-time.

11. Ideology
J. A system of beliefs or ideas.

12. Hegemony
 F. The knowledge and information that informs
people’s cultural consumption in a post-modern society

Monday, 11 March 2013

h/w why 2 different Media forms are considered Postmodern gaga n minaj


You need to explain why 2 different Media forms are considered Postmodern

Postmodern is after modernism. I’m first going to explain what modernism is.  It is structured life, and order version of the way people think and act, modernism was the belief in truth, ideas, science & progress, however this all stopped after the world war 2.  Lack of belief in structure and science, emptiness started to crew over as people started to become superficial, recycled content started to come about (vintage and retro) bring natalaga to many people and the blurring of boundary’s between genres, structures and what is right and wrong. Everyone now has an opinion and morals have changed.
For this essay I am going to use nicki minaj and lady gaga as my 2 different Media forms i considered are Postmodern.  Just the simple fact they both are females taking on different fake identity’s one a ‘Barbie’ and one a ‘monster’ creating their own fan base of ‘barbz’ and ‘little monsters’ for social control   Also the fact that nether one of them are something new.
Nikci minaj Follows up the pick and mix styling’s of Lady Gaga and the ever- changing darling of 1980s postmodern imagery of pre-Sex Madonna, Nicki’s image is everywhere. Same with lady gaga ‘the new Madonna’s’ on a mixed up level.
Nikci minaj and lady gaga relates to Jameson’s theory that we have exhausted all ideas, no progress so we can only recycle old styles. This is true as their image come from old ideas and styles that have been used before.  They both are simualtions/artificial constructions with fake names and images, kids and adults look up to and inspire to be. The world has turned into somewhat hyper real in peoples minds as when you strip away the makeup, surgery and image you are just left with Onika and Stefani.
Breaking of boundies though their genre of music rap, hip hop r & b all together also seeing females take the lead female empowerment in hardcore rap through women rappers’ embrace of the erotic behavior.
Where we have been
Lyotard - no belief in Grand Narratives = structures are now fluid or collapsing = no depth, no order = style over substance and blurring of identities, realities As much potential as there is for f

How do they demonstrate a lack of belief in Lyotard's Grand Narratives - how do they collapse or make fluid structures or fixed ideas?

  • Male & Female Identity
  • Racial or Ethnic Identity
  • Morality/Pornography
  • Real and Artificial
  • Fixed or Fluid Identity
  • Musical Genre