Postmodernism in Case Studies

Postmodern in Psychoville

Postmodernism in Psychoville Episode 4 from Aidan Cheng on Vimeo.

slideshow on postmodernism

http://www.slideshare.net/anniapple/postmodernism-1523222

PoMo Essay on Psychoville - By Aidan Cheng

Postmodern Case Study: BBC ‘Psychoville’ – Episode 4

‘Psychoville’ is a BBC dark comedy television serial, written by and starring Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton – the creators behind similar comedy ‘The League of Gentlemen’. ‘Psychoville’ series one focuses on an array of strange and some unnervingly yet comical, psychotic characters – each who have seemingly unlinked lives filled with odd occurrences and obscene situations – who are one day brought together due to their shared association with an unknown and unseen blackmailer. Unlike conventional comedies, ‘Psychoville’ blends the genres of horror, slasher movies and surreal comedy. As well as this, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, the creators – both play more than one of the main characters in the show, some of which are female characters. In ‘episode 4’ of series one of Psychoville, we follow the characters ‘David and Maureen’ directly after they strangle their fourth victim in his flat. Hilarity ensues after an inspector pays the pair a visit –mistaking David as the deceased victim. Both David and his mother attempt to hide the truth. The episode is homage to Hitchock’s ‘Rope’ – much of his work is a notable and key influence on the comedy.

Episode 4 prominently and deliberately uses pastiche, particularly of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rope’ 1948 and his masterpiece ‘Psycho’ 1960. The former is perhaps the episode’s source of inspiration. Frederic Jameson describes pastiche and parody as ‘the mimicry of other styles and particularly of the mannerisms and stylistic twitches of other styles.’  This can be said for Psychoville, which mirrors ‘Rope’ not only in subject matter but in camera angles, technicalities and mise en scene. The episode’s opening shot directly mirrors the opening shots of ‘Rope’, which include an establishing shot of the outdoors (it is Hammersmith, London in Psychoville rather than the US). This shot is then followed by a shot of a man being choked blue. The camera pulls out of this shot without cutting away, to reveal a medium shot of three figures – ‘David’ the man-child character in Psychoville, his dominatrix mother ‘Maureen’ who assists the murder with her marigold gloves and their unfortunate victim ‘Mr Pike’ who is being strangled with David’s tie. The audience are also revealed to the setting – what appears to be the living area of a small but high-class and antique-furnished apartment. This is a pastiche of the apartment setting of ‘Rope’. To the audience’s right is the kitchen, which can be viewed through a connecting window.  On the left is the front door, and behind the characters in the centre is a door which leads to the upper recesses of the apartment. Like ‘Rope’, the entire course of the episode is set in the one room – the living room – though action appears ‘off-screen or offstage’ as it were, from the other rooms. Like ‘Rope’ – famous for being shot in entirely one take, ‘Pyschoville Episode 4’ is completely shot in this manner, with the camera on a dolly track in order to provide a variety of movement and shots, without cutting away. Unlike most TV serials, this episode of Psychoville occurs in real-time. It is 30 minutes long, and the events of the episode are also the same length. It is edited therefore, in a realistic timeframe, rather than with the conventional and Modernist Continuity Editing of Hollywood. This episode deviates from the norm, electing to follow ‘Rope’s timeframe in which time passes accordingly, without scenes varying from night and day or from various locations at different times. The episode is riveted in that one location, during the 30 minutes of their murder. Another reference to ‘Rope’ is the concealment of Mr Pike’s body in the wooden chest in the centre of the room. Similarly, the murderers attempt to draw their visitor – the detective’s attention away from the chest. Furthermore, Hitchock’s ‘Psycho’ is also referenced multiple times. Towards the end the inspector declares that David is the murderer (unbeknownst to David and Maureen the inspector is actually an actor who thinks he is taking part in a role play). At this accusation, Maureen replies ‘don’t talk wet, he wouldn’t hurt a fly...’ – directly a quote from the end of ‘Psycho’. It is also notable, that the murdering pair are a mother-son duo – much like ‘Psycho’, albeit Norman Bates was actually one character with the alter-ego of his mother in that film.  

The episode also directly uses the soundtrack to ‘Psycho’ – made famous from the ‘shower scene’ in which the generic platinum blonde Hitchcockian character is stabbed to death. In Psychoville, however, the music accompanies the strangling of Mr Pike and the audience is fooled into thinking that the music is non-diegetic. However, it is soon revealed in a comedic way that the music is incidentally playing out from a radio in the room, coinciding with the murder.

