Friday 14 March 2014

new essay


Time and space essay. Second attempt.

“Your introduction lacks focus on the question, you try to answer a question you wish you had been asked rather than the one you had been asked. Your introduction simply needs to establish WHAT postmodern media is AND HOW it can be used to manipulate time and space. POMO ALWAYS seeks to challenge truths, in respect of this question you are examining how the 'truth' of TIME and SPACE are challenged.

Because you fail to establish your opinion in the introduction the rest of your essay has no argument to support it. Every media text you use MUST be briefly BUT clearly explained in terms of its plot/narrative. You have to give incredibly specific examples in your response (look at the help sheet hand-out I gave on Monday). Formality is also important, you CANNOT write 'takes the mick', and the correct term is parody or pastiche. IB manipulates TIME by including intertextual references to texts which post-date the Second World War. It manipulates SPACE by placing the film in 'incorrect' genre frames (fairy tale, Blaxploitation etc.) as well as exposing that the film is a film.

Inception manipulates TIME AND SPACE in order to make the viewer question the very nature of reality! You should be able to write lots about the layers of dreams and the different time within them. You should also be able to comment on SPACE as Inception causes us to question reality (i.e. is life real) through the doubt it raises over what is a dream and what isn't.

Like everyone else you have 2 weeks to re write this. You will continue re writing this until you achieve a C.

Argument 5/25
Examples 4/25

9/50” – Mr Smith’s comment on first draft.

Postmodern texts always aim to challenge the truths including that of time and space, it does this by manipulating them through the use of film etc. I have looked at films such as ‘Inception’ and ‘Inglorious Basterds’ which both challenge the reality of time and space in very different ways. As well as this I have spent some time looking at other postmodern media such as music artists like The Beastie Boys. Ways these truths are challenged include mixing up a variety of genres and changing the way we see time as a constant etc.

Inception is a film that is very clever in the way it manipulates time and space. It uses very obvious techniques such as dreaming and dream worlds but also has more hidden ideas that the audience won’t be able to recognise immediately. The main manipulation of time is when we see that in deeper dream levels throughout the film time moves slower so that they can get more done in a shorter space of time. This is the main plot of the film as DiCaprio’s character needs to steel from another dream in order to be allowed back into America. The viewer begins to question their own reality when the film introduces the idea of an architect for the dream which allows them to make anything they like into reality, for example she folds the city over itself which we know as impossible. The film makes the audience question their own reality throughout by using a piece of discreet background music. This is played when the characters are about to be woken and move back a level in the dream, it is also played at the end of the film when the spinning top is left spinning which makes us feel as though we about to wake up. This manipulates space as we question if anything around us is real.

Inglorious Basterds is another big film which manipulates both time and space but in a very different way to inception. The film, about a team of US soldiers in WWII out to kill German people of power, changes the course of history by ending the war in a cinema. By doing this Tarentino has been able to again make us question reality. Space is manipulated much less in this film but can be seen through the range of genres shown throughout the chapters. Also we often see misplaced objects in this film either to modern for the time period or from other parts of the globe. This film shows Jameson’s theory of historical deafness where people don’t worry about what is true anymore. Another manipulation of space is when pastiche is used to mimic other war films as they are represented as accurate although they are not. This is done when another film is shown within ‘Inglorious Basterds’ which is more typical of a war film. Time is also manipulated by homage to David Bowie who would not be around in the war. There is also a sense of depthlessness throughout as the film is there to look cool and isn’t a ‘real’ war film. This is because of the range of genres used that have no apparent connection to war. This film changes the audience perception of time as more of what they know about the war is learnt from fictional media instead of factual teachings. This is Fiske’s theory

There are many other media texts that manipulate time and space in order to make the audience question reality. For example music such as Hip-Hop tends to use a lot of samples from other peoples music, Hip-Hop allows this stealing of beats etc. as it normally pays homage to other artists from a wide range of genres rather than pastiching music. Music can also manipulate space even though it is not usually a visual type of media. For example the Beastie Boys created an album called ‘Pauls Boutique’ which has inspired the name of a totally unrelated clothing brand for girls who would not be part of the boys original target market. Time is manipulated in music by thing like the grey album which uses samples from ‘the white album’ by the Beatles and Jay-Z’s ‘the black album’. These two sounds come from opposing genres but have been sold together quite successfully. This makes genres far less recognisable to someone who isn’t a music expert.

To conclude I find that postmodernism has many possible future paths as simulacrum can may become overly common so everything will be a copy. This will ruin peoples perception of time and space  as they know because nothing will be new and/or old. Another path it could take is that copyright laws etc. will block anything from being produced without a lawsuit as there is no such thing as a new idea anymore. This would lead to an anti-postmodern society.

 

 

Friday 31 January 2014

Time and space essay


Postmodernism – time and space.

Postmodern media has the ability to manipulate time and space through a variety of mediums. However it does not solely go out to do this, poster modernism aims to make the audience question there reality using time and space. It also aim to do many other things to modern society such as create a world with no specifics. For example we can all listen to a variety of music genres and when making something ourselves have the freedom to mix up any genre and/or media we like. Over time a postmodern society has started to become more apparent as original ideas are almost impossible to come across, musicians and directors have to take inspiration from the work of their peers and mix up time periods to make for a more interesting text.

