Chapter Eight

Chapter 8: Postmodernism, Indie Media, and Popular Culture

Postmodernism is marked by an era of simulation, where a simulation of real is sometimes seen as more real than reality. The idea of an amusement park known as World Park is a very strange idea to me. I find it strange how the Chinese government tries to pacify their citizens’ desire to travel outside of the country by creating miniature replicas of landmarks in the park. However, a similar thing is seen in Disney World’s Epcot, where many different countries are recreated in miniature. Even though this sort of thing is seen in the United States, I feel like its goal is different—Americans (or whoever else) visiting Epcot are probably doing so because it would be impossible to visit so many countries at once from an economic or free time perspective. However, World Park seems like a way to pacify the curiosity of citizens who are unable to travel outside of the country for more political reasons and restrictions.

Also within postmodernism is the idea that everything has been done before, which tends to jade people who become obsessed with remakes, remixes, and the pastiche. Also, there is the tendency to regard human bodies as malleable and changeable to an intense degree of different practices which alter the look of the human body (from body art to surgery to exercise).

Some argue that postmodernism arose from a desire (beginning after 1968 and taking hold in the 1980s) to understand the changing concepts of humanity and as an analysis of globalization and its effects. However, postmodernism can also be seen as a natural progression from the ideas of late modernism. It’s almost impossible to draw a distinctive line between late modernism and postmodernism.

Postmodernism is characterized heavily by the idea that there is no singular truth, but rather there exist many truths that are culturally and historically constructed. It is seen collectively as a mindset that challenges master narratives (i.e. reigning and major politics, science, religion).

Children’s movies today contain so much sarcasm and irony (along with parody and satire) that appeals to adults while at the same time usually going unnoticed by children. However, even though the children may not notice it at the time, they are being raised on these ideas of irony and parody, and will grow up already more aware of its existence than they would have otherwise been if animated films were not geared towards both adults and children. An example of this is the scene in Shrek which pokes fun at the slow-motion, spinning camera angle fight scenes of The Matrix. A child watching Shrek and having not seen The Matrix will not understand the reference, but will still find the scene as funny; whereas, an adult will understand that sarcasm within the reference and find it funny on a deeper level than a child. If the child reviews Shrek as an adult after having seen The Matrix, they will then understand the reference and appreciate it in a new way. I have had many of these experiences when reviewing movies from my childhood. Disney movies are filled with these kinds of instances, and I catch myself trying to remember why I thought parts of movies were funny when I was little because I know I didn’t catch all of the references.

For instance, the movie Aladdin contains an extreme amount of cultural references that are lost on the children who watch the movie (but the children still find the scenes funny for other reasons) but are appreciated by adults. This scene with the genie impersonating Robert De Niro is a good example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFfG8C9Ap9w&feature=related

The section on Radiohead and their album in Rainbows was interesting to see in the book. I personally participated in their available digital download of the album in 2007 (not even dreaming that it would be mentioned in any sort of textbook). It was an interesting move and obviously hasn’t hurt the band in any way—I later went to a concert of theirs last May, and it was packed, so any money they could have potentially lost is certainly made up in increased ticket sales by new fans who were introduced to the band by the digital download.