Like other Postmodern texts such as ‘Blade Runner’ by Ridley Scott and the films of Tarantino, episode 4 of Psychoville is very much a hybrid of various genres. Primarily the series is a dark comedy thriller – which is core even in this episode. However, like ‘Blade Runner’, the episode contains many elements of the film noir genre. The inspector character is dressed in the manner of the trilby-hat-wearing and high-collared raincoat-donning police chiefs of the 1950s. He even carries with him a clichéd black briefcase. The episode also contains horror elements, particularly prominent when David advances on the inspector with a huge kitchen knife from behind him. The episode is shot in a very clichéd way at times, such as an over-the-shoulder medium two-shot of David and Maureen as they stare in horror at the sound of a knocking visitor on the front door. The episode is also a Christie-esque ‘whodunnit’ as the inspector is investigating a series of murders – though David and Maureen do not realise they are part of a roleplay and think he is genuinely investigating their murders from before. Having been created by Shearsmith and Pemberton, creators of ‘The League of Gentlemen’, the episode also self-references their creators previous project. The character of the actor playing a detective is Mark Gatiss – a fellow performer who collaborated significantly with them on their previous comedy. The big reveal of his cameo appearance when the door is opened to reveal him is a nod to the Shearsmith/Pemberton universe they have created.

Jean-Francis Lyotard a postmodern critic, describes the loss of moral relativism in postmodern works, and the ‘flattening of affect’ – also discussed by Jameson. Lyotard argues that postmodern texts do not abide my moral laws which have been established from conventions. E.g. the idea that the hero does not always win. This is true in the case of Psychoville, in fact our ‘heroes’ are a middle-aged man-child who lives with his mother and embark on a series of murders. The murder of Mr Pike in the episode are not only portrayed as a normal activity, the murders are made comedic by their handling of Maureen and David. After the strangling has been committed, Maureen exclaims ‘Well should I put the kettle on? I’m absolutely gaspin’!’ to which her son David replies; ‘so was he’ – indicating to the corpse in the chest. Flattening of affect and another postmodern element; ‘the identity-based struggle’ is also brought into the episode. When David is out of earshot, Maureen, believing the inspector to be a genuine law enforcer begins a heartfelt confession of the murders including the murder of her husband some years ago. The creators deceive the audience into thinking the scene is touching by playing non-diegetic, slow and mournful music. The emotional moment is then shattered by flattening of affect when discussing how her husband used to abuse her, Maureen states; ‘he used to beat me inspector... it’s what people did before they had tellies’. From this humorous comment, the tragic natures of her previous words have lost their emotional depth.

The postmodern technique bricolage is incorporated into the episode. The setting seems to be an earthy-coloured apartment belonging to a cultured person, through his antique furnishings. It is almost a Christie-esque who-dunnit setting – despite the fact it is set in present day. The idea of mixing high and low art to create a classless piece of art is also present. Maureen is played by Reece Shearsmith, as is the style of their comedy. Despite the fact Shearsmith is technically in drag, his performance cannot be deemed ‘trashy’ like the grotesque characters of Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Shearsmith’s performance is convincing, yet retains an element of the grotesque for comedic effect, however the audience could easily forget who is playing her. The use of wigs and make-up for the character can be deemed low art (such as the works of Little Britain creators) however, with the high-art nature of the Hithcockian episode, the episode becomes classless.

Baudrillard’s hypereality theory is less prominent in ‘Psychoville’, however there are elements of it. Though set in present day Britian, the series has almost missed the mark on normality. The characters portrayed by Shearsmith and Pemberton are strange and sometimes of opposite gender to their performers – yet this is all accepted in their world.

To conlude, Episode 4 of Psychoville is postmodern due to its blatant pastiche and homage to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, it’s unnerving and obscene subject matter which is flattened in affect through dark comedy. The episode works unconventionally in its narrative format, rejecting the usual continuity editing and the jumping of time. It also blends high and low art, creating a classless piece of television and contains references to Shearsmith and Pemberton’s previous work as well as successfully blending a mix of genres into a hybrid. 

Pomo pres on psych

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Why is ‘Blade Runner’ a postmodern text?

Why is ‘Blade Runner’ a postmodern text?

Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction movie ‘Blade Runner’ can be described as a postmodern text for many reasons. The film follows the ‘blade runner’ Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford), who is charged to ‘retire’ four ‘Replicants’ – manufactured human androids, made by the Victor Frankenstein-like Tyrell, in the year 2019. In this futuristic dystopia earth has expanded onto other worlds and megacorps promise a better life on ‘off world’ colonies. Its focus, mise en scene and plot can all be said to have postmodern motifs which strengthen this argument.

