Final Post modern theories

1. The Last Theorists!
Lyotard
Bathes
Hall
Jameson
Foucault

2. Attacking the ‘Grand Narrative’
What grand narrative can be derived from
the common Narratives/Plots/Stories
Not attacking the ideas about narrative
structure but the underlying moral values
and judgment
Jean Francois Lyotard

3. Lyotard
French Philosopher
His views on the ‘Postmodern Condition’
became famous in the 1970’s
First person to use the term Postmodern
in the non art world

4. The Post Modern Condition
“Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity towards
grand-narratives”
Noun - The state of being unwilling or unable to believe something.
Synonyms - disbelief - unbelief - scepticism - distrust - mistrust
“A self does not amount to much, but no self is an island; each exists in a
fabric of relations that is now more complex and mobile than ever before.”
Lyotard argues that we have became more alert to difference, diversity etc
and instead we are moving to micro-narratives where we each have our
own ‘narrative’ and our society is made up of all our narrative, not one
‘grand narrative’

5. Meta Narrative - Grand Narrative-
Truth - Ideology
This was an idea shared in part by Strinati
“Postmodernism denies there can be any single truth/reality”....
Baudrillard also shared this idea “With the truth you need to get rid
of it as soon as possible....
One key Media Concept is Ideology
A system of ideas and ideals, esp. one that forms the basis of
economic or political policy: "The ideas and manner of thinking
of a group, social class, or individual

6. Hollywood and the Grand-Narrative
Handout

7. Examples from Media texts you know
The Grand Narrative Examples
Comedy – Confusion/Issue/Problem to be over come in
order for Love to happen.
Shaun of the Dead, Inbetweeners, Love Actually, Notting Hill,
27 Dresses, The Proposal, 50 First Dates, The Holiday
Overcoming the Monster in order to restore peace LOTR, King Kong, Pacific Rim, Lake Placid, Scooby Doo???,
Piranha, War of the Worlds, I, Robot, World War Z, Zombie
Films, Godzilla
Tragedy – The flaws of humans cause bad things to
happen
LOTR, I am Legend, The Happening, 2012, Knowing, Day after
Tomorrow, Planet of the Apes, Titanic
Transformation – Rags to Riches tales with happy ending Oliver, Cinderella, Alvin and the Chipmunks, LOTR? Harry
Potter, Pretty Woman
Voyage and Return – You need to journey to restore
normality
LOTR, Ocean’s films, Star Wars, Star Trek Into Darkness, Life
of Pi, Pirates of the C
The Quest – Heroes fighting, striving to do what is right
and good
Shrek, Frozen, LOTR, Every Disney film EVER
Rebirth or self discovery – making yourself and your
world better, safer.
Shrek, The Shawshank Redemption, Frozen, American History
X

8. What is the moral lesson behind these
Grand Narrative?
The Grand Narrative The Moral Lesson/ Ideology/ Truth
Comedy – Confusion/Issue/Problem to be over come in
order for Love to happen.
We will all be happy once we have found true love, Love will
overcome, Everyone needs to have love to be happy.
Overcoming the Monster in order to restore peace
Tragedy – The flaws of humans cause bad things to
happen
Transformation – Rags to Riches tales with happy ending
Voyage and Return – You need to journey to restore
normality
The Quest – Heroes fighting, striving to do what is right
and good
Rebirth or self discovery – making yourself and your
world better, safer.

9. Film/TV that reject the Grand
Narrative
Explain how they don’t fit.

10. But isn’t Post Modernism just another Grand
Narrative
• ‘Ironically, The Post Modern Condition seems to offer its
own grand narrative in the story of the decline of the
meta narrative’
• Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
Why not?
• What are some other problems/criticism of Pomo?

11. Bathes –Semiotics
• The study of signs and symbols (denotative and
connotative)
• Bathes argues that the interpretation of meaning
lies with the audience and depends on the
experiences, interests, beliefs and culture they
bring with them (multiple meanings)
• There is no longer a dominate ideology/ Grand
narrative that we all perceive or a standard way
in which we read a text.

12. Hall
• Hall again focuses on the audience and the
different reading they can make of a text
• But in this case individuality is downplayed and it
is more about the relationship between the
audience and the producer/institution making
the text. (Think back to the Audience part of
‘Media Concepts’)
• The Producer will have in mind a way in which
they want their text to be read and we as an
audience can either accept or reject that reading

13. Hall
• Hegemonic Reading
– Reader accepts and reproduces the preferred
meanings of the text (as set by the ‘institution’)
• Negotiated Reading
– Reader broadly accepts the preferred reading but
resists or modifies elements
• Oppositional Reading
– Reader understands the preferred reading but
rejects it

14. Hall
Reading FOTC Inception Lady Gaga Supernatural
Hegemonic
Negotiated
Oppositional

15. Jameson
• Pomo for Jameson is all about the modern day and
how it has lost connects to the past.
• In regards to ‘reality’ Jameson argues that we make no
effort to get to know the ‘real’ but instead like and get
to know the exaggerated replicas of people (simulacra
Hyperreality)
– Less on concern about the past
– The entertainment value is more important than historical
accuracy/ meaning eg Music Vidoes
– ‘Historical deafness’
– We live in the here and now (instantaneous)
– Depthlessness: there is not deep thought/meaning/
ideology anymore

16. Jameson - Yes

17. Jameson - No

18. Foucault
• Panopitcalisation – gaining power through
watching
• We live in a society where we are always being
watched and want to be watched
• We like watching other people

19. Foucault
The
Guardian