Critical Perspectives - Dissertation Proposal OGR

Dissertation Presentation - Final by Jennifer Ball on Scribd

The Cone of Cogency

The Cone of Cogency

Dissertation Proposal - Presentation

How Can Art Benefit Our Mental Health by Jennifer Ball on Scribd

5 Reasons Why the film Dancer in the Dark (2001) is Postmodern

Hyperrealism - The film constantly switches from fantasy to reality. Especially when the main character, Selma begins to daydream about being in her own musical. Selma imagines a more fairer and better world, compared to the life that she is living.

Intertextuality - Its a musical within a musical. The film references other films. For example Selma is playing the lead role in The Sound Of Music, she not only sings these songs in rehearsal but also in other parts of the film.

Appropriation - Selma sings "My Favourite Things" from the sound of music. She gives the song a new context by singing it from her prison cell.

Fragmented - the narrative is broken into many different parts, we get to see the story from each characters perspective.

Deconstructs - it doesn't fulfill your expectations of a musical. Most musicals have a happy ending but this one ends with the main character dying!

Postmodern Definitions - Week 8

Hyperrealism - when reality and fiction are blended together. Until you are unable to tell the difference between what is "real" and what is not.

Simulacra - a sign that no longer has relation to reality.

Simulation - a representation of something that replaces the "real."

Fake News - a type of journalism which exaggerates or misrepresents its news stories. This deceives the public, as they think they're finding out the truth. Hence it being called "Fake News."

Donald Trump's thoughts on "Fake News".....

Postmodern Definitions - Week 7

Metafiction - this is when the genre of fiction knowingly reflects upon its own nature, characteristics and modes of production.

Intertextuality - when two similar texts combine. For example in the Lego Movie when characters such as Gandolph, Superman and Robin etc... from different films meet up (see video below).



Mise - en - abyme - like two mirrors put together, an infinite reproduction of one image.

The Fourth Wall - this is the camera screen that acts as a wall between the actors and viewers. For example the fourth wall can be crossed or broken when an actor looks directly at the camera lens and addresses the audience. This is seen in the film Funny Games, when Paul speaks to the audience: 

5 Reasons Why Funny Games is Postmodern

Funny Games

Irony - At the beginning the film there is an ironic contrast between what the audience can see and hear. For example the family are happily and calmly driving to there holiday home, with classical music being played in the car. However the music suddenly switches to loud punk and becomes non - diegetic sound which doesn't relate to whats going on in the scene. The family are unaware of this change in music genre, almost like its outside of "their world." Perhaps it was used to foreshadow the horror that was about to be experienced by this family.

Breaking the fourth wall - There are many occasions when the villain Paul breaks the fourth wall. One example is when he looks directly at the camera and asks the audience a question:
"What do you think? You think they stand a chance?" We learn very quickly that Paul has not only got control over the characters but also how the narrative of the film is played out too.

No Happy Ending  - Every character in the film dies apart from the villains. This is a frustrating and uncomfortable experience for the audience as they may not be used to an "un - happy" ending. They also drag out each death, rather than just killing them off at once. The villains Paul and Peter are doing this for sheer entertainment, just like a game show but with darker motives.

"What if" - There is one point in the film where a scene rewinds itself, not allowing Anna to kill Paul and Peter. This creates a "what if" quality. For example, what if the "good guys" defeated the "bad guys" and escaped? However, Paul doesn't want to give the audience what they want or any glimmer of hope. He does this by ignoring whats known as "normal", cinematic conventions.

Not dressed to play the part? Interestingly the bad guys in Funny Games are wearing white. The colour white would usually be used to signify purity and innocence. This is far from what Paul and Peter are. This breaks the "norm" of how we use certain colours to symbolize a characters role within a film.

Postmodern Definitions and Judith Butler - Week 6

Normativity - keeping with the norm and what is believed as the correct standards of behavior in society.

Binary Opposition - for example Male/female or Straight/gay. One of the terms has power and control over the other. This creates an unfair, cultural bias.

Deconstruction - means to dismantle or to re-inscribe. It becomes unstable and undecidable. Seeks to problematise all notions of knowledge and undermines all well ordered structures.

Differance -  the difference and contrast between something or someone.

Reinscribe - to rename or make something new.

Cognitive dissonance -  an inconsistency of  thoughts, beliefs or attitudes.

Judith Butler - Questions and deconstructs gender roles and stereotypes created by our culture. Judith explains how gender norms are culturally formed by society. She believes that the world acts out these gender roles as a "cultural performance."  Our biology has been manipulated to a set of beliefs and standards of how females and males should act and behave. If anyone changes, re - creates or breaks down these ideologies it can become uncomfortable or even shocking for some people. For example Conchita Wurst. This was a man dressed as a women, with a beard. Who won the Eurovision Song Contest. This could have been confusing for people as they couldn't place Conchita in a particular box or category: male or female? Or just simply neither!