An example of this comes in today’s film world, in things such as Inglorious Basterds where a world war two based film changes the course of history and look very ‘unrealistic’. Jameson talks about this as he says postmodern media has historical deafness and no one really cares what happened anymore. This also a use of pastiche by Quentin Tarentino as it takes the mick out of supposedly more historically accurate war films. He realises that these are not historically correct at all and they use as much out of place props and music etc. as he does. In The Inglorious Basterds time is manipulated by the use of homage to David Bowie who has no connection to the war or time period. In between chapters different fonts are used to match the genre of film that is going to be shown in that chapter, this is typical of post-modern media and a manipulation in time and space because a war film shouldn’t have aspects of Art house film or westerns although it does. This may be classed as depthlessness by some but I think that it is more about entertainment that historical accuracy etc. The depth is given through smaller stories within the film. The way that Tarentino makes us question reality by changing up history in his film again is something that will make us question reality in a similar way to inception that leaves us believing we could be dreaming. Fiske’s theory is that as time goes on people’s perception of the world is from media instead of us basing our media on the real world. This is a manipulation of space given to us by Jacques Derrida who says that everything is of a genre.

The film Inception manipulates both time and space in a very different way; it is far more obvious but has some discreet aspects. The idea of a dream within a dream as happens in the film is itself manipulating both, in each level they can travel to anywhere of their choice, very unrealistic again, and the more they dream the slower time goes. This film goes out to make the audience come out of the cinema thinking about the possibility that they themselves are currently dreaming, so space as they know it is non-existent. The director has done this by using a piece of calming music, by one of Hitler’s favourite composers so not so calming, from the mid 90’s throughout the film. This music is heard by the dreamers when they are about to feel a kick and wake up. The audience also hearing this can give us a similar feeling, especially at the end of the film. Space is not affected as much through Inception but can be shown to change in ways we can’t imagine. For example at one point the ‘Architect’ bends the world over itself defying gravity.

In other media texts such as music time is very often manipulated by samples from every genre and era being mixed. This is common in Hip Hop culture but is also allowed more than in other genres, I think this is because of the way artists pay homage to each other as opposed to using a pastiche. Space is also manipulated in music as it inspires other things that have no relation to it. One example is when The Beastie Boys had an album name used by a brand. Pauls Boutique clothing isn’t really boutique but is based on an album which the buyers probably have no knowledge of. Space is being manipulated here as the music is creating objects in another genre almost. Time mixes in music shown by albums such as the grey album are often un-noticed by the audience. This album uses a mix of ‘the white album’ by The Beatles and ‘the black album’ by Jay Z who are from different eras and genres of music but work very well when mixed correctly.

Postmodernism has many possible future paths. As simulacrum may become overly common and everything will be a copy. However these copies will not be seen as stolen and could be recognised as original pieces of work as the old one is forgotten. Another path it could take is that copyright laws etc. will block anything from being produced without a lawsuit as there is no such thing as a new idea anymore. This would lead to an anti-postmodern society.

Essay plan

POMO media manipulates time and space.


OPINION__ Post modern media manipulates time and space using a range of texts and theories in order to make people question reality and modern structure of civilisation. working along with other POMO ideas it makes the word more equal (removes stereotypes/hierarchy)


In the past a modernist society has created a world with


Sown mainly through films such as inception.
  • manipulates time as in different dream states time moves at differed speeds. (what is time)
  • space is manipulated as they are all on a plane together but are in separate dream worlds (this makes the audience question reality as we know it)
  • very unrealistic world - Bricolage
Inglorious Basterds -
  • Mainly only plays with time as it changes the course of history.... This is pastiche as it takes the mick out of more typical war films - homage is also payed to David bowie etc.
  • it also uses media from other periods of time (music, fonts etc.)
  • Again we question reality
  • There is a film within the film that is more 'realistic' than the film itself,
  • Manipulates space as things are out of place, cant possibly be in WWII Germany.
  • Mixes genres-
Other texts.


FUTURE...
simulacrum becomes common? Everything is a copy but the copy becomes more recognised than any original, society will allow that everything is a copy OR we could run out of ideas as copyright laws block anything from being made, going backwards.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

20 word intro

Postmodern media sometimes manipulates time and space through a variety of texts, supporting and challenging some postmodern and modernist theories.

POMO adverts task


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This advert has no relation to the product it advertises.





This advert uses a hyper reality to make the viewer believe they can experience impossible things when visiting California. Everything is perfect there.

'Death of uncool' playlist

  1. Pulp - Bad cover version - Rock
  2. Drake - Started from the bottom - Hip Hop/R&B
  3. The Streets - Could well be in - Pop
  4. The Hoosiers - Money to be made - Pop/Rock
  5. Oasis - Morning glory - Pop/Rock
  6. Queen - We are the champions - Rock
  7. Haim - Forever - Pop/Rock
  8. Foals - Everytime - Indie rock
  9. The weeknd - The party and the after party - R&B
  10. Justin Timberlake - That girl - R&B/Pop
  11. Darwin Deez - Constellation - Indie rock
  12. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch dant kill my vibe - Rap/Hip Hop