One of the most notable ‘postmodern’ motifs of the film is its general concept. The film essentially focuses on the plight of the Replicants – manufactured beings for corporate means. Not only are human Replicants featured, the dystopian world in which the film is set, depicts many life forms such as snakes and owls – which are fakes. It is even implied the main character Deckard is a Replicant himself, what with the cryptic origami unicorn at the end of the movie – which serves as a hint that Deckard’s earlier dream of a galloping unicorn had indeed been the handiwork of Tyrell, the creator. The concept of non-existence and fraudulent life is part of Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and simulation. Baudrillard argues that nothing is original and that we are borne to a world, filled with images which have lost meaning due to the fact they are representing images themselves. In Scott’s movie, the Replicants can be seen as an allegory to Baudrillard’s views.

The replicants are arguably an allegory to the postmodern belief that we exist in an age controlled and swamped with telecommunications and technology – as stated by Lyotard. Lyotard believed that cybernetics – the branch of technology associated with computers – was dominating society and the economy. This is proven in ‘Blade Runner’, with the Tyrell Corporation being a mighty business empire and responsible for much of humanity’s technology (including replicants), of which they have become dependent on.

Another postmodern element of the film is the use of Pastiche in its genre and mise en scene. Critics have acknowledged the strong blending of 1950s ‘film noir’ into the science fiction piece. This is reflected through much of the characters costumes – Deckard is dressed in a long brown overcoat and suit which is reminiscent of the detective characters of film noir. Other elements of film noir include the mid section of the film in which Deckard hunts down and stalks the remaining Replicants. The ‘chase’ sequence and his firearms is a clear throwback to the 50s.

Another example of pastiche in ‘Blade Runner’ is the use of architecture, particularly in the panoramic long shots of Los Angeles. The audience are shown Aztec-like pyramids and huge buildings crafted in an ancient sky amidst a futuristic, metropolis backdrop. The blending of ancient cultures with the future is unexplained and serves little purpose to the film, it is very much present for stylistic reasons – adhering to Jameson’s theory that postmodern texts are devoid of depth in meaning.

‘Blade Runner’ can also be argued to portray postmodernism at its worst. The dystopian setting of the film is very much linked with the despairing quality held by postmodernists – who are entirely cynical and negative about modern society – yet are fully accepting of it, likewise, humanity in ‘Blade Runner’ seem entirely engrossed in their faux/pollution-ridden world, that there is no hope of salvation. Other motifs seen in Postmodern texts is the use of sexism and racism and ‘Blade Runner’ very much adheres to both. The setting of the film portrays a world overcome with Asian influences – the downtown gritty under-city looks like a futuristic china town – with a blend of Asian cultures coexisting with LA. This can be associated with the late 20^th century western fears towards the rise of Asian economic superpowers such as Japan and Taiwan. The film, therefore, implies the victory of a cultural revolution – with the Asian cultures invading the current hegemonic whites. The film also depicts sexism through the excessive use of female nudity. Pris – a female replicant is a simple’ pleasure drone’ – manufactured for the sexual fulfilment of men, whilst Zora hides from the establishment by working in the grotty and avant-garde brothels in the under-city. The romantic interest of Deckard’s ‘Rachel’ is also revealed to be a Replicant. The level of unanimity of their ‘romance’ can be disputed – with Deckard forcing himself onto her sexually and commanding her response when asking if she loves him. This portrays the subjugation of women under a patriarchal society. Though the film displays these gender racial inequalities – it lacks much, if any comment on them. Rachel’s subjugation is merely an element of the film and holds little significance in the plot and storyline. Thus, the film acknowledges the existence of power struggles but in a nonchalant, quiet way.

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http://newleft.tumblr.com/post/445851066/lady-gagas-telephone-and-the-postmodern

Monday, 11 July 2011

Lady Gaga - Post-Modern Article

After watching the now-infamous video twice, I’m convinced that it is indicative of postmodernism in every sense of the term.
Pastiche. The video has it in spades. It references other forms of media (Tarantino, exploitation films, Thelma & Louise) left and right, while parodying none of them. This is because parody relies on an underlying normative standard, which postmodernism categorically rejects. Instead it merely shows the audience a barrage of media, almost a celebration of how clever the director is for cramming so many references into a single video.
Consumerism. The product placement is obvious, but it is not portrayed as humorous. The camera lingers too long on each product, and the video knows it, but it still manages to avoid parody. Rather, the video uses these consumer images as an integral part of its aesthetic without any comment on their social context.
Self-reference. The blatant product placement shows a self-awareness in the video, but this particular brand of ironic detachment harms the video’s ability to make any sort of overall message on its own. Instead it implies that celebrating consumer culture is fine as long as we’re appropriately ironic about it, but this is a largely unintended consequence of the video’s aesthetic.
Appropriation of identity-based struggle. Lady Gaga is interesting for turning the male gaze back on men, and for portraying women as subjects rather than objects in her videos (albeit still scantily-clad subjects). However, the resistance to power on Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s part is purely individual and brief (it’s very telling that Lady Gaga is bailed out of prison rather than escaping) Behind this initial layer of feminism there is still an individuated desire to become rich, given that Lady Gaga was saved from prison by money. She maintains her glamorous image inside and outside the prison’s walls, an implicit message that “excessive materialism is empowering to women, somehow,” as Alyx Vesey observed. Therefore her kind of feminism is integrated neatly into the agenda of neoliberals, who love to talk about glass ceilings being shattered while heaping disdain on poor women.
Incredulity towards metanarratives. Lyotard’s famous description of the postmodern condition applies even here, as it’s difficult to find an overall message or narrative in the video. There is a sequence of events interspersed with pop culture references and product placement, but little else.

