Neoprimitivism: the new era of -ism

Okay so I was doing some research on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland for my chosen case study when I found an article talking about what comes after Postmodernism. It's actually quite interesting so I thought i might put up the link. If you want to check out the blog the URL is http://www.whatcomesafterpostmodern.com/apps/blog/

But as for the article I'll past some of it on and leave a link to the rest of it on the culture blog here it is :

IN SEARCH OF THE NEOPRIMITIVE, Part One

Kimberly Pratt, December 2010  If members of the "civilized world" are to survive and not to perish—either way taking the rest of the world along with with us—we must come to consciously understand what we used to know but have almost forgotten, and what many of the peoples who have almost-been-destroyed still mostly remember. And, even more importantly, we must all practice it.  If the modern is, literally, “the new,” and the postmodern is, literally, “the after-new,” then where are we to go from here?   At worst, we seem to have painted ourselves into a semantical corner—at least by the standards of logic and reason that have come to define Western Civilization since Descartes established the basis for modern science in the 1500s (effectively dividing mind-body-spirit for the remainder of the millennium), and the modern paradigm began to dominate most other aspects of an increasingly dominant Western culture around the early 1800s.  At best, however, this quandary suggests an opportunity to develop and apply a new method of reasoning that will both help define, and itself represent, the characteristics of the next great intellectual epoch, which apparently is already upon us.

∞

Read more on this article at:  http://www.whatcomesafterpostmodern.com/searchofneoprimitive.htm

Postmodern Poem

Essay question

Discuss two or more Postmodern texts and why you would give them this label

Charles Jencks was an architectural theorist who is credited with inventing the term Postmodernism. Perhaps one of the most difficult –isms to define Postmodernism can be described as a n umbrella term with a vast spectrum of meanings. The most obvious being that it stems from Modernism, literally translating to ‘after now’ or after modernism.  One of my favorite definitions of Postmodernism is that it is in fact an attitude rather than a movement. It’s something to be expressed rather than theorized about.  Over the years many artists have tried to emanate the Postmodern attitude within their work. Lady gaga is, arguably, one of such artists.

Her song Telephone was one of her most critically acclaimed successes, her 6^th consecutive number one on the Pop songs chart in 2009. The music video is perhaps widely known for the singer’s brash costumes and parody-like work nevertheless hundreds of essays have been written on the exploration of postmodernism within her work. The Video is extremely long for a conventional Music Video at 9:31 and therefore is actually considered to be a short film.  The opening sequence features Gaga walking through the female prison as some kind of celebrity. The leather jackets and bare minimum of clothes are worn and everyone appears to be dancing are all suggestive themes more commonly related to Exploitive/Blue films. This mocks the censorship boards as more and more music videos are being declared too outrageous and many have been banned in countries. The performances seen within the prison play into a sense of Hyperreality. The theory, first discussed by Baudrillard, claims the world at present is a composition of Simulacrum-models/copies of the originals. As an actual prison would require prison uniforms and strict discipline it appears that he may be right in this sense. The copy of the prison in the Music video is more or less an idealistic version of the highly glamorised prison, life perhaps even referencing the prison argument that inmates are given more comfort/luxuries than necessary.

The composition of the Music video relates to Goodwill’s suggestion of the Voyeuristic eye, in which women are treated objectively with shots lingering mainly on the breast and leg area as seen within the video. Pastiche is used heavily with the car referencing Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill –Pussy Wagon. The tone of the music video avoids the humour of parody and instead adopts an almost respectful tone as a way of paying homage to the famous director. The telephone headdress worn by Lady Gaga is a nod to acknowledging the highly materialistic society we live in, suggesting postmodernism truly is a ‘by-product of late capitalism’-Fredric Jameson.  One of the in-mates is also heard saying ‘see I told you she didn’t have a dick’, this references the fractured aspects of a Postmodern society where sexuality is no longer split between a number of different kinds rather than the traditionally two-split heterosexuality.

