Postmodernism in music video

 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?
Postmodernism takes this concept of questioning traditional structures, representations and expectations and pushes things a step further.

2) What did media theorist and Semiotician Roland Barthes suggest in his essay 'The Death of the Author'?
In it, he challenged tradition when he said that a writer’s opinions, intentions or interpretation of their own work are no more valid than anyone else’s.

3) What is metatextuality?
Metatextuality is where a text draws attention to the fact that it is a text. It points to the process of its own creation.

4) What is the repeated phrase on the cartoon on postmodernism on page 28?
Postermodernism is a cultural movement that distrusts all established philosophies and frequently experiments with the medium it is presented in.

5) How does postmodernism link to media representations and reality?
It links to media representations and reality by arguing that the media no longer simply reflects the real world, but instead constructs a new reality where the distinction between the two is blurred or non existent.

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?
Hybridity: 2-tone genre, road movie and horror genre, white and black
Strinati: confusion of time and space- the ghost town
Intertextuality: shadows on wall 'm'

2) What film genres are alluded to in the music video for Ghost Town? Which scenes in particular created these links?
Horror: lowkey lighting, monochrome colour scheme, under lighting like a ghost story scene 
Road movie: Travelling in the car, pov shots from the car
Social realism: lyrics about the reality of Britain at the time

3) How does Old Town Road use postmodern elements in its music video?
Hybridity: country and rap, new and old, white and black
Intertextuality: brand names like Gucci and Porsche, reference to a Kanye lyric, celebrity cameos
Strinati: confusion of time and space- changes from western to urban life, Style over substance
Pastiche: homage/ parade of a western.

4) How does the Old Town Road music video reflect technological convergence and modern digital culture?  
It's fame coming from Tiktok virality and memes.

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 Lil Nas X was telling his story about wanting to move up in the world in a way that reinforces capitalistic ideologies. He talks about multiple expensive brands which emphasises a materialistic, 'American dream' way of wanting to live and be happy.

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