Presentation to the class on Family Guy - postmodernism

What is postmodernism?

A term used to designate a multitude of trends–in the arts, philosophy, religion, technology, and many other areas–that come after and deviate from the many 20th-cent. movements that constituted modernism. The term has become ubiquitous in contemporary discourse and has been employed as a catchall for various aspects of society, theory, and art. Widely debated with regard to its meaning and implications, postmodernism has also been said to relate to the culture of capitalism as it has developed since the 1960s. In general, the postmodern view is cool, ironic, and accepting of the fragmentation of contemporary existence. It tends to concentrate on surfaces rather than depths, to blur the distinctions between high and low culture, and as a whole to challenge a wide variety of traditional cultural values.

Postmodernism paragraph

The look which we are presented to through the use of costume is a revealing choice. Much like the song, the outfit which is shown is secretive and is showing a more reserved side to the singer. The silk of the over throw suggests that it is more of a seductive outfit as the inner colour of red indicates passion along with the colour of her hair and the background which allows the audience of the song to understand more about her and why this has been done. The choice of an over through also suggests that it is in her comfort zone. This can easily be questioned as she is exposing body parts people relate to as a sexual innuendo.. Closely linked with the lyrics “Pop pop pop that thing”.The same outfit worn throughout the song develops our understanding of the singer. At the start of the song it gives off the impression that she is slightly more reserved, but as the song goes on, we see a change in character and it is almost like she is revealing her actual character where she is inviting the audience of the song into an intimate scene within the music video.

Music videos became postmodernism because so many different people have different opinions on how music videos have been introduced and how they are being perceived. Everybody has their own opinion on music videos now and why they have been created due to people telling eachother about them, them being released on social networking sites, and for many people to view.

Singers have started to use new ways to attract the attention from new viewers/retaining viewers to their music videos. Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos which the audience should look out for:

Thought beats

Narrative and performance

The star image

Relation of visuals to songs

Technical aspects of a music video

In my music video which I am analysing, the 1 aspect which is involved in Andrew Goodwin’s theory is narrative and performance. All of the music video which we are presented with is highlighting the performance of the singer which is introducing the audience to her character and invites you in. The performance is very much linked with the costume and the lyrics which are heard, following the performance of the seductive lyrics. It is important for the song to have the performance that it does at it means it is going to maintain the interest of the audience for longer than a narrative song. People will begin to understand and gain their own interpretation of the song from this also.

The music video matches all of the 5 key aspects and basic conventions of Andrew Goodwin’s theory. It contains all of thought beats, star image, narrative and performance, relation of visuals to songs and technical aspects of a music video. It allows the audience of the video to gain their own interpretation of what is happening in the video.

Genre analysis

Music video analysis on genre of ‘Dip it low’ by Christina Milian

My post modern music video that I am analysing is ‘Dip it low’ by Christiana Milian. It uses many different ways to ensure that the genre of the song is being portrayed through the different body language used and the lyrics of the song. It is important for the genre to be conveyed through the body language of the actress/singer as it tells the story to the audience of the hidden meaning of the song. It is especially important for a song such as ‘Dip it low’ as it means that the personality is going to be viewed and the meaning behind the song is very much so hidden. The song reinforces particular representations such as race, stardom, stereotypes, gender and the tendency to reinforce dominating hegemonic values. The gender in this video is very much shown as the producer (Poli Paul) has purposely placed the star of the video in areas of the music video which constantly focuses on her. The seductive side of the video is also reflected of the gender of the actress/star. It is to be reinforced that it is a female and how she is being portrayed as the dominating character and how it can reflect the performance base of the video.

The female being portrayed as the dominating character also links with the performance as she is constantly being shown in a new appearance for the audience. The genre is the major factor within the video as the stardom can determine how the audience feel about it. The performance of the video also reminds the audience of what it is the song is about and that the hidden meaning. Furthermore, the genre of this video is R&B, stereotypically linking it with the younger target audience, causing them to relate to the music and then the artists. It is creating and meeting a audiences expectation from the genre, being presented with a performance for them to follow and understand.

Post modernism

Independant research 3

When listing the chracteristics of postmodernism, it is important to remember that postmodernists do not place their philosophy in a defined box or category. Their beliefs and practices are personal rather than being identifiable with a particular establishment or special interest group. The following principles appear elemental to postmodernists: There is no absolute truth - Postmodernists believe that the notion of truth is a contrived illusion, misused by people and special interest groups to gain power over others. Truth and error are synonymous - Facts, postmodernists claim, are too limiting to determine anything. Changing erratically, what is fact today can be false tomorrow. Self-conceptualization and rationalization - Traditional logic and objectivity are spurned by postmodernists. Preferring to rely on opinions rather than embrace facts, postmodernist spurn the scientific method. Traditional authority is false and corrupt - Postmodernists speak out against the constraints of religious morals and secular authority. They wage intellectual revolution to voice their concerns about traditional establishment. Ownership - They claim that collective ownership would most fairly administrate goods and services. Disillusionment with modernism - Postmodernists rue the unfulfilled promises of science, technology, government, and religion. Morality is personal - Believing ethics to be relative, postmodernists subject morality to personal opinion. They define morality as each person’s private code of ethics without the need to follow traditional values and rules. Globalization – Many postmodernists claim that national boundaries are a hindrance to human communication. Nationalism, they believe, causes wars. Therefore, postmodernists often propose internationalism and uniting separate countries. All religions are valid - Valuing inclusive faiths, postmodernists gravitate towards New Age religion. They denounce the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ as being the only way to God. Liberal ethics - Postmodernists defend the cause of feminists and homosexuals. Pro-environmentalism - Defending “Mother Earth,” postmodernists blame Western society for its destruction.

Independant research 3

Few terms in the contemporary critical lexicon have been as vociferously debated and as persistently unstable in meaning and use as postmodernism and its various avatars, such aspostmodernity. In spite of this instability, postmodernity may be defined as a broad category designating the culture that historically extends from the late 1960s to the early twenty-first century, and that is economically determined by postindustrial capitalism. Postmodernism would refer, more narrowly, to the characteristic intellectual and aesthetic currents and practices of that era, reflected, for example, in certain philosophical ideas or works of literature and art.

Independant research 2

Postmodernism is a complicated term, or set of ideas, one that has only emerged as an area of academic study since the mid-1980s. Postmodernism is hard to define, because it is a concept that appears in a wide variety of disciplines or areas of study, including art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communications, fashion, and technology. It's hard to locate it temporally or historically, because it's not clear exactly when postmodernism begins.

Specification link

http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-a-level-gce-media-studies-h140-h540/