Postmodernist film


Postmodernist film is a classification for works that articulate the themes and ideas of postmodernism through the medium of cinema. Some of the goals of postmodernist film are to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative structure and characterization, and to test the audience's suspension of disbelief. Typically, such films also break down the cultural divide between high and low art and often upend typical portrayals of gender, race, class, genre, and time with the goal of creating something that does not abide by traditional narrative expression.

Specific elements

Modernist film came to maturity in the era between WWI and WWII with characteristics such as montage and symbolic imagery, and often took the form of expressionist cinema and surrealist cinema while postmodernist film – similar to postmodernism as a whole – is a reaction to the modernist works and to their tendencies. Modernist cinema has been said to have "explored and exposed the formal concerns of the medium by placing them at the forefront of consciousness. Modernist cinema questions and made visible the meaning-production practices of film." The auteur theory and idea of an author creating a work from their singular vision was a cultural advancement that coincided with the further maturation of modernist cinema. It has been said that "To investigate the transparency of the image is modernist but to undermine its reference to reality is to engage with the aesthetics of postmodernism." The modernist film has more faith in the author, the individual, and the accessibility of reality itself than the postmodernist film, and is generally more sincere in tone.
Postmodernism is in many ways interested in the liminal space that would be typically ignored by more modernist or traditionally narrative offerings. Henri Bergson writes in his book Creative Evolution, "The obscurity is cleared up, the contradiction vanishes, as soon as we place ourselves along the transition, in order to distinguish states in it by making cross cuts therein in thoughts. The reason is that there is more in the transition than the series of states, that is to say, the possible cuts--more in the movement than the series of position, that is to say, the possible stops."
Postmodernist film is often separated from modernist cinema and traditional narrative film by three key characteristics. One of them is an extensive use of homage or pastiche. The second element is meta-reference or self-reflexivity, highlighting the construction and relation of the image to other images in media and not to any kind of external reality. A self-referential film calls the viewer's attention – either through characters' knowledge of their own fictional nature, or through visuals – that the film itself is only a film. This is sometimes achieved by emphasizing the unnatural look of an image which seems contrived. Another technique used to achieve meta-reference is the use of intertextuality, in which the film's characters reference or discuss other works of fiction. Additionally, many postmodern films tell stories that unfold out of chronological order, deconstructing or fragmenting time so as to highlight the fact that what is appearing on screen is constructed. A third common element is a bridging of the gap between highbrow and lowbrow activities and artistic styles, e.g. a parody of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling in which Adam is reaching for a McDonald's burger rather than the hand of God. The use of homage and pastiche can, in and of itself, result in a fusion of high and low art. Lastly, contradictions of all sorts – whether it be in visual technique, characters' morals, etc. – are crucial to postmodernism.

Specific postmodern examples

''Once Upon a Time in the West''

Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West has often been referred to by critics as an example of a postmodern Western. The 1968 spaghetti Western revolves around a beautiful widow, a mysterious gunslinger playing a harmonica, a ruthless villain, and a lovable but hard-nosed bandit who just escaped from jail. The story was developed by Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Dario Argento by watching classic American Westerns, and the final product is a deliberate attempt to both pay homage to and subvert Western genre conventions and audience expectations. Among the most notable examples of intertextuality are the plot similarities to Johnny Guitar, the visual reference to High Noon of a clock stopped at high noon in the middle of a gunfight, and the casting of Henry Fonda as the story's sadistic antagonist which was a deliberate subversion of Fonda's image as a hero established in such films as My Darling Clementine and Fort Apache, both directed by John Ford.

''Blade Runner''

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner might be the best-known postmodernist film. Scott's 1982 film is about a future dystopia where "replicants" have been invented and are deemed dangerous enough to hunt down when they escape. There is tremendous effacement of boundaries between genres and cultures, and styles that are generally more separate, along with the fusion of disparate styles and times, a common trope in postmodernist cinema. The fusion of noir and science-fiction is another example of the film deconstructing cinema and genre. This embodies the postmodern tendency to destroy boundaries and genres into a self-reflexive product. The 2017 Academy Award-winning sequel Blade Runner 2049 also tackled postmodern anxieties.

''Pulp Fiction''

Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is another example of a postmodernist film. The Palme d'Or-winning film tells the interweaving stories of gangsters, a boxer, and robbers. The 1994 film breaks down chronological time and demonstrates a particular fascination with intertextuality: bringing in texts from both traditionally "high" and "low" realms of art. This foregrounding of media places the self as "a loose, transitory combination of media consumption choices." Pulp Fiction fractures time and by using styles of prior decades and combining them together in the movie. By focusing on intertextuality and the subjectivity of time, Pulp Fiction demonstrates the postmodern obsession with signs and subjective perspective as the exclusive location of anything resembling meaning.

Other selected examples

Aside from the aforementioned Once Upon a Time in the West, the Blade Runner sequels and Pulp Fiction, postmodern cinema includes films such as:

20th century

Hellzapoppin' The Big Sleep Duck Amuck All That Heaven Allows Written on the Wind A Movie Hiroshima mon amour L'Avventura Psycho Blast of Silence Last Year at Marienbad West Side Story 8½ Scorpio Rising Woman in the Dunes Pierrot Le Fou Alphaville Persona Batman Blowup Weekend Branded to Kill Casino Royale Playtime Night of the Living Dead Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One Teorema Death by Hanging 2001: A Space Odyssey The Color of Pomegranates Funeral Parade of Roses The Honeymoon Killers Performance The Conformist El Topo A Clockwork Orange The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Badlands Day for Night The Holy Mountain The Long Goodbye Blazing Saddles Pastoral: To Die in the Country Celine and Julie Go Boating F for Fake Monty Python and the Holy Grail Taxi Driver Star Wars The American Friend Close Encounters of the Third Kind House Dawn of the Dead All That Jazz Alien Stalker Apocalypse Now The Gods Must Be Crazy The Shining The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter Raging Bull Diva Escape from New York The Evil Dead The Howling Ms. 45 The Thing The Atomic Cafe Koyaanisqatsi Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid Fall Guy Liquid Sky Sans Soleil Videodrome Zelig Love Streams A Nightmare on Elm Street Repo Man Streets of Fire The Terminator After Hours Brazil Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Radioactive Dreams Shoah Tampopo Terrorizers Mauvais Sang Blue Velvet A Zed and Two Noughts Walker The Princess Bride Innerspace Wings of Desire Om-Dar-B-Dar Akira Beetlejuice The Thin Blue Line Who Framed Roger Rabbit They Live When Harry Met Sally Crimes and Misdemeanors Jesus of Montreal sex, lies and videotape Roger & Me Edward Scissorhands Close-Up Gremlins 2: The New Batch Miller's Crossing Barton Fink JFK The Double Life of Veronique Until the End of the World Wax or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees Aladdin Orlando The Player Reservoir Dogs Falling Down Groundhog Day Last Action Hero The Nightmare Before Christmas The Piano Sleepless in Seattle True Romance Through the Olive Trees Sátántangó Chungking Express Forrest Gump Natural Born Killers The Hudsucker Proxy Serial Mom Fallen Angels The Brady Bunch Movie Dead Man Braveheart Get Shorty Underground Showgirls Fargo From Dusk till Dawn Schizopolis Goodbye South, Goodbye Scream Irma Vep The Watermelon Woman End of Evangelion Jackie Brown Lost Highway Gummo Boogie Nights Dark City Starship Troopers Titanic Funny Games The Big Lebowski New Rose Hotel Run Lola Run The Hole The Truman Show Pleasantville Happiness Small Soldiers Shakespeare in Love You've Got Mail Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai The Sixth Sense Being John Malkovich Fight Club The Straight Story American Beauty The Blair Witch Project The Matrix Magnolia Three Kings American Psycho Memento Erin Brockovich Dancer in the Dark Almost Famous Werckmeister Harmonies Requiem for a Dream Traffic Timecode

21st century

The Majestic Moulin Rouge! Shrek Waking Life The Royal Tenenbaums Mulholland Drive Donnie Darko All About Lily Chou-Chou The Man Who Wasn't There Pulse Far From Heaven The Hours 24 Hour Party People Down with Love Lost in Translation The Fog of War Looney Tunes: Back in Action Zatōichi Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Team America: World Police Tropical Malady The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou The Machinist Shaun of the Dead Brick Grizzly Man Still Life Marie Antoinette Enchanted I'm Not There No Country for Old Men The Beaches of Agnès Synecdoche, New York Hunger Waltz with Bashir Enter the Void Shutter Island Exit Through the Gift Shop Film Socialisme Inception Drive The Skin I Live In Shame We Need to Talk About Kevin The Act of Killing Tabu Cloud Atlas Holy Motors ParaNorman Post Tenebras Lux Wreck-It Ralph The Double Get a Horse! Only Lovers Left Alive Her Only God Forgives Birdman Boyhood Clouds of Sils Maria Goodbye to Language The Lego Movie The Look of Silence Cemetery of Splendour World of Tomorrow Deadpool La La Land Swiss Army Man Get Out I, Tonya The Square Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Under the Silver Lake Wonderstruck Spider-Verse Sorry to Bother You The House That Jack Built Long Day's Journey into Night Joker Knives Out Pain & Glory You Were Never Really Here Last Night in Soho Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn Belle Bergman Island Aftersun Babylon The Banshees of Inisherin Everything Everywhere All At Once Nope Razzennest Tár White Noise

Postmodern documentary and essay film

Postmodernist techniques have also influenced non-fiction cinema. For example, Errol Morris’s The Thin Blue Line is often regarded as the first postmodern documentary due to its ironic use of stylized re-enactments that detach the viewer from any pretense of objective truth. Such works demonstrate that even documentary film can embrace subjectivity, self-reference, and genre-blending in a postmodern way.

List of notable postmodernist filmmakers

Postmodernist television

Postmodern television is a category or period of modern television related to the art and philosophy of postmodernism, often making use of postmodern principles such as satire, irony, and deconstruction.

List of postmodernist television shows

30 RockAmerican Horror StoryArrested DevelopmentThe BachelorBob's BurgersBreaking BadThe Bullwinkle ShowCatfishThe Colbert ReportCommunityCurb Your EnthusiasmDon't Hug Me I'm ScaredEd, Edd n EddyEntourageFalloutFamily GuyFleabagFreakazoid!FuturamaGirlsHell on WheelsInventing AnnaIt's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Garry Shandling ShowThe Larry Sanders ShowLouieMagpie MurdersMary Hartman, Mary HartmanMiami ViceMonty Python's Flying CircusMystery Science Theater 3000Neon Genesis EvangelionThe OfficeParks and RecreationPee Wee's PlayhousePortlandiaThe PrisonerReal HousewivesThe RehearsalThe Ren & Stimpy ShowRick and MortyRiverdaleRuPaul's Drag RaceSaturday Night LiveScrubsSeinfeldThe SimpsonsThe Singing DetectiveThe SopranosSouth ParkSpace Ghost: Coast to CoastSpartacusSpongeBob SquarePantsStranger ThingsTrue DetectiveThe Twilight ZoneTwin PeaksVanderpump RulesWandaVision