Jean Baudrillard. 1929-2007
Baudrillard was a French philosopher, political commentator and sociologist. He has published his controversial views on important events such as the Gulf War, September 11, Salman Rushdie, AIDS and cloning. He has created theories about the human societies constant search for total understanding of the world, which leads to delusion,which is an interesting theory. His theories are considered to reflect post-modernism because they go against popular belief.
Pulp Fiction (1994) Directed by Quentin Tarantino
The first hint that i get that this film goes against conventions is the titles. The titles appear on the black background, not encorporated into the film opening, with 60's music playing to hint at the period of the film. There are two characters at the beginning who rob a restuarant before the titles, followed by a different two characters in a car after the titles, who don't seem to be related in any way. The characters in the car seem to be having a pointless everyday conversation for quite a while, instead of a conversation which sets the storyline, like most films. During the whole film, there is very little focus on what's going on in the rest of the shot. There are few hints about the main characters lives, which city they are in, what is going on at the time, all we know is that they are in 1960's America. The scene near the beginning, where Jules quotes the bible before shooting a man in an apartment, the first time this scene is showed, there is only focus on the characters in the apartment. However at the end of the film, there is a flashback to this scene, a trademark of Tarantino, but this time there is focus on a character in the bathroom of the apartment, this reflects post-modernism because it plays with what the audience believe and know. There is also little build of tension during important moments of the film, one example is near the end when Butch is in his apartment and finds Vincents gun, there is no music to create tension and when Butch shoots Vincent, the kettle finishes boiling, as if it happens everyday. The film is also split into chapters, which is unusual. There is not a running storyline, showing any emotional points for the characters, or showing them doing anything normal, there are just selected events in their lives. I think this reflects Post-modernism because the audience believes they know everything about the characters, but actually when i think about it i only know their names, which makes me feel uneasy.
Twenty-Four Hour Party People (2002) Directed by Michael Winterbottom
24HPP is a film about Tony Wilson, his record label Factory Records and the years in which he took over the Manchester music scene, during the 1980's. It is like a documentary, however there are actors and some parts may be partly fictional. The first hints of Post-modernism was the narration by Tony Wilson, he acts out the scene, often he is the reporting for Granada TV, and then obliviously to the other characters, he narrates his feelings on a situation and talks of the record label at that particular point. There is footage from real concerts in the film which gives the film a realness for music fans and moves away from it being fictional. The film avoids emotion, there is no build up to death of Ian Curtis, in fact upbeat music plays when we find out that he is dead. This made me uneasy, because i have seen the film Control, where the build up of his death gave a big impact on me. The film follows Tony Wilsons life but it does not follow every detail, only the significant events. It does not dwell on these significant events however. The film fits being in a post-modernism style because it is about post-modernist music.
Useful words
Ironic - words that convey a meaning that is opposite to the literal meaning.
Nostalgia - a yearning for a former happiness, the return in thought to a former time. an emotion often portrayed in period films, often retro films.
narrative style - different ways in which a storyline is portrayed
intertextuality - the relationship between different characteristics of movements and the conventions associated with them
parody - a humourous imitation of a serious peice of writing
self referentiality - referring to yourself
