Postmodernism in music video: Blog tasks

Media Magazine Theory Drop - Postmodernism

Create a new blog post called 'Postmodernism in music video: blog tasks'. Read ‘The Theory Drop: Postmodernism’ in MM66  (p26). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) How does the article define postmodernism in the first page of the article?

Post modernism is the concept of questioning traditional structures and representations and reshaping them. 

2) What did media theorist and Semiotician Roland Barthes suggest in his essay 'The Death of the Author'?

He suggested post modernism is when readers are free to interpret a text anyway they want.

3) What is metatextuality?

When the text draws attention to the fact it is a text.

4) What is the repeated phrase on the cartoon on postmodernism on page 28?

"Postmodernism is a cultural movement."

5) How does postmodernism link to media representations and reality?

People rely on postmodern media for an understanding of reality (hyperreality) and representations. 

Music video CSPs and postmodernism

Now apply postmodern ideas to our music video CSPs by answering the following questions:

1) How does the music video for Ghost Town incorporate elements of postmodernism?

- Hybrid genre of West Indian music and American music to create the 2 tone genre (bricolage)

- Recreation of German neo expressionist genre using shadows (pastiche) 

- Road movie and horror genre (bricolage)

2) What film genres are alluded to in the music video for Ghost Town? Which scenes in particular created these links?

The fact that the majority of the music video takes part in a car and is about moving places refers to the road movie genre. The low-key lighting and dark weather as well as the low budget creates a sense of mystery and fear which relates to the hammer horror genre.

3) How does Old Town Road use postmodern elements in its music video?

-  Hybrid genre of western and rap (bricolage)

- Textual poaching (Jenkins) as Lil Nas X bought the riff for the song from someone on YouTube for $30

- The song  attempts to recreate western music and film genres in positive ways such as the typography and instruments used (pastiche)

- Reference to high end brands (intertextuality) 

4) How does the Old Town Road music video reflect technological convergence and modern digital culture?  

It has allowed audiences to create memes on social media, create UGC on TikTok and also view the music video on all platforms.

5) What do YOU think Lil Nas X was trying to say about reality and American culture in the music video for Old Town Road?

I think he was promoting the "American Dream" and capitalist views as he is seen living a luxurious life in glamourous outfits and cars one he arrives in modern America. This can be seen as a hyperreality to the cultural conviviality and economic state of America.