Postmodernism is a reaction to modernism and challenges the traditional viewing of the modernist era. Postmodernism can be defined as the collapse of distinction between the real, the simulated and the blurring of boundaries between texts. It is a culture of choice, there is no fixed morality and media texts are now being exhausted from being recycled (Jameson) and tiered of not getting anywhere. The aim of postmodernism is to challenge modernism and make sense of the world of today and what aspects have changed in our media world due to the media saturation we are all exposed to each day.
In this essay, I will be talking about the Gorillaz, X-factor and The Only Way Is Essex and how they can be argued to be postmodern or not.
Why do
you consider them (Gorillaz, X-Factor, TOWIE) to be postmodern?
Gorillaz are a late 90s / early 2000 music group who have a fairly different approach to music and image identity. The gorillaz have an eclectic style in terms of their music and image as has a varied mix of music genres such as rock, reggae, hip-hop, R&B and electronica. Traditionally, in the modernist era, there wouldnt be such a variation or mixture of music genres like this and would only have the one style of genre for media texts, which is why gorillaz challenge this particular aspect of modernism as they have a bricolage of different music styles to appeal to a wider audience and ensure their music is alot more unique and varied.
The main aspect to Gorillaz outstanding identity is the virtual identities that have been constructed for the bands media image, ith individually constructed characters with their own separate/unique identities and personalities known as '2D', 'Noodle', 'Murdoc' and 'Russel'. The reason for this particular approach to the bands media image is due to the aim proposed by Damon Albarn to go against the traditional modernist aim of presenting the music artist/band identity and to not be all about the image and identity, but more so about the music style, 'Style over substance'. Albarn wanted to hide the real bands image behind these simulated characters of the band so that the audience would focus more on the music rather than the band image. However, I would say this statement is pretty contradictory because even though they were able to hide away the real band image pretty successfully, the cartoon characters still became a huge focus of the image identity, and it can be argued that the main focus of the band was this stylistic approach.This particular postmodern aspect is known as simulation/simulacra and hyperreality, originally proposed by Baudrillard. The development of technology and the advancement of media saturation has led to a world to be more 'hyperreal' and 'simulated' than ever and have led towards postmodern music artists such as the gorillaz! Against modernist traditional views of displaying the band as they are in their own image and playing their own music, Gorrilaz does the total opposite of the real band hiding behind these constructed, visual and hyperreal identies!
X-factor has become a particularly successful singing competion show in the United Kindom and the US, reaching a peak of 20 million viewers. It's aim is to search for a 'new star' which anyone from the public can audition for.
The X-factor can be argued to be postmodern for it's large 'active audience', the show allows the public to vote in for their favourite acts and this then enables the audience to be in 'control' or decide who goes through to the final. The active audience means that there is a new generation of 'pro-sumers' which means that people are now becoming the producers / inputting into media texts whilst consuming media texts also. Traditionally in the modernist era, the audience would be more passive and wouldn't have the same opportunity as today, where everything has become alot more technologically advancesd, such as ythe voting systems by home phone, text and online. This particular aspects means that the X-factor can be argued for being postmodern because the active audience and voting means that it challenges the traditional modernist views of passive audiences.