As in Telephone, the difference between the real and unreal, fiction and non-fiction is explored similarly in Run Lola Run, another Postmodern short film, directed by Tom Twyker and released in 1998. The subversive structure of Run Lola run defies the codes and conventions of a short-film and is used to emphasise on the Hyperreal aspects of the film. Time is shown to be a fickle yet important aspect of reality. The Butterfly effect demonstrates this through the change of events in each run as Lola acts differently, the events change in response to her actions e.g. Lola talks to the ambulance driver and he crashes into the sheet of glass. Lola’s life becomes a race against time, an impossible challenge; she must save Manni in 20 minutes by finding 100,000 Dutch Marks. The repetitive narrative structure is likened to that of a Video game by many critics from start to finish. The introduction is like the challenge given to the gamer at the start of a new level and people who Lola affects are like the obstacles put in place to prevent her from winning. The money bag signals the beginning of a new level and therefore gives Lola and Manni the chance to complete their goal in the form of a new ‘life’. Each Run becomes a simulation of the first realistic run, where she fails to succeed and they block out the mistakes of the previous level. In the second Run Lola learns from her mistakes and remembers how to use a gun-information she retains from her first attempt. Lola’s abnormal reserve of strength is almost a special power/ability bestowed upon avatars chosen by video-gamers. She manages to keep running for over 80+ minutes, highlighting the alternate reality within which she lives. In fact this point is especially stressed upon when the camera zooms into the TV Set showing Lola running down the stairs in animation form. The flashbacks and flash-forward shown reinforce the ‘mistrust and suspicion’ with which Postmodernism views meta-narratives, hence the relaying of changes within each person’s life during the changed runs.

In general Lady gaga appears more relevant to current media topics, whereas Run Lola Run represents Postmodernism as applied to a certain time period. Lady Gaga’s approach to a postmodern text requires explicit, complicated intertextual references whereas Run Lola Run relies more heavily on Reception theories forcing the audience to think deeply and philosophically in order to understand its narrative.

Postmodernism or Modernism which is the better -ism?

Okay so here's my mini speech for Mr.Daley on Postmodernism, Modernism and which one I prefer.

Research on Jean Baudrillard...

So Mr Daley asked us to do a little research on a theorist of our choice me and Pav chose Baudrillard here's our video...

Genre Analysis of Katy Perry's Last Friday Night

—Genre as applied to Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night is quite self-explanatory. Genre in itself is a historical concept which has been utilised since the ancient Greeks “Greek literature was divided into well-defined literary genres” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_literature.

—However Genre has evolved substantially since then and now depends on the various media it applies to. In Pop Music Videos  Intertextuality is well-used and Katy Perry's music video is no different as it makes reference to Rebecca Black’s song Friday and the commonly used phrase ‘TGIF’

 —Katy Perry is a Pop singer; therefore the Genre of this music video is also Pop. The Pop page on Wikipedia says that “‘pop music’ may be used to describe a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll”. This is true of the Music video as the classic American-teen house party stereotype is fulfilled strongly throughout this video. Almost all the characters within this video are teenagers apart from Katy’s parent and her ‘uncle’ Kenny.

 —Goodwin’s theory on Music Video Genre is also satisfied on more than one point. Firstly there is a correlation between the screen visuals, the music and the lyrics and this makes the song very straightforward, applicable to teenagers/young people (the target audience) and therefore easy to understand unlike Indie or Rock bands which focus entirely on performance and have hidden ‘deep’ meanings within their songs.

—Secondly, the colours theme and concept of the music video are highly relatable to the pop genre as it always centers on young people having a good time partying or going out and meeting other young people. Voyeuristic treatment of the female body is openly explicit as a part of society’s ideology in this video as the ‘jock’ squeezes Kathy’s bum. Close-ups of the female body are very explicit as it has become a well-known part of Musical genre.

Analysis of a Music Video using Key Terminolgy

The Music video Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) by Katy Perry utilises, Flashbacks, Dream sequences and Different POVs in order to fully convey the complications of teenage relationships. The Music video has a clip before and after the actual music video in order to provide insight/context to the video's narrative/story. The narrative itself is told in a retrospective manner, similar to an Episodic narrative, as the main character 'Kathy' re-lives the events of the previous night.

