POST MODERNISM

ANYTHING IS ANYTHING!

CS201- Media, Society and Culture

By Aparaajith Sharmaa
INTRODUCTION
 UP CLOSE
Post modernism can be seen as a derivative of Modernism.
Post modernism sees itself as a body that omits rules and
definite structures.
But for the elimination of rules, there should have been
rules in the past.
Post modernism emerged out of the worldwide paranoia
over both the world wars and the negativity that came out
of it.
Other contrasting ideologies like dictatorship, capitalism,
communism and democracy also played an important role
in convincing the world that we should adopt freewill based
concepts.
It has found place in a lot of media content.
It aims at producing ideas and content that do not follow a
watertight logic system.
 TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH
POST MODERNISM
Simulacra
Pastiche
Hyper reality
Inter textuality
Pluralism
Dystopia
Bricolage
Aporia
Kitsch
Panopticon
Alterity
Catharsis
Cybernetics
 INSTANCES IN MEDIA

SIMULACRA(copy of a copy)
The Hindi film Ghajini(2008) was a copy of the Tamil
film Ghajini(2005) which was a copy of the English film
Memento(2000).
 PASTICHE
Pastiche is a tongue-in-cheek imitation or tribute used
in literature, art, music, movies, etc.
Performed with respect to, or in homage to, other
works (as opposed to parody which is done in ridicule
or sarcasm).
Examples being

a. Song-Hum hain rahi pyar ke, phir milenge, chalte

chalte from the 2008 hindi film rab ne bana di jodi
b. songDani California of the album Stadium
Arcadium by Red hot chili peppers.
 HYPER REALITY
Hyperreality is a symptom of postmodern culture
where a person loses their ability to distinguish reality
from fantasy. The hyperreal world is often thought of
as an enhancement of reality.
examples include reality television, WWE,
pornography, or multi-player online games
Even the Hindi TV series shaktimaan convinced
many children into believing that shaktimaan will save
them if they jump from a building.
Borat(2006)- Part mockumentary, part undercover
journalism, part spectacle, Borat is a Hyper reality of
common stereotypes designed to co-opt his
unsuspecting victims into revealing their own
prejudices.
 INTERTEXTUALITY
When one text refers to another.
It is used to describe the qualities of the character
based on what he/she chooses to watch.
In the film easy A(2010), the protagonist watches the
film say anything(1989).
In the English sitcom friends Joey and Chandler
watch TV series Baywatch together.
In both the Gangs of wasseypur movies, the
characters are seen watching kyunki saas bhi kabhi
bahu thi
In the film tropic thunder(2008) the fictional
characters are movie stars. And they make a film
together, meaning: its a film inside a film!
 BRICOLAGE
A mash up or creation from a diverse range of existing
items or ideas.
Art technique where works are constructed from
various available materials ("found items" or mass-
produced "junk").
ensemble TV series like Friends, How I met your
mother, rules of engagement, happy endings- all have
characters with different personas which guarantees
catering to different viewers.
modern family, mind your language have characters
from different nationalities even!
Parks and recreation has characters who have varied
views on government ranging from libertarianism to
pro government.
 APORIA
Literal translation from Greek is 'without passage
A state of wonder and awe due to contemplating the
mysteries of life and the universe. E.g. Calvin and
Hobbes; questions set social conditions.
 KITSCH
Art (often commercially mass-produced) that is done in
bad taste or tries to be overly campy or sentimental.
comedy nights with Kapil uses generic and easy-to-
understand humor to ensure more TRP.
Even CID has very easy plots which guarantees more
viewers.
 ALTERITY
State of being on the periphery or fringes due to race,
gender, or ethnicity
Dissimilarity from cultural norms.
A lack of personal identity.
For e.g. comic strip bizarro by Dan Piraro.
 PANOPTICON
This term for a prison that allows inmates to be
observed at all times.
Big Brother and Big Boss are the most popular
examples of this.
Borat(2006) provides a view into the minds of its
victims, which it then lays open for all of the world to
see. In essence, Cohen(lead actor) has co-opted the
viewers to be the warden in a game of postmodern big
brother.
 CATHARSIS
A form of emotional cleansing, first described by
Aristotle, which occurs simply from the passive act of
viewing a tragedy.
A postmodern analogy is that the media's focus on
violence and tragedy is the method by which society
cleanses its collective psyche.
 CYBERNETICS AND CYBERPUNK
Cybernetics is a process by which a biological organism
enhances its abilities by the integration of technology.
In postmodernism, much importance is given to this
merging and interdependence of man and technology.
Plots often involve hackers, artificial intelligences, and
mega corporations.
Examples: Films like terminator series, oblivion(2013),
ex machina(2015), I robot(2004), Enthiran-the robot
(2010), the Robocop series.
 UTOPIA
Its a type of speculative fiction.
A utopia is a perfect world.
There are no problems like
war, disease, poverty,
oppression, discrimination,
inequality, and so forth.
Feminist writers often imagine
women-only utopias, like
wonder womans home- the
amazons.
Jonathan Swifts Gulliver's
travels shares general
preoccupations with the ideas
of the good.
Cartoons like Jetsons and
Flintstones also portray a
futuristic or ancient world of
goodness.
 DYSTOPIA
A world in which everything is unpleasant.
The problems that plague our world are even more extreme
in dystopias.
Examples
The TV series- walking dead and other zombie related
movies like world war Z(2013) and I am legend(2007)
portray the time during and after a apocalyptic event.
Hunger games and divergent trilogy movies feature a world
where radical methods are used to control the human
population.
Wall-E(2008), Her(2013) and Avatar(2009) portray what a
futuristic dystopia would look like and what it would make
humans do!
The comic book and film Dredd(2012) features a law
enforcer given the power of judge, jury, executioner in a vast
dystopic metropolis called mega city-one that lies in a post
apocalyptic wasteland.
 TO CONCLUDE
In the real world, free spirited companies like Google
are dominating.
Nordic countries, which are more liberal towards all
sphere of life, top the worlds happiest countries
survey.
There is a preference for reduced hierarchy, flexible
timings and casual dressing in work spaces throughout
the world.
Post modernism may not be easy to define, but it has
definitely changed our perception of the world and the
world itself!
THANK YOU!