Nowadays, people aren't as concerned with authenticity or what is considered 'the real' Baudrillard argued that 'media presents a simulation of the world that is artifical and hyperreal'. The X-factor is packed full of hyperrealism, from the autocues / words presented to contestants, how the contestants are shown and said to be 'real' and 'authentic' people, presented on large screens on the show, to the viewers at home and even the contestants are constructed and presented to have a particular image and style. When watching the programme, you begin to notice how people of the public who auditioned get dragged up once they have shown potential, to be given a whole new personality, identity and image to sell to the audience. With flashing lights, confetti, spot lights, eye-catching costumes and back up singers/dancers it's clear to see how the 'style over substance' begins to take over. It is hard for an act or singer to become more successful and current without having and keeping up a good image to keep the public and fans interested. Contestants such as last years finalists 'Marcus Collins' and 'Little Mix' were all displayed on the programme to 'progress' into music stars and given the identity's suitable to them. Marcus Collins was given a late 1960s style, a nostalgia trip back in time, and was performing on a real plane surrounded by dolly birds in a pastiche of televisions Pan Am. Little Mix were given an image which are basically the same as exisiting girls bands such as 'Girls Aloud' and 'All Saints'. This can refer to postmodernist aspects such as 'Intertextuality' (creating references from existing media) and 'Briolage'. Using existing media texts/styles to make something new is used quite alot in postmodern society and leads towards Jameson's argument that 'stylistic innovation is no longer possible ... imitating dead styles' and similarly Derrida referred to the 'Deconstruction of media texts' and how they all seem to refer to something else. These aspects can be highlighted from the X-factor as the programme isn't innovative and it does just imitate and use dead styles, recycling! The real doesnt matter anymore, and simulations of the real thing can satisfy most people, such as the simulations from going to the live X-factor tours and recording what is displayed on the large screens. The technological enlargements of the small, but real representations of the person on stage! Unlike the modernist era, it can be argued it was more about the music rather than the image that was presented as they were more concerned about the meaning , which is why this particular aspect of the x-factor is postmodern.
The Only Way is Essex is a constructed 'reality' television show based in essex, showing 'real people' in certain situations'. It can be argued to be a postmodern programme as it reflects the typical conventions highlighted by postmodernism. The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) has aspects of intertextuality and stereotyping which appeals to the audience as it creates strong references to the 'typical' Essex men and women, where the men represent themselves as flash, arrogant and who try to be sexually prolific and the women who are obsessed with beauty treatments, the celebrity lifestyle and into men who are more 'style over substance'. The referencing to these stereotypes means that it can enable the audience to have an understanding of the text and therefore have an interest in it. Even the homosexual man in the programme can give the viewer an instant assumption of who / what he is as he follows the typical conventions/stereotype of a homosexual man, including his accent, the way he dresses and his style.The intertextuality is a postmodern style as it, unlike modernist texts, can allow as sense of humour, understanding or relation to the audience. The interesting thing I find about this product is that itself describing itself as a 'reality tv' show can be somewhat misleading. The programme argues that it is a reality show that replaces shows such as 'Big Brother' to show how people act, without the same boundaries as Big Brother. It can be argued that this particular aspect of the reality tv show does challenge modernist views as there wasn't a highly constructed reality tv show like this, as in postmodern times people are more interested in the insight into other people's exploited 'real' lives. TOWIE is a constructed reality show, but with this it can be argued to be postmodern because it is hard to distinguish this particular programme between the real and the simulated. The simulations can include how those on the programme have given themselves an image, more style over substance, by being into unauthetic tanning (fake tan), dressing themselves up with lots of makeup and accessories. I believe this doesn't represent reality and supports the postmodern aspect of 'hyperreality' and instead over emphasises on the small population who do dress or act like this. People at home may be misguided to see that this isn't reality but a simulation and hyperreality of what is represented on this show.
As well as being hyperreal, intertextual and simulated, the programme is extremely exploitative to women and in this programme they are displayed more as sex objects rather than what is considered a 'real' women in modernist times. Metanarrative such as the feminism ideology can react to this particular programme as it doesn't represent traditionally how women should be or presented!
How are these texts not postmodern? HELP.
Gorillaz not postmodern? - passive audience? still following traditional producer/consumer relationship?
Xfactor not postmodern? - genric conventions? genre inspired marketing?
TOWIE not postmodern? - passive audience?
Which
'forms and style conventions' of Traditional Media do they challenge?
To what
extent do you agree and disagree they do challenge?
Gorillaz are a late 90s / early 2000 music group who have a fairly different approach to music and image identity. The gorillaz have an eclectic style in terms of their music and image as has a varied mix of music genres such as rock, reggae, hip-hop, R&B and electronica. Traditionally, in the modernist era, there wouldnt be such a variation or mixture of music genres like this and would only have the one style of genre for media texts, which is why gorillaz challenge this particular aspect of modernism as they have a bricolage of different music styles to appeal to a wider audience and ensure their music is alot more unique and varied.