Katy’s character is the stereotypical geek who goes through an amazing makeover allowing her to gain the attention of her ‘Jock super-crush’, thus following elements of an American teen-romance, this establishes the Disequilibrium. The 'Geeky' boy is in love with Katy and at the end of the narrative, as is the typical cliché; he turns out to be the better option for her hence the restoration of a new equilibrium, in the ending clip, much similar to the first.

The Dream sequences are told from his POV with the costumes emphasising their positions for comedic effect, whereas the rest of the video is told from Katy’s perspective.  The memorable and well-known American teen party-next-door atmosphere is satisfied in the form of Rebecca Black who takes on the role of the ‘popular girl’ who using Propp’s Character theory serves as the Donor, Helper and the Dispatcher. However in reference to Goffman's character theory she would be named more appropriately as a 'Deuteragonist' (secondary character).

The constant Media references within the video work as forms of Intertextuality; Black’s song 'Friday' has been named one of the worst songs and the term T.G.I.F is a world-renowned phrase/abbreviation for 'Thank God Its Friday'. The Music Video will serve as a means to raise awareness of both artists, as well as boost the sales of their music individually.

Reorganisation/Re-naming of Posts

Alot of changes have been made to my blog recently, so if you're wondering what's going on then I think this should explain it :) I have managed to categorise each post by the labels so if you want to find something its there on the right-handside>>>
Next I have changed the names of some of my posts because I have added more things which no longer make the title relevant. That's about it but if there are any problems concerning where posts are let me know and I'll let you know :)

Analysis of my AS Coursework...

Digital Technology

"A branch of knowledge which deals with and leads to the possible use of any electronic devices that can be used to undertake tasks such as recording a film, editing film, taking photos or playing music"
In application to my AS Media Coursework Digital technology for me, was the use of various cameras and software which allowed me to complete my coursework. To begin with, I used a SLR Camera with studio lighting to increase the quality of my images. These were then edited on Adobe Photoshop. Next I used an Autocue and Greenscreen in the production of my Planning Documentary this was edited and produced in Adobe Premier and Aftereffects. I also burned my coursework onto a DVD with the help of Adobe Encore.

Research and planning

 This is the stage used to gather information on your chosen topic of research. The planning stage is used to help you organise thoughts and ideas into a manageable format thus allowing you to utilise them in a sensible and effective manner.

My research and planning stage for my coursework is quite detailed and this helped me to keep ahead of the ‘curfews’ I had set myself. I followed the styles and genre of articles favoured by music magazines I wished to emanate. For example I looked especially at the American music magazine Billboard. Billboard I found was the most long lasting and most successful music magazine in America (over 100 years old). It covered all genres of music and this was what I wanted my magazine to be like. The more research I did the more I could apply to my coursework to make it look life-like and professional.

Skills Development:

The improvement or increase of one’s personal skills or achievements.In my AS Coursework I made a huge jump in my skills development as my skills at GCSE were still very basic. At the beginning of our AS project we made our preliminary tasks and in this my basic skills are clearly displayed. My final coursework conveys how my technical abilities improved e.g I can now produce and edit a video using premier and after effects.

Creativity

Creativity is a mental process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the existing ideas or concepts, fuelled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity

For my preliminary task I displayed creative ability through my front cover. I took a photograph of myself reflected in a mirror. I had a feeling that the photographic results would in fact be quite good, as Frank Capra once said ‘A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.’  This befitted the main article as it fit in with the context of the article as well as the main protagonist.

This definition is true of my creative process in creating my AS Media Coursework as I used my own ideas as well as existing ideas to help me form the basis of my magazine. For example I may have thought of the colour scheme, model and the props and costumes I used in my magazine but I would have been influenced by unconsciously through my knowledge of semiotics. I also used my conscious insight to use ideas from other magazines and their articles which were similar to the magazine I wished to emanate.