"No one is really a gender from the start. I know its controversial. But that's my claim."
- Judith Butler

5 Reasons why Moulin Rouge is Postmodern

Pastiche - The film is basically a mash - up of various love songs. Its known to be the "Romantic Pastiche Jukebox." Featuring songs such as Your Song, One day i'll fly away, Lady Marmalade and the list goes on!

Appropriation - the film takes various songs and gives them a new meaning to tell its own story. For example they use "The Sound of Music" in the musical that the characters are creating called "Spectacular, Spectacular."

Magic Realism - Although parts of the film involve realism it does have some hyper - real and fantastical moments. For example the singing moon or green fairy. The film also uses music that was written about 70 years after the time period the film is actually set in.

Intertextuality - the film conveys popular culture by playing pop music from artists such as David Bowie and Madonna. The elephant scene between the two lovers involves a medley of popular love songs. The film is also a story within a story and musical within a musical. Both having the same narrative.

Parody - The film has a lot of comedic moments that imitate the musical genre. There is a "playfulness" and melodramatic quality through out the entirety of the film.

Postmodern Definitions - Week 5

The Canon - Cultural products accepted as superior, most meaningful, significant and better.

DWEMs - Dead White European Male, dominant in literature. Liked by critiques as they are DWEMs too.

Phallocentricism - A belief that centers around the male point of view and the dominance of the male sex.

Eurocentricism - Interpreting non-european societies through a European/Western perspective.

Postcolonialism - Controlling and placing a set of rules or values on a native society.

Multiculturalism - Supporting the diversity of multi - ethnic groups in society.

Feminism - Wanting equality between both women and men.

5 reasons why the film Scream is Postmodern

Pastiche - it replicates the movie plot of a slasher film. It follows the same formula of films from that genre.

Parody - Although it takes on this formula it almost makes a mockery of slasher films for being too predictable. For example the main character Sidney Prescott even says this about slasher films "Some stupid killer stalking some big - breasted girl who cant act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. Its insulting." What she doesn't realize is that shes about to reenact that movie genre.

Appropriation - taking a piece of art work and giving it a new meaning. The evil villain in this film was named after a rubber Halloween mask, which was originally inspired by the Edvard Munch painting called "The Scream."

Scream Mask and "The Scream" by Edvard Munch

High and Low Culture - Craven has taken a massed produced and low cultured item (the rubber mask) that originated from a high cultured piece of art work and re-imagines this to create a slasher film. 


Intertextuality - the film references a lot of other movies from the Horror genre. Especially when the characters are discussing about horror movies themselves. Many of the characters, especially Randy Meeks understands the cliche of slasher films.

Postmodern Definitions and Sherri Levine

Avant - garde - this can be Modern art which presents a new style or method. Sometimes that may be provocative, abstract or even shocking.

Nostalgia -  something that provokes feelings from past memories.

Appropriation - copying or duplicating something but altering the meaning and context of it.

Pastiche - imitating a someones work. For example a piece of art or film genre.

Parody - for example, imitating a movie scene but exaggerating certain parts for a comedic effect.

Irony - using words or images to create something different to its actual meaning. Usually done to create a humorous effect.

Ideology - a system of beliefs and ideals formed by society.

Genre - for example a particular movie style or category.

Sherrie Levine - is an American painter, photographer and conceptual artist. She takes existing art and duplicates it. Forming her own critique around it.  She particularly uses male artist's work, for instance the "Fountain" by Marcel Duchamp.  This is done to make a point about how Female artists are undervalued for their work though out art history. I guess you could say that her art work is an example of Appropriation.

Sherrie Levine - Fountain (after Marcel Duchamp)

Postmodern Definitions

Metanarrative - Are large scale theories and philosophies. For example religion and art.

Essentialism - George Lakoff summarizes Aristotle's view: "those properties that make the thing what it is, and without which it would be not that kind of thing."

Utopian - Moving forwards to achieve an ideal and "perfect" society.

Axiomatic - Something that is completely truthful and unquestionable

Dystopian - Meaning the opposite of "Utopian." An unpleasant or bad place.

Scepticism - Having a doubtful attitude towards the truth of something.

Pluralism - Allowing a variety of groups to function as one society. Working together despite cultural differences.

5 Reasons Why Mullholland Drive is Postmodern

1. Pastiche - The film starts off imitating the Hollywood genre and style. For example young Betty travels from Ontario and moves to Hollywood in the hope of becoming a famous actress.

2. Hyper Reality - You could say that Dianne tries to create a more desirable world for herself. She creates a new identity letting her escape into her own fantasy. She imagines herself as a talented actress, who has fallen in love.

