Postmodern tv old and new

1. Postmodern tv
By Harry Donald

2. British TV- The inbetweeners
• Created and written by: Damon Beesley & Iain Morris
• Directed by: Gordon Anderson, Ben Palmer, Damon Beesley, Iain Morris
• Ran from 2008 to 2010. 3 series, 18 episodes shown on E4.
• Subsequently created 2 movies.
• Nominated for 'Best Situation Comedy' at BAFTA twice, in 2009 and
2010.
• 2010: Winner of British Academy TV awards audience award, Best
Sitcom award at the British Comedy Awards.
• 2011: British Comedy Awards, Outstanding Contribution to British
Comedy.
• Starred 4 British sixth form students Will (Simon Bird), Simon (Joe
Thomas), Jay (James Buckley) and Neil (Blake Harrison).

3. • Due to this show's setting it appeals to the
younger, high school/sixth form audience. It can
also appeal to older audiences as they too have
experienced school life. However the crude
humour could be argued to deter older viewers.
• Each episode revolves around different issues
ranging from bullying, family life and girls.
• The sitcom uses dark humour and stereotypical
characters in which viewers old and young can
relate to from their school years.
Audience

4. • The show relies on realism and relatable
experiences for a majority of its humour to work.
• For example awkward situations people
experience are often exaggerated in the show for
comedic effect.
• This relation to real life is used to make a make tv
show seem real and you are following the stories
of characters involved.
• This relates to Baudrillard’s theory of simulacrum
with the lacking distinction of what's real and
what is not.
Simulacrum

5. • In order to seem realistic, the show uses
intertextuality. Sometimes quite subtly. For
example posters referring to NWA can be seen
in the school's common room.
• Also relation to other media such as video
games, websites and also places such as
Thorpe park.
Intertextual references

6. • The show incorporates hybrid genres in the
form of romance, humour, black humour,
drama and realism.
• This combination of existing themes lends to
the realism being created.
Bricolage

7. • The series is narrated by Simon Bird who plays
Will in the film.
• This use of a primary character being an
omniscient narrator can relate to the
postmodern notion of fourth wall breaking as
he speaks directly to the audience about
everything that's happening/ going to happen
on screen.
Narration

8. • Throughout the episodes there is a narrative from the
perspective of the main character (will) this therefore
creates a sense of sympathy for the character
regardless of social status, this therefore creates a bias
and the viewer begins to empathise. Furthermore, this
creates a sense of breaking of the fourth wall, as the
character is being narrated over he tends to look
toward the camera to emphasise the comments made
and address the audience personally, the fact one of
the characters addresses them proves that he is aware
of the audience therefore breaking the fourth wall and
connecting further with the viewers.
Examples within the episodes (1-4)

9. There are a variety of differing representations within the
show including:
• Suburban London- use of mise en scene (no colour
alteration) to present the surrounding locations as dull.
• School- locations and interactions within school
• Teenagers- How different characters act according to
stereotypes (e.g. bullies, lads, slags, nerds etc.)
• Girls- types of girls and their interaction with boys and
the noticeably lacking interaction between the main
characters and women
Representation

10. American TV – Rick and Morty
• Although originally an American TV show broadcast on 'adult swim'.
• Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Rick and Morty's popularity has
allowed it to become known and watched worldwide.
• The show is a clear example of how TV is postmodern as, just like film, it uses a
variety of postmodern features and uses them to appeal to its audience to
create humour, lending to the shows tone.
Executive producer(s) •Dan Harmon
•Justin Roiland
•James A. Fino
•Joe Russo II
Producer(s) •J. Michael Mendel

11. Intertextuality
• The show initially was inspired by a
postmodern parody of back to the future and
the two main characters still show relation to
the films characters of Doc and Marty Mcfly,
even through their names.

12. Episode example
• the show is also self mocking of TV and its conventions by making
intertextual references to other TV shows such as ‘the A-team’, as shown
in season 1 episode 8 'Rixty minutes‘
• Each of the episodes titles are also intertextual references paying homage
to other media texts.
• Self referencing within the shows with fourth wall breaks, often performed
at the end of each series as characters speak directly to the audience
encouraging them to come back next series.

13. Hybrid genre/ audience
• The show is an animated TV show, it uses this to
incorporate the postmodern notion of hybrid genre. This is
because 'cartoons' are considered for children however this
show is for mature audiences, incorporating black humour,
taboo topics lexis and topics such as drug, alcohol and
sexual references whilst having a sci-fi adventure genre.
• The shows dark and potentially crude humour and story
telling means the show is most likely aimed at those
between 18 and 35. However due to desensitization of
wider audiences means that dark humour as shown in this
series is becoming more mainstream and as it is a
animation it is seen as less graphic, allowing a wider
audience to enjoy.

14. High/ low art
• The idea of this show being seen as a childish cartoon is also juxtaposed
by the shows relation to philosophy of life that is often referenced in the
show. A prominent quote is one made by Morty in s1 ep8:
• 'On one of our adventures, Rick and I basically destroyed the whole
world, so we bailed on that reality and we came to this one, because
in this one, the world wasn't destroyed and in this one, we were
dead. So we came here, a- a- and we buried ourselves and we took
their place. And every morning, Summer, I eat breakfast twenty
yards away from my own rotting corpse. [...] Nobody exists on
purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody's gonna die. Come
watch TV?‘
• This has been noted to relate to a quote from existentialist 'Jean-Paul
Sartre:
• 'Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of
weakness, and dies by chance.'

15. Theory
• the show can also relate to feminist theory and Mulvey's male
gaze, although there are strong female characters throughout
the show, the stories are told through mainly the male
protagonist perspective. This, partnered with a sexualised
view of women sometimes present in episodes such as a sex
robot can show this show to appeal more so to men, however
it is not overly offensive to women so they can enjoy the show
also.