Intertextuality

In a text, implied references to or implied influences from another text. This concept allows a reader to make links between genres, and to see how themes, plot, etc. may develop or change in relation or in light of that other text. http://people.virginia.edu/~jrw3k/Front%20Pages/Critical%20Vocabulary.htm

Intertextuality has, as critic William Irwin says, “Come to have almost as many meanings as users, from those faithful to Kristeva’s original vision to those who simply use it as a stylish way of talking about allusion and influence”. The term is relatively new and was first coined by Julia Kristeva in 1966, it was an attempt made by her to combine the study of semiotics (signs and symbols) with dialogism (study of multiple meanings in texts and words).

In my AS Coursework I used Intertextuality by referencing different artists, eras and genres of music. This was important as my coursework was made to emanate the experience of a music magazine; with magazines being perhaps one of the most popular form of Intertextuality. It references beauty products, current events, as well as social events, physical and cyber, such as facebook, myspace, music festivals and music concerts.

 

My AS Media Magazine Coursework

 Here are the images of my AS Coursework which i produced in relation to Music Magazines. I created a Front Cover, Contents page and two Double Page Spreads. All of the images were taken and edited by myself with the very much appreciated help of my teachers :)




Music Magazine Front Cover
Name of magazine: Campaign



Music Magazine Contents Page



Opening Double Page Spread (1)



Main Double Page Spread

Ideology is...

"The ideas and manner of thinking characteristic of a group, social class, or individual."

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=ideology&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=rPgHTt_lFMyz8QO5mLWLAg&sqi=2&ved=0CBwQkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=a8a55e593a51cf94&biw=1072&bih=479

The ideals or thoughts of an individual, or even a whole society, are collectively known as the Ideologies it holds. These thoughts hold a great influence in the way a society functions everyday, for example within the Western society many people believe in sex before marriage and this is duly portrayed through the media in the form of Books, Magazines, Music videos, TV programmes and Film. In the Eastern society they do not follow the same Ideology therefore, the Media Industry must take this into account when creating a media product for them.

Narrative is...

Genre

A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=genre&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=YCQGToiyI4LX8gO_xszLDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=a8a55e593a51cf94&biw=1072&bih=455

The Term Genre is a French word meaning ‘type’ and was initially used to specify a form of Art and/or Literature. Media Theorists Shepherds and Watters said that Genre provides a means of ‘recognising similarities even in the midst of great diversity’. As Media and Media technology evolves so does the scope for different Genres. This belief was backed by Ericksson in 1997 as he believed that the Evolution of media can also evolve Genre. Yates and Orlikowski came to the conclusion in 1998 that Genres are produced, reproduced and changed over time. For example 50 years ago the Genres available to the Film Industry were quite limited; Romance, Action, Horror and Musicals were the main Genres applied to movies at the time. However we now have a mixture of Genres to choose from such as Animation, RomComs and Sci-fi. Subgenres such as Zombcoms (Shaun of the dead) are still in the early stages of evolution and are expected to become genres of their own in times to come.

The same theory can be applied to music genres and fashions, where particular Genres/Styles are modified thus leading to their own classification e.g. in Music Hip-hop, Rap and R n B. Therefore it may be concluded that the evolution of a Genre is a continuously modifying process which will probably continue until the end of time or Media… whichever comes first J

Any quotes from this post were found from the website below

http://tesugen.com/archives/05/03/genre-theory-notes 

Here is a video from YouTube which explains well-known Genres using popular thoughts/stereotypes/symbols/connotations. Enjoy!

Representation is...

Representation: The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as being of a certain nature
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=representation&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=HJ8BTvuALJOwhAeDzYCpAg&ved=0CBwQkQ4&biw=1045&bih=719
I found this definition on Google dictionary, and it explains representation in a nutshell. The media industry is full of examples of representations; the most common form being stereotypes. Stereotypes are a huge influence in the way the public view each other and themselves. For example the ideal male/female stereotypes can put pressure on an individual to convey themselves in a similar manner e.g. Men- tall, strong and built. Women- skinny, big lips, big eyes, long hair etc
In past and present times many representations of people have lead to controversy. Below is an image depicting black people, it makes many references to racial/derogatory comments made towards the black race. For example the lips have been grossly enlarged as this was used as an insult to their physical features. In fact the image was deemed to be so derogatory that it was banned in some parts of America.