3. Time bending - The film flips from the present to the past, although not in a time travel sense. This is all supposedly happening in Dianne's head making it difficult to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

4. Non - Linear Narrative - There's not one story but a group of stories put together, which don't necessarily link with each other. 

5. Fragmented - The film starts with the typical Hollywood narrative, however as the film progresses the story becomes more broken and difficult to follow.

Postmodern Definitions

Modernity - keeping to a contemporary culture, going with the modern.

Structuralism - is looking for structures underneath cultures and behaviors.

Ahistorical - means that it cannot date, it remains outside of history. You could say that its "timeless."

Irreducible - cannot be reduced anymore or simplified.

Objective - outside the personal experience.

Transparent - Something "see through" or trustworthy. A modern solution that brings light to society. Uncovering mysteries of the world.

Universal - understood by everyone. For example Maths is a "universal language"

Definitive - its finished, they're no more versions.

Postructuralism - came after structuralism. It challenges structuralism, disagreeing with "one size fits all."

Reflexivity - a more effective analysis, a non biased opinion.

The Unreliable Narrator - was first used by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. Meaning an untrustworthy or unpredictable author. Sometimes the narrator wont give away all the information away, leaving the audience with many questions.

The Enlightenment Project - 1668 - 1789 This began when people stopped looking to God and started finding their own truths through science and the universe around them. Known as the "age of enlightenment." This links to modernity as it was a modern way of thinking, bringing new ideas to a traditional culture.

5 Reasons Why The film Inception is Postmodern

Film Poster

Hyper Reality - in the film each of the characters enter each others dreams. In these dreams the characters bend reality to their ways and desires.

Dreaming

Intertextuality - During the film the Penrose Staircase is shown. This is known as the impossible staircase because it never ends. The architects can create what ever they can imagine within the dream. There is also another example of Intertextuality, when Ariadne stands in front of mirror that shows her reflection an infinite amount of times. The film is displaying how many worlds can reflect off just one world.

The Impossible Staircase

Time Bending - The film has a "what if" quality to it, making us ask many questions. For example "what if we were able to invade peoples dreams?", "would it be right to do this?" or "would I prefer hyper reality or just reality?"

Fragmented - the film has many disjointed and broken narratives, which can make the film confusing and uncomfortable. Very different to the Hollywood narrative that we are used to.

Simulation - many of the dreams would mimic memories from the characters past.

Postmodern Definitions

High Modernism - is a form of Modernism, relating to whats known as the 'modern era.' However High Modernism focuses on the improvement of science and technology to benefit society.

Capitalist - a person of wealth who invests their money into a business, industry or trade.  Whilst following the principles of capitalism.

Disconnected - when the connection from something is broken, or being disengaged from reality.

Superabundance - meaning excessive amounts of something.

Simulacra - came from the French theorist Jean Baudrillard in 1981. He explores how signs and symbols effect society.

Superficiality -  being shallow or lacking in any depth or substance.

Fragmentary - when parts are incomplete, broken or disconnected.

Pop - something that is modern or popular within the mass media.

Eclectic Nostalgia - Eclectic means choosing from different sources. Nostalgia is feeling you get from remembering certain moments from the past.

Depthless - something that is superficial and shallow. Or even to deep to measure.

Flippant - having the wrong attitude in a serious setting in an attempt to be funny.

Pastiche - imitates various style and genres.

Bricolage - A piece of work involving a diverse range of mediums.

Aleatory - relying on unpredictable outcomes. Foe example rolling a Dice.

5 Reasons Why the film "Kill Bill" is Postmodern

Postmodern Elements

The film Kill Bill came out in 2003, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film is an Action/thriller. 

Figure 1

1. Pastiche - the film imitates many different styles and genres: Tarantino was inspired by the film Lady Snowblood, a Japanese film made in 1973. He copied many of the shots from this film. (See figure 2)

Figure 2

2. Intertextuality - Tarantino combines different genres by referencing Japanese Cinema, Horror, Western, Action and even scenes from his own films.

3. The Animated Scene - the character O - Ren Ishi's backstory is told within an animation, which is done in the style of Anime.This might be considered unusual in an Action/Thriller film, however seeing horror portrayed through this medium makes it new and different.

Figure 3

4. Hyper Reality - the film has many elements of hyperrealism. For example many of the fight scenes are really exaggerated to the point where people appear to defy the laws of gravity and fly through the air. The  excessive use of  blood that  spurts and spays out of the bodies is also a  little bit hard to believe!

Figure 4

5. The Music - most of the music played through out the film doesn't really match whats happening in the scene. For instance one of the fight scenes had pop music playing in the background and didn't appear to relate at all to what was on the screen

Tarantino breaks whats known as the "norm" in cinema, ie: the conventional, traditional portrayal of a horror story.  He does his own thing which does not conform to the stereotype of action thriller.