Post-modern society is characterized by:
1. The breakdown of distinctions between culture and society, high and low art, and media and reality. Popular culture now shapes society and there is no originality or authorship.
2. An emphasis on style over substance where visual impact is more important than meaning.
3. The decline of universal narratives like religion or science in favor of individual beliefs due to fragmented and confused notions of time and space in a globalized world where boundaries have broken down.
2. Features of a Post-modern Society 1. The breakdown of the distinction between culture and society. 2. An emphasis on style at the expense of substance and content. 3. The breakdown of a distinction between high culture (art) and popular culture. Confusions over time and space. 5. The decline of the meta – narrative (i.e the absolute universal and all embracing claims to knowledge like science or religion).
9. Simulacrum “A copy of a copy of a copy” “There is no such thing as originality” “The distinction between media and reality has collapsed” ‘Venice’, Las Vegas Pyramid Hotel, Las Vegas Venice, Italy The great Pyramids - Egypt
10. Simulacrum “A copy of a copy of a copy” “There is no such thing as originality” “The distinction between media and reality has collapsed” The Trafford Centre, Manchester
11. Simulacrum “A copy of a copy of a copy” “There is no such thing as originality” “The distinction between media and reality has collapsed” Anvil! The Story of Anvil - 2008 Simulacrum This is Spinal Tap – 1984 Kiss
12. Intertextuality Anvil! The Story of Anvil - 2008 The Simpsons Vs George Bush Sr. The Simpsons reference A Clockwork Orange Intertextuality is when one media text references another. Intertextuality mixes forms, genres, conventions, media; it dissolves boundaries between high and low art, between the serious and the comic Fight Club references Ikea catalogue (foreign language version)
14. Intertextuality Intertextuality is when one media text references another. Intertextuality mixes forms, genres, conventions, media; it dissolves boundaries between high and low art, between the serious and the comic
15. Pastiche In modernity, there is parody, which ridicules by exaggerating the distance of the original text from “normal” discourse. In Post modernity, there is pastiche, a “blank” parody; there’s no sense of a distance from any norm. Jedward on Xfactor Blue Harvest - 2 Britney Spears (2:40)
16. The breakdown of the distinction between culture and society Confusions over time and space the the of the mass media and popular culture mean they govern and shape other forms of social relationship The distinction The Travel across the globe is swift, inexpensive and possible for most people. Most people have a fair knowledge of other cultures due to news / documentary programmes on television The internet has broken down space and time barriers 24 Hr Cities Satellite Link ups
18. The breakdown of the distinction between culture and society An emphasis on style at the expense of substance and content. the the of the mass media and popular culture mean they govern and shape other forms of social relationship The distinction The The visual and stylistic impact becomes more important than the meaning / message Media texts which defy interpretation Retro / Nostalgia Shallow – Empty?
20. The breakdown of the distinction between culture and society The breakdown of a distinction between high culture (art) and popular culture. the the of the mass media and popular culture mean they govern and shape other forms of social relationship The distinction The According to Post-modernists, high and low culture are of equal worth Against the ‘elitism’ of high modernism. Text which contain elements of high and low culture Treating ‘low art’ or ‘popular culture’ as if they where high art pieces.
21. The breakdown of a distinction between high culture (art) and popular culture. High Art Fine Art Opera Ballet Classical Music Classic Literature Art Cinema Sculpture Popular Culture (low art) Advertising Pop Music Genre Films Television Pulp Fiction or trashy novels Pornography Music Videos
23. The breakdown of the distinction between culture and society The decline of the meta - narrative the the of the mass media and popular culture mean they govern and shape other forms of social relationship The distinction The A meta – narrative is a narrative or story which claims to explain something totally – ie, Christianity, Marxism. Because society is so fragmented, we live by individual, ‘hand picked’ beliefs rather than collