How are music videos postmodern

How are music videos post modern?

Post modernity in music videos can be shown in many different types of elements; all elements are used to create a style and concept in the arts characterized by a distrust of theories by the drawing of attention to conventions. 

One way of music videos being post modern is pastiche this is when music videos references another media form. There are many reasons why artists use pastiche such as inspiration, changing meanings or subconscious development. For example in Madonna’s video ‘Material Girl’ the Mise en scene is almost identical to the one in ‘Gentlemen prefer Blondes’. They have similar pink cocktail dresses, they have props of hearts that men in tuxedos are holding and they also have similar choreography. The pastiche was not necessarily a tribute for Marylyn Monroe but more so for the Hollywood concept of the sexy blonde whose aims to get exactly what she wants which is the manner Madonna wanted to create.

An example of intertexuality would be the music video ‘Sabotage’ by the Beastie Boys, the camera work in this music video involved lots of quick cuts, montage of footage and lots of different low and high angles shots. This replicates the conventions of 1980’s cop shows.  The intertexuality was used to create a quick pace for the music video and to keep the audience on edge and engaged but also almost humorous.

Parody is another popular form of making music videos post modern; parodying has the intention of mocking a form of media/creation. Eminem frequently uses parody in many of his music videos. One example would be the use of referencing to Jessica Simpson. He parodies her by mocking her own video ‘Boots are made for walking’. He dresses up as Jessica Simpson and tries to act sexy but is clearly deliberately making her / himself look stupid. Parody is used to entertain the audience and it also blurs the boundaries of high and low culture as there is no divide between good and bad, meaning that Eminem can do whatever he pleases.

Bricolage is another example of how music videos become post modern.  Blending of different genres and styles is post modern as it distrusts the idea of having conventions for only one genre and it can all be blended. An example of this would be Lady Gaga’s telephone. It is a music video in terms of its purpose, however due to its high cinematography, the length of the video and different episodic scene and continuality it could also be a short film. Another reason why it is like bricolage would be that the music video follows on from the previous. 

In Lady Gaga’s telephone, Throughout the whole video there is a high amount of product placement, whether it is there to be ironic or to celebrate public consumerism. Many of the products had paid to be apart of the video, this had funded for a large part of her video as her music video was highly cinematic and unlike any other conventional video. However some of these products may have been there for a reason, many people think that having all these products in the video is Lady Gaga’s way of saying that we live in a reality that revolves around consumerism and could develop into a grand narrative. However she could be ironic as she is using the products as well.

The intertexuality of Lady Gaga’s music video is also very strong, In this particular video she was directly inspired by Tarantino’s pop-art aesthetic and this is reflected through the strong colours and cartoon feel. This sequence appears to be similar to a film or television episode opening, which suggests a blurring of the line between reality or truth, and hints that this video will be more than the average one.

Tarantino’s reference also came into the video through the 'Pussy Wagon' from 'Kill Bill'.  Lady Gaga is a controversial artist, and by putting the car into her video she is likening herself to the character from 'Kill Bill' who is trying to get revenge on those who wronged her, suggesting Gaga is doing the same within the video.

She was inspired by Warhol's exploration of mass consumer culture and advertising , so Gaga challenged the gender stereotype of the "perfect housewife" portrayed heavily in 1950s pop culture, using Wonder Bread and Miracle. The art element is strong in the music video, and throughout the parts where there is no singing, the editing seems to follow the rules of continuity which also breaks the conventions of music video. 

Towards the end of the video, there are intertextual references to a news station where there is a report on Gaga & Beyonce being on the run. There is also a radio announcement in the video. The video is very American with shots of diners, motel rooms and outfits with the American flag on.  There is a wonder woman theme continued through, and having Beyonce (who is a major US popstar) feature in the video and feature on the song as well, she is creating a synergy between the two artists and therefore her market is widened as Beyonce's fans will want to watch the video/buy the song as well.

The video has a strong sense of feminism as she is trying to break the stereotypes of women in the pop music/music video industry today. 

In her video Born This Way, the video has a lot of spiritual symbolism and it contains many references to God. It starts with a ‘manifesto of mother monster’, which she references to herself. There are many references to God with phrases such, “as her mother telling her he made you perfect” and “‘Cause God makes no mistakes” it shows her belief in God’s existence. However Lady Gaga does not promote the traditional belief of religion but she tries to show it as a bad way of making excuses of things many people don’t believe in. She is basically saying that God is not allowing her to believe and behave how she wants. For example a direct link would be, 'cause baby you were born this way (emphasis added) No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life” she declares any gender to be acceptable, and appears to side with nature in the nature verses nurture debate by saying people were born with a certain gender. Postmodernism is further evident not only by the acceptance of mixing worldviews but also promoting the legitimacy of any belief as long as it is your own.

Through out the video she is highly alienated as she has unnatural lights, distraught hair and lots of mixing visual effects. This symbolises her uniqueness and how she holds attention. The simulation is present in the video with the constant disfigure of Lady Gaga is deliberately creating a blur between human and simulation.

