What is Meant by Postmodernism?

Postmodernism media includes cynical interpretations of culture, architecture and fiction. It 
originates from another time or existing piece, defies the generic attitudes and approaches 
towards media and music and strays from the rules of context and meaning.

The film ‘Drive’ written by Nicholas Winding displays it’s post modern factors throughout the film. 
Maybe the most noticeable feature of this is the lack of dialogue from the main character- The 
Driver- played by Ryan Gosling. The silence from the character gives him a mysterious persona, 
with a strong, confident, superior personality but also connotes there must be some weakness 
within him. This is shown when he meets Irene, a female mother who lives in his building. 
She too denotes confidence and strength as a single mum, but it is soon discovered that she too 
has a weakness- her criminal husband. The silence between the characters can be frustrating to 
the viewer, and the tension can be almost unbearable, but it is this a vital fragment of the films 
atmosphere, as there are no intimate scenes other than the touching of his hand and a final kiss 
at the end, the eye contact and the speech inadequacy reveals the connection and relationship 
between Irene and The Driver. Other than this, emotive scenes are shown with slow motion 
editing and soft lighting, creating a typical romantic scene. Furthermore the hyper reality of the 
characters add tote postmodernism of the film, as The Driver’s costume and hair is immaculate 
throughout, following Tarantino’s character ‘Lt Aldo’ in Englorious Basterds.

The film Inception is considered postmodern for many reasons as it manipulates both time and 
space and also makes the viewer question reality both in the film and from a viewer’s perspective. 
The film uses hyper reality by sets based on real places creating a fake reality. The film warps 
time in which different dream layers last for longer lengths of time for example the first layer is 
10 hours on the plane, the second layer is 1 week, the third 6 months, the fourth 10 years and 
the final layer is limbo, which lasts forever. , the song 'Je ne regretterien.' is played at different 
speeds throughout the film to signal what is real time and what is dream time. The use of 
slow motion also manipulates time. The characters in the film are also challenged with what is reality 
and what is a dream. They use a totem (spinning top, dice or a ring) to distinguish between the 
two, but this mystery is projected to the viewers at the end of the film as the spinning top is left 
spinning and we do not know if it falls (representing the real world). This makes the audience doubt 
the reality in the film, just as the characters have been doing during the film, an example of 
self-referencing.  In terms of manipulating space, the Paris scene is a fine example of this. Here the 
city folds over with people walking on the ceiling and mirrors can be introduced to the scene by 
Ariadne. It is also seen in the hotel layer where there is zero gravity. This manipulates the viewer’s 
perception of physical limitations.

Another film that manipulates time and space is Englorious basterds directed by Quentin Tarintino. 
This film is postmodern for a variety of reasons, including the music and intertextual reference involved
in the film. The songs overlaying the shots are from eras other than the era in which the film is set, for
example the song Cat People by David Bowie was released in the 80’s whereas the film is set during
the end of the Second World War (1944). Furthermore, during the forest scene, the German soldier
walks towards Aldo in slow motion to spaghetti western music. The shot style is slow at an
upwards angle, spaghetti western style. The font used to introduce the German soldier onscreen is
an intertextual reference to his previous films such as The Dirty Dozen. Another reference used is
the view of the farm house and the miles of green hills, like out of the sound of music. These hills
manipulate the physical space of the set.

The hyper reality shown in the film is shown through the characters such as the german soldiers such
as Goebbles, Landa and Hitler. They are displayed as ‘jokey’ and humerous, whereas in reality they
would have been official and stern.  Their names also give comedy value, as one of them is called
private Butz. During the film, Lt Aldo’s clothing stay immaculate throughout, although he is wearing
a white suit, when involved in fight scenes his hair and suit stay clean and tidy, defying reality.  His
accent is also over the top.

To conclude, I believe that most postmodern media does generally manipulate time and spaces, as
the features of postmodernism include manipulating reality.