The main aspect to Gorillaz outstanding identity is the virtual identities that have been constructed for the bands media image, ith individually constructed characters with their own separate/unique identities and personalities known as '2D', 'Noodle', 'Murdoc' and 'Russel'. The reason for this particular approach to the bands media image is due to the aim proposed by Damon Albarn to go against the traditional modernist aim of presenting the music artist/band identity and to not be all about the image and identity, but more so about the music style, 'Style over substance'. Albarn wanted to hide the real bands image behind these simulated characters of the band so that the audience would focus more on the music rather than the band image. However, I would say this statement is pretty contradictory because even though they were able to hide away the real band image pretty successfully, the cartoon characters still became a huge focus of the image identity, and it can be argued that the main focus of the band was this stylistic approach.This particular postmodern aspect is known as simulation/simulacra and hyperreality, originally proposed by Baudrillard. The development of technology and the advancement of media saturation has led to a world to be more 'hyperreal' and 'simulated' than ever and have led towards postmodern music artists such as the gorillaz! Against modernist traditional views of displaying the band as they are in their own image and playing their own music, Gorrilaz does the total opposite of the real band hiding behind these constructed, visual and hyperreal identies!
X-factor has become a particularly successful singing competion show in the United Kindom and the US, reaching a peak of 20 million viewers. It's aim is to search for a 'new star' which anyone from the public can audition for.
The X-factor can be argued to be postmodern for it's large 'active audience', the show allows the public to vote in for their favourite acts and this then enables the audience to be in 'control' or decide who goes through to the final. The active audience means that there is a new generation of 'pro-sumers' which means that people are now becoming the producers / inputting into media texts whilst consuming media texts also. Traditionally in the modernist era, the audience would be more passive and wouldn't have the same opportunity as today, where everything has become alot more technologically advancesd, such as ythe voting systems by home phone, text and online. This particular aspects means that the X-factor can be argued for being postmodern because the active audience and voting means that it challenges the traditional modernist views of passive audiences.
Nowadays, people aren't as concerned with authenticity or what is considered 'the real' Baudrillard argued that 'media presents a simulation of the world that is artifical and hyperreal'. The X-factor is packed full of hyperrealism, from the autocues / words presented to contestants, how the contestants are shown and said to be 'real' and 'authentic' people, presented on large screens on the show, to the viewers at home and even the contestants are constructed and presented to have a particular image and style. When watching the programme, you begin to notice how people of the public who auditioned get dragged up once they have shown potential, to be given a whole new personality, identity and image to sell to the audience. With flashing lights, confetti, spot lights, eye-catching costumes and back up singers/dancers it's clear to see how the 'style over substance' begins to take over. It is hard for an act or singer to become more successful and current without having and keeping up a good image to keep the public and fans interested. Contestants such as last years finalists 'Marcus Collins' and 'Little Mix' were all displayed on the programme to 'progress' into music stars and given the identity's suitable to them. Marcus Collins was given a late 1960s style, a nostalgia trip back in time, and was performing on a real plane surrounded by dolly birds in a pastiche of televisions Pan Am. Little Mix were given an image which are basically the same as exisiting girls bands such as 'Girls Aloud' and 'All Saints'. This can refer to postmodernist aspects such as 'Intertextuality' (creating references from existing media) and 'Briolage'. Using existing media texts/styles to make something new is used quite alot in postmodern society and leads towards Jameson's argument that 'stylistic innovation is no longer possible ... imitating dead styles' and similarly Derrida referred to the 'Deconstruction of media texts' and how they all seem to refer to something else. These aspects can be highlighted from the X-factor as the programme isn't innovative and it does just imitate and use dead styles, recycling! The real doesnt matter anymore, and simulations of the real thing can satisfy most people, such as the simulations from going to the live X-factor tours and recording what is displayed on the large screens. The technological enlargements of the small, but real representations of the person on stage! Unlike the modernist era, it can be argued it was more about the music rather than the image that was presented as they were more concerned about the meaning , which is why this particular aspect of the x-factor is postmodern.