Another thing that makes this video post modern is the blurring of boundaries.  The culture of high and low culture has been eroded. A good example of this in the video would be the parts where lady Gaga and another actor are seen to have tattoos all over their face. However obscene it looked, she was able to make it look classy and ‘sexy’. This shows that there is no such thing as bad taste and you can do whatever you like without negative comments.

Blade Runner as a postmodern film

How is blade runner post modern?

Blade Runner by Ridley Scott (1982) is set in 2019 in a futuristic and dystopian city the audience are immediately introduced to the neon lit city with flying cars, densely packed skyscrapers and giant sized advertisements. However juxtaposing this elegant view of the city through the use of low angled shots it is revealed that the city is clustered and dark, and has the sense of the 50’s with low key lighting and smoky alleys which stereotypically resembles old crime / murder and gangster films. This is the beginning of the post modern aesthetic and mixing of textual references as a neo-noir visual style.

Throughout the film there is constant hybridity with the mixing of the futuristic views, 50’s views, cultures and social statuses. The mixing of culture is shown when Deckard, an American in LA, is shown in a long shot in a middle of the street where many people are rushing past, low lighting and dominating colours of blue and greys are shown, excluding the stereotypical neon lights of red and oriental patterns. Deckard then goes and takes a seat at an olden day styled noodle bar lit by cheap florescent blue lighting, his surroundings are of oriental people and loud crowd noises. Through the Mise en scene we can see that Deckard is not of dominance especially when he orders his food in English and the man does not reply in that dialect, this shows that English is not a dominant language any more.

The blurring of boundaries is also evident in this film as Deckard kills a lot of innocent people and conventionally protagonists are supposedly hero’s this means that as an audience we could get confused as right and wrong is blurred. However Deckard is portrayed as someone who is very dominating and strong, he seems to be able to kill without any emotions, and the narrative then takes us on a journey and shows the change in him and how he becomes a better character and sacrificing his own life.

There is also intertexuality in the film and the most striking one would be the scene where Deckard finds something in a picture. In this scene the director deliberately uses the camera shots and editing to intensify and build importance of the scene by holding shots for longer on extreme close ups of his face showing emotion and concentration. The scene follows Deckard’s feet walking across a room, at low angle which could signify development and progress that is dark and has lots of oak furnishing, making the room look vintage. The camera then tracks upwards to show the ancient looking TV in mid shot which the audience then discover it is voice activated, making the scene postmodern as it shows again the mix between times. We then see a series of close ups and shuttering of shots from the TV as it revealed a woman in a mirror picture. Although this is significant in the narrative it is also an intertextual reference of the Van Dyke portrait, celebrating its unique attributes. 

Matrix as a Postmodern film

How is Matrix Post Modern?

The matrix is post modern in many different ways. Firstly the narrative structure is about the show of a dystopian view of the future by exploring Neo’s relationship with a machine and the human race is being controlled by a network of machines and their existence is virtual, masking reality. The theme is post modern because it distrusts the idea of the ‘regular world’. It also looks at the relationship between humans and technology, and in the film there is a lot of ‘hacking’ which references the cyber punks. The relationship between human and technology also looks at Baudrillards philosophy and the matrix is an allegory of the lives we are living and how it is heavily commercialised in a media driven society.

The sequence ‘Bullet time’ which has a strong use of CGI  shows things becoming really slow and Neo is given the ability to stop things that in reality would be inevitable, shows the irony and is hyperreal. Bricolage is also evident as it resembles a video game as there is text on the screen as the ‘baddies’ become on screen and information is being given to the protagonist. This is also referential to the director Wachowski’s other graphic novels.

There is also a genetic hybrid as it features a blend of technophobic science fiction, through its extensive use of machinery and futuristic devises. Such as the machines that plug into the individual heads and space ships that seem to be fighting off gigantic metallic virus shaped robotics. This is also referential as biological viruses are also shaped with a pointy head and several sprouting legs. Hong Kong Kung Fu movies are also featured a lot in the film which is most evident in the training sequences when the walls become traditional Chinese bamboo walls and it is the story of master and the person who is learning. There are a lot of combat and traditional sequences used.

There is also direct intertexuality towards Baudrillards book ‘Simulacra and Simulation (1981)’ which is a cultural and philosophical text. This is shown near the beginning of the film where Neo opens a metal and ancient looking book which happens to be the Simulacra and Simulation, where he takes a disk out. There is a second referencing to the book when Morpheus describes the burned Chicago as, ‘'desert of the real”.Morpheus shows Neo what Chicago actually looks like, burned and destroyed, and tells him that he has been "living inside Baudrillard's vision, inside the map, not the territory". This refers to Baudrillard's theory that "the territory no longer precedes the map, nor survives it. Henceforth, it is the map that precedes the territory - precession of simulacra - it is the map that engenders the territory". In other words, the real no longer exists because everything becomes simulated.