1. Sian Lynes
"Postmodern media breaks the rules of representation". Discuss.
Postmodern media often breaks the rules of representation through manipulating generic
conventions, particularly those of modernist texts, in order to create an entirely subconscious
form of hyper reality. Instead, they often subvert utopian idealistic visions of reality so that
simulations come to replace the original thing being represented. By extension this creates a
deliberate distortion of reality, one that is argued now to be preferred by audiences; using this
simulation of reality to create a form of escapism and entertainment.
"Drive" directed by Nicolas Winding Refn demonstrates this by manipulating the audience's
cultural knowledge in order to create an arguable parallel universe from their own. This can be
seen in compliance with Baudrillard's theory of hyper reality as the film is heavily reminiscent
of the video game genre; a medium in itself which creates a disjunctive view of reality. This
form of pastiche can be seen in the representation of the Los Angeles backdrop, often seen in
an unnatural bird's eye view point, a convention often applicable to video games. In
combination with The Kid's extreme violent behaviour towards the Gangsters is reminiscent of
popularised modern day game "Grand Theft Auto". Additionally, Baudrillard's 'State of
Simulcra' theory is applicable as L.A. is represented in a dark and vacant way. This challenges
the audience's cultural knowledge, of which they are reliant as theorised by Fiske, presented
by the media which often perceives L.A. as a glamorous place. Here, the rules of
representation of the location creates an entirely disjunctive simulated world that challenges
structuralist thinking.
Another text which commonly embraces the rejection of principles regarding representation is
Quentin Tarantino's film 'Inglorious Basterds'. This can be seen through the use of self-
reflexivity, a key concept within postmodern media, in order to acknowledge that it is a
constructed reality and bears no representation to the real-world. This is evident in
Tarantino's use of a bird's eye view angle during Shoshanna's preparation for the Nazi Film
Premiere of 'Nation's Pride'. The camera shot exposes the construction of the walls and layout
of the rooms as it pans across the screen and follows Shoshanna as she walks along the
hallways. This direct deconstruction of the film set reminds the audience that the world the
characters are in is completely fictional. Again, Baudrillard's theory of hyper reality can be
applied to this sequence as the audience and characters are experiencing a prepared
constructed fiction as devised by the director which they become conscious of. In this case,
the rules of representation is acknowledged by the audience, subverting the unconscious
principles to create a fantasy different to reality.
Postmodern media breaks the rules of representation through techniques such as parody to
create a self-mocking humour as the audience can decode that what is come to being
represented in not the one familiar to them in reality. This can be seen in the US television
cartoon and reflexive family sitcom "Family Guy". In particular the episode special "Blue
Harvest" was an entire parody of the blockbuster film "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" (1977). In
this case, the show can be argued to be following a circular referentiality as it is arguably
parodying another text which bears no resemblance to reality. Genette's theory of
metatextuality can be applied here as the text is an implicit commentary on the Star Wars
franchise. The obvious manipulation of time and space in the text, which can be seen in the

2. Sian Lynes
introductory title of "A long time ago, but somehow in the future" no longer represents a
universe parallel to our own. This supports Lyotard's rejection of conventional 'grand
narratives', which often try to simulate an absolute truthful representation of reality and often
associated with forms such as love, war and religion. Instead, it supports Lyotard's suggestions
of a 'micro-narrative' that can go in any direction and is often unpredictable. Therefore is
breaks the principle that texts such be linear, instead favouring a disjunctive and non-linear
style to create a hyper reality. This is supported when Luke breaks the fourth wall as he
introduces the London Symphony Orchestra and composer John Williams. By purposefully
acknowledging itself as a constructive text and deviating completely from the original parody
this creates a clear disjunctive representation.
Another example can be seen in the US comedy "Flight of the Conchords". Real-life duo Bret
McKenzie and Jermaine Clement play fictionalised versions of themselves as a two man band
from New Zealand based in New York. Therefore this breaks rules of representation as the
supposed representation of themselves is completely false, creating an immediate sense of
irony that would not be seen in 'reality'. Within the episode "The Tough Brets", Bret starts a
gang and breaks into song to express his emotion. Intertextuality can be seen in the song "Stay
Cool" which is reminiscent of the musical "West Side Story" opening credits, which Bret's
theatrical dance is referencing. This representation of bricolage to create a sitcom, musical,
music video and drama comedy combined completely subverts realistic visions and realistic
simulations of themselves.
Postmodern music, like both film and TV, can often be seen challenging rules of
representation in order to create a new simulation of reality, especially of artists themselves.
The musicians Lady Gaga is a primary example of such simulation. Firstly her stage name,
'Gaga' adopts previous connotations of the unusual and crazy. In addition her name uses
bricolage by adopting rock band Queen's 1984 hit "Radio Ga Ga" song into her name "Lady
Gaga". Levi-Strauss' concept of bricolage through the process of addition can be seen here as
she has taken recognisable 'debris' from the song, with the honorific 'Lady', to create an
entirely new representation for herself. Her central theme is a 'theatrical pop' but she is often
irrespective of musical boundaries and divulges into other genres. For example, crossing into
the classical jazz genre by dueting with Tony Bennett of the song "The Lady Is a Tramp" and
on the musical soundtrack for the film "Gnomeo and Juliet" with Elton John on a song called
"Hello, Hello".
Overall, postmodern media often breaks the rules of representation in order to comply with a
reading that can be decoded by the audience create an entire new meaning. However, this
representation can arguably only be read by a literate audience, otherwise the meaning is
irrelevant and nothing becomes represented.