Coldplay's music video for "Up&Up" is highly postmodern as it breaks conventions of typical mainstream music videos. The video begins with an imaginative shot of a turtle swimming away using special graphics imaging, showing Coldplay's creative vision. Throughout the video, there are interesting shots incorporating these graphics that provide different perspectives for viewers. While some shots show the band's performance, others have deeper meanings relating to issues like war, refugees, poverty, and the environment. Overall, the video challenges traditional approaches through its unique artistic style and narrative elements.

1. Coldplay – Up&Up
Coldplay’s latest song goes hand in hand with a highly post modern music video, which
challenges all the conventions of music videos and prevails by breaking the typical
mainstream style of music videos. It is effective and artistic, while keeping the in the same
trend of their latter music videos which all highlight post modernism a great deal.

2. The video begins with a shot of a train station and with an imaginative
use of SGI of a turtle swimming away from the camera, this initially
shows to the audience that once again Coldplay have triumphed with
their sheer creative minds when it comes to their music videos. I would
argue this leaves the viewer eager to see more of their inventive style.
With this shot alone, I would argue this definitely shows that music
videos can be seen as post modern texts. A definition of post modern is
“mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of
theories” which indeed has been done right in this first shot alone; and
we haven’t even seen the rest of the music video yet.This has an impact
on the audience as not only being appealing to the eye, it leaves them
wanting more and this shot alone already accomplishes artistic
brilliance.
Leading up to this shot there has been a great deal of interesting and
astonishing put together shots all keeping with that same use of the SGI
which works so well and so different to music videos seen in the past.
Music videos tend to be either performance videos, narrative videos or
conceptual videos. I would argue that this video is both narrative and a
performance video. Performance due to the fact there are clips of the
members of the band performing with the SGI incorporated into it which
makes it much more interesting to watch. Following on from this, as well
as performance in some sense it includes narrative as well. Not
particularly in most shots, like the one on the left and above. But certain
shots have a deeper meaning that the viewer can decipher. On a more so
sinister note, there are a great deal of elements of war, i.e. bombing,
refugees and poverty, not only that global warming and deforestation.

3. Shots from the video with a deeper meaning

5. •Irony
•Playing with conventions
•Intertextuality
•Black humour
•Pastiche
•Magic realism
•Different perspectives
•Bricolage
•Cultural flattening
•Knowingness
Elements of post
modernism in
music videos
I would argue that the music video does in fact obtain some of these conventions throughout it, such as playing with conventions and
different perspectives. For example, with playing with conventions, this music video breaks the boundaries of a conventional music video
which is fitting to Coldplay's style. Out of all the elements for a post modern music video, this particular one only has a few of them but
never the less is still very post modern. As well as with different perspectives the viewer can gain different things and different elements
from the music video; especially different feelings evoked. This music video definitely “challenged the traditional way of doing things” and
with bands as big as Coldplay, they have also included hardships in life and not kept it entirely about them but included struggles of life to
make people aware and raise awareness about certain subjects through their music video.

6. Why is it post modern?
Other than the aspects I spoke about in the previous slide, it does
obtain short takes of performance in the music video, but along with
the performance shots, the special effects are incorporated into it to
keep with the videos post modern style. But the main theme of the
music video is focusing on artistic and narrative aspects and the detail
to the eye and how appealing it is to the eye.This is done through the
consistent digital effects incorporated into it, which I do believe looks
very effective throughout the music video.
The main aspects of the music video and how it is post
modern, in my opinion, is the fact it constantly breaks
the usual boundaries of usual music videos; and it
evokes different ideas for the viewer throughout it.
That is specifically through the artistic style of it and
imaginative style with a deep narrative which contrast
with the morphing together of images the juxtapose
each other and the special effects incorporated with
them both. So I would argue that the music video is
undoubtedly post modern while still being so appealing
to the eye and still keeping inside the elements of a
post modern music video.