Post-Modernism

Question 1

Who said postmodernism rejects meta-narratives?

Answer 1

Jean-Jacques Lyotard. Meta-narratives are traditionally accepted values and ideologies e.g Christianity, capitalism. Postmodern texts challenge these assumptions

Question 2

What is self-reflexivity?

Answer 2

How a media text makes reference to itself or the media making process e.g chat shows/films about making films. Also refers to the way we reflect upon certain aspects of our identities

Question 3

How would you describe cultural implosion?

Answer 3

The blurring of boundaries between different cultures such as high and pop, real life and media culture (e.g reality TV). No distinctions and neither is valued over the other

Question 4

What is irony?

Answer 4

Refers to a contradiction between what is stated and what is meant/expected

Question 5

Pastiche?

Answer 5

Refers to the imitation or copy of an original

Question 6

How is parody similar to pastiche?

Answer 6

Parody refers to copying an original but it goes a step further by poking fun at or ridiculing the original

Question 7

How would you describe fragmentation/chaos in a postmodern text?

Answer 7

The post modern experience of the media is fragmented, we surf between different sources to gather/give info. Post modern identity is also fragmented e.g over several social media sites

Question 8

What is meant by a hyper-reality?

Answer 8

When we cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. Baudrillard defines it as the ‘simulation of something which never really existed’, though it often closely resembles reality and the boundaries between the two can be blurred

Question 9

What is a simulacrum?

Answer 9

A simulation or copy of the real thing. Baudrillard referred to it as a copy of an original which has been enhanced, exaggerated and refreshed

Question 10

What is an example of Intertextuality?

Answer 10

It’s when one media text makes reference to another media text e.g Disneyland

Question 11

What is bricolage?

Answer 11

The blending and mixing from different styles, tastes, genres and periods. Bricolage refers to a pick and mix or hybrid of many things which are ‘thrown’ together (the term was coined by Claude Levi-Strauss)

Question 12

How is identity viewed in a postmodern culture?

Answer 12

• unstable, a myth or illusion
• fragmented
• lacking depth of substance

Question 13

How do traditional societies view identity as opposed to modern societies?

Answer 13

Traditional societies see identity as:
- fixed, stable, pre-defined (accepted roles and myths)
Modern societies see identity as:
- self-reflexive (we can examine/criticise/change our identity)
- influenced by the response of others, a project to be worked on

Question 14

What does it mean when some views of identity see the body as a text?

Answer 14

It means that the body is seen as a site which gives expression to cultural views/values, prejudices and anxieties. The body (and clothes and personal possessions) are a symbol of society

Question 15

How does Foucault view the body?

Answer 15

He sees the body as a site of social control. The body is directly involved in the political field; power relations have an immediate hold upon it; they invest in, mark it, train it, force it to carry out tasks/perform ceremonies/emit signs

Question 16

What does a post-modern view of identity mean?

Answer 16

A playful approach is taken. We accept multiple, unstable identities. Celebrities and cultural icons experiment with identity (sexual, gendered, political, human). Many contemporary narratives deal with the blurring of boundaries between humans and machines e.g androids

Question 17

What does our post modern culture mean for the world of celebrity?

Answer 17

The boundaries are blurred between the real world and that of celebrities. The celeb persona is a simulacrum we confuse with reality. We use signifiers taken from celebs to create a kind of bricolage identity to raise our self esteem. We align ourself with celebs who personify our self concept. Reality shows like The X Factor perpetuate the myth that we can enter their world

Question 18

What is a sliding signifier?

Answer 18

Something whose meaning has changed over time e.g Doc Martens, were once seen as counter-cultural, now entered mainstream

Question 19

What is cultural appropriation?

Answer 19

Picking elements from other cultures e.g dreadlocks, henna at festivals

Question 20

What would a Marxist argue in terms of post modernism?

Answer 20

That because we live in a capitalist society, and thus consumerism is necessary for our economy to survive, popular culture is manipulated to promote consumerism and so it becomes a part of post modern culture. Dominic Strinati feels market liberal culture has become imploded into post modern culture e.g advertising, style over substance

Question 21

What is Baudrillard’s post modern view on the internet turning information into entertainment?

Answer 21

The Internet uses image-based culture (superficiality), pastiche and simulacra rather than real artefacts. We live in a fragmented society in which the old ways of seeing things are meaningless. We ‘pick and mix’ our ideas and attitudes

Question 22

What does Neil Postman claim?

Answer 22

That we live in a ‘technopoly’, accessing and using new media technology is the key to understanding our society. Technology is an extension of our senses, it dictates to us how to see the world and defines what our reality is, leading to a hyper-reality

Question 23

What did Fiske say about TV and images?

Answer 23

‘In one hour’s TV viewing, one of us is likely to experience more images than a member of a non-industrial society would in a lifetime’

Question 24

What are Postman’s thoughts in relation to Dick Hebdige’s comments that society is being ‘imploded’ into the mass media?

Answer 24

Postman would say that there is no way of thinking about reality outside the mass media and therefore it cannot be analysed

Question 25

What is style over substance?

Answer 25

The way a text or message is presented is often more important than the actual message (image is all)