The Only Way is Essex is a constructed 'reality' television show based in essex, showing 'real people' in certain situations'. It can be argued to be a postmodern programme as it reflects the typical conventions highlighted by postmodernism. The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) has aspects of intertextuality and stereotyping which appeals to the audience as it creates strong references to the 'typical' Essex men and women, where the men represent themselves as flash, arrogant and who try to be sexually prolific and the women who are obsessed with beauty treatments, the celebrity lifestyle and into men who are more 'style over substance'. The referencing to these stereotypes means that it can enable the audience to have an understanding of the text and therefore have an interest in it. Even the homosexual man in the programme can give the viewer an instant assumption of who / what he is as he follows the typical conventions/stereotype of a homosexual man, including his accent, the way he dresses and his style.The intertextuality is a postmodern style as it, unlike modernist texts, can allow as sense of humour, understanding or relation to the audience. The interesting thing I find about this product is that itself describing itself as a 'reality tv' show can be somewhat misleading. The programme argues that it is a reality show that replaces shows such as 'Big Brother' to show how people act, without the same boundaries as Big Brother. It can be argued that this particular aspect of the reality tv show does challenge modernist views as there wasn't a highly constructed reality tv show like this, as in postmodern times people are more interested in the insight into other people's exploited 'real' lives. TOWIE is a constructed reality show, but with this it can be argued to be postmodern because it is hard to distinguish this particular programme between the real and the simulated. The simulations can include how those on the programme have given themselves an image, more style over substance, by being into unauthetic tanning (fake tan), dressing themselves up with lots of makeup and accessories. I believe this doesn't represent reality and supports the postmodern aspect of 'hyperreality' and instead over emphasises on the small population who do dress or act like this. People at home may be misguided to see that this isn't reality but a simulation and hyperreality of what is represented on this show.
As well as being hyperreal, intertextual and simulated, the programme is extremely exploitative to women and in this programme they are displayed more as sex objects rather than what is considered a 'real' women in modernist times. Metanarrative such as the feminism ideology can react to this particular programme as it doesn't represent traditionally how women should be or presented!
How are these texts not postmodern? HELP.
Gorillaz not postmodern? - passive audience? still following traditional producer/consumer relationship?
Xfactor not postmodern? - genric conventions? genre inspired marketing?
TOWIE not postmodern? - passive audience?
Conclusion
To what
extent does Gorillaz & Reality TV challenge traditional forms?
What
aspects do you see as influential in developing Media Futures - where is our
Media Culture headed?
In summary to the Gorillaz, The Only Way Is Essex and X-Factor, they have all been and still are pretty successful media products of the postmodernist era. With aspects of hyperreality, intertextuality, simulacra and hybridity highlighted within them all, it is clear to see that even though these may not be the most deep and meaningful examples of media texts that you get nowadays, it is clear to see that perhaps media texts with meaning don't necessarily have to have meaning to be popular. Everyone seems to be more encapsulated in the stylistic features and imagery that you see in the media today, with more advancements on style, technology, CGI and special effects but if a media product/text sells well, then who is to say whether it is a 'good' or 'bad' show. Today it is about the popularity, the style of the programme and the money it makes, rather than the traditional (modern) high culture taste. Aspects of postmodernism have and will continue to make a profound affect on shows being made today and in the future.
I think out media culture is headed towards more programmes like this where aspects of the audience being an active audience and having their
own virtual identities, like avatars or 'Mii's' where viewers will be able to collect their own social networking such as twitter and
facebook, where the avatar can speak for you and put across your
prefernces, likes and opinion (holding your own personality) - A
simulation and hyperreal state of that person. Other aspects I believe it would have in relation of postmodernism would include posting up own auditions, discussions and opinions via the social networking sites facebook and youtube aswell as on TV (active audience/prosumers) People can vote on others work or talent using technology/internet and being the prosumer! I can see technology such as web cameras being used alot more in the future where people can be on live tv regularly in the comfort of your own home! Shows are likely to be alot more media saturated in the future.
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