Most works of postmodern culture incorporate the ethic of postmodern philosophy with even less critical engagement than postmodern philosophers themselves, and in so doing implicitly endorse the status quo. This video is no exception.

Genre - The Naked and Famous 'Young Blood'

'Young Blood' is a powerful story, told not through a direct narrative of events, but through a series of non-related shots of energy, violence and power. Each shot portrays a different action taken by a different youth, for example, the destruction of abandoned vehicles, or running through vast, open landscapes or leaping, frolicking in the sea.
It portrays youth as strong, energetic, full of zest and slightly destructive. It embodies youth's need to revitalise and live life rebelliously, without the caution of adults. The video is very pro-libertarian. The youth are shown enjoying a wild, care-free existence, running and tumbling through the rugged countryside and swimming naked in lakes - acts which are deemed inappropriate in a conservative society. Little hindrance is given to materialism and wealth, quite the contrary, with the video displaying shots of mountain ranges, forests, rivers, junkyards - places of adventure rather than Western skyscrapers and commerce. It actually takes the image of an image-caring, consumer-heavy teenage population and literally smashes it to pieces.
Rather than Marxist, the video is more anti-Capitalist and is very much targeted toward a young, teenage audience who experience these rebellious, frenzied spells. Certain images are repeated, such as the imagery of blood to portray this free, fearless nature of youth - unafraid of harm. As well as this, there are repeated shots of fireworks and sparklers. These portray how dynamic and bright youth can be, in balance with their untamed and uncontrolled image (as seen with shots of teenagers crashing down on the bonnets of cars). They also fizz and whir about along with the impassioned drumbeats and chords of the song.
The band can be seen in the video, but are not particularly glorified, they are shot individually and in the same manner as any other actor in the video - though the female and male leads hold their gaze longer with the camera.
With no real power struggle except the struggle of power between youth and authority, there are still however, some inequalities in gender. From a feminist perspective it must be noted most of the more violent acts, such as throwing and smashing with blunt objects seem to be done by men. Females are given the activities of kite-flying and tree-climbing, though are also seen bounding and running. Perhaps even for teenagers, an image of a girl, tearing up her environment is ugly and a removal of her appealing femininity.
Overall, the video is one of energy and zest and empowering to a teenage audience. Sympathetically, it taps into their teenage angst and hormonal fury and provides them with an idyllic world, lit in such high key, that it is almost over-exposed (so as to create a dream-like effect) - a world without rules or boundaries.

Blur 'The Universal'

Blur front-man Damon Albarn takes on the role of the anti-hero Alex DeLarge in the ‘A Clockwork Orange’ reference-ridden music video of ‘The Universal’. The narrative is ambiguous; we are subjected to a series of separate characters that are actually satirical representations of what a dystopian future might look like (whilst throwing the nod to Kubrick at almost every shot). Te video reaches a climax as each character’s situation becomes more and more obscene and controversial. The theme of voyeurism and the female body is thick, with shots of women submitting themselves as sexual imagery and playthings to hungry men. These storylines follows an interweaving narrative. They are intercut with live performance of the band in the setting of the white-washed, padded-cell-like bar, surreal images in the style of Warhol and shots of emotionless looking people on a council estate looking reverently up at a giant golf-ball like object which has speakers and a camera lens.  The enigma code of the video is what this object’s purpose is. All conversations are seen but not heard, some are subtitled but the audience is left to wonder what mysterious and horrific truth the priest character left with his drinking companion. The video is more or less real-time, the audience being somewhat omniscient, provided a soundless view of each of the bar’s customers.

Reorganisation

The blog has been reorganised into different pages. The media key concepts have been placed in pairs for each page. I have also created a YouTube account for specific purposes of G325 and a video has been made available for Genre theory.