Sunday, 24 February 2013

case study

'explain why your case study is postmodern, analysing hpw it constructs meaning through its post modern features'

The simpsons
an animated show like the simpsons is a post modern, the show is hyper real and contains many inter textual references to other shows, celebritys and films.
The simpsons like the 'extras' take inspirations from the people and society, creating a sort of parody in a tongue and cheek way to make the audience laugh. Each of the simpsons episodes have a different message or story to protray and none are connected. The simpsons pulls in a load of different audiences such as multiple age groups, both genders and may ethinicities. Some of the intertexual references there has been in the simpsons include famous people like simon cowell, presidents, JFK as well as references to films such as
Harry Potter, Wall-E, batman and spiderman as well as the ten commandments.

They focus episodes on different things that is happening in the realworld making them hyper real such as gay marriage, drinking and drugs, bullying. The episodes sometimes take non liner narrative and parts of the story line have nothing to do with the main focus of that persific episode. They also do special hoilday episodes such as a halloween special where multiple little stories are told by each of the main charcaters from their prespective. The simpsons are seen to be the traditional nuclear family although you see them go through problems.

12 Questions

What does Post Modernism suggest abou the value of high art (eg opera) and popular culture (eg TV)?
It suggests that anything can be art and deserve to reach an audience, as well as stating there is nothing new to produce or distrubute.

What does Post Modernism suggest about the ideas of truth or reality - how is this linke dto media?
Nowdays there is no clear disctinction between media and reality. The population now live in a state of simulacrum where society defined by images and representations.

Who were the two big thinkers and what concept do their theories share?
Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudrillard
both share the same idea that media texts make visible and challenge ideas of truth and reality

Give an example of 3 'grand naratives' or 'meta narratives' ?
religion
theorists - marxism

What signiificant about disneyland and simulacrum?
Disneyland is Hyper real the stories where made up and now people are bring them to life, a phsyical space but in a fictional representational world

How is out understanding of the events like 9/11 hyper real?
9/11 was highly televised, the scene recorded my many passers by (who created this media) was replayed multi time and changed such as being played in slow motion. the wide show of this event on media had an impact on other parts of the countries economy

What is signifcant about the matrix as an example of baudrillards ideas of simulation and hyper reality?
the character Neo is seen to be reading Baudrillards book (simulation and simulacra) which may of influenced the producers, the matrix could be seen to be a cinematic protray of baudrillards postmodern theory

What are the post modern elements of the mighty boosh?
the mighty boosh contains an electric mix of conventions, influences and genre traits, there are lots of inter textual references and parody within. this show demands the audience to have a more active response

What are the post modern elements of extras?
extras uses a self reflesive approach where they take traits and characteristis of everyday people and deconstructs them into a parody. a self reflexsive hyper reality.

Why is grand theft auto post modern?
grand theft auto is set on reality creating a hyper realuity where the audience can have new experiences

Why is the cadburys gorillas ad post modern?
the cadurys gorilla is seen to be playign the drums to a phil collins song having no connection to chocolate. therefore departing the advertising from the product itself, instead creating a sense of gulity pleasure, basic desire, primal instinct towards chocolate despite culture pressure to eat healthly

What does flow and immersion mean?
immersion - how much imagination someone puts in
flow - someone participating in an activity incresing pleasure and achieveable challenges while providing regular feedback

Matching Terminology


Postmodern
C - the semotic landscape of a society dominated by consumer culture and information technology

Post-modernity
E - a historical period in western culture after the second world in which socitey became dominated by information technology

Parody
a - to copy something in a humerous and tongue and cheek way

Pastiche
H - to copy something without humour, irony or anything else that communicates difference

Hyper-reality
K- the collaspe of the disctintion between the real and simulated

Consumer culture
b - a culture and society inw hich individuals and collective identity is constructed in material acts of econmic exchange e.g shopping

Simulacrum
D - a copy without an orginal

Cultural capital
F - the knowledge and information that informs peoples cultural consumption in a post-modern society

Signifier and the signified
G- the basic units of semiotic anyalsis

 Multi-accentuality
L - the way in which meaning changes according to context and over time

Ideology
J -a system of beliefs and ideas

Hegemony
I - the dominant way of thinking about socitey and culture enforced by the ruling class