An Audience is...

Audience: One of the key elements in the Key Concepts of Media, these are the consumers for whom the product is made for or targeted at.

The Hypodermic needle Theory, Magic Bullet and Reception Theory are all used to describe the ways in which an audience requires, uses and responds to a media product.

The Hypodermic Needle Theory: this theory suggests that the audience need and require a continued source of media and absorb whatever they are told. The metaphor of a needle is used to describe the audience as passive willingly absorb the information ‘injected’ into then by the needle (media).

The Magic Bullet: This theory revolves around the metaphor of the media using their media ‘guns’ to shoot ‘magic bullets’ containing media information directly into their heads.

Unlike the former theories the reception theory contradicts the ways an audience may react.

The Reception theory: This theory suggests that the audience is far more active than suggested in the Hypodermic needle theory and the magic bullet. Instead, a member of the audience may look at a piece of media and actively select which piece of information they choose to believe and not to believe. The audience member will interpret the media in their own individual manner based on their own intellect, culture, education and social preferences.

New Definitions......

Hyperreality: used in semiotics and postmodern philosophy Hyperreality is used to describe a hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy. Most examples of this can be seen in modern-day films such as Tron Legacy (2010).

Fragmentation of self/identity: the deterioration of individual/original beings,ideas or things ina culture/group/civilisation leading to the general unification of their beliefs,thoughts, idolofies and interests.It may be argued that in the current day and age there is a huge fragmentation of self/identity as people all have similar thoughts and ideas and dress the sam as well. There is no such thing as originality as it is simply the recycling of old ideas with new labels.

Fragmentation of Narrative: the deterioration of original storylines/concepts for books, Movies, Songs, Music videos and TV programmes.This leads to the repetition in storylines and concepts with no new material rendering audiences incapable of utilising old media ideas.At the moment there is a worry that the media industry has run out of new ideas and thus it leaves them prone to repeating classical cliche topics. For example all Romantic narratives follow the concept of girl meets boy, guy likes girl, girl likes guy, they have a problem, they break up... and so on. Each medium tries to put their own variation on the concept to make it original. At the moment there is a huge increase in novel/comic stories being used in cinema e.g Captain America, Thor, The Harry Potter Series, The Twilight Series.



Identity

Identity is...
A number of factors that make us...us! :)

In Media the 'Identity' of a person is the result of the medias a person is exposed to throughout the duration of their lives. The Music, Fashion, TV programmes and Movies a person is exposed to allows them to develop their own ideas, thoughts and opinions which lead to the development of their own characteristic being. For example living in a Western world, the media you are exposed may lead to your sense of fashion being different to someone who lives in the Eastern world.

How to explain the meaning of MTV Style Editing?

What is MTV Style Editing?

The style of Editing used by the MTV has culminated an entirely seperate form of Editing which is specifically related to Reality TV Shows. The following screenshots briefly discuss some of the characteristics of MTV Style Editing.

MTV Style Editing is...



You can find this slideshow at the following URL-http://www.lisaray.net/Editing/Editing.html

In order to view the slides I have displayed on my blog, look at slides 15-20.

What is Postmodernism?

Postmodernism or Post-Modernism
Postmodernism has many definitions. Here is one I found online, the site URL has been listed below.

"Postmodernism is a late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism that represents a departure from modernism and has at its heart a general distrust of grand theories and ideologies as well as a problematical relationship with any notion of “art.” 

OR

"Any of a number of trends or movements in the arts and literature developing in the 1970s in reaction to or rejection of the dogma, principles, or practices of established modernism, especially a movement in architecture and the decorative arts running counter to the practice and influence of the International Style and encouraging the use of elements from historical vernacular styles and often playful illusion, decoration, and complexity."





 In the simplest of terms, Postmodernism was, and still is, any form of thought or idea which aims to question and criticise those ideas and thoughts which stem from Modernism.

http://www.google.com/dictionary?langpair=en%7Cen&q=postmodernism&hl=en&aq=f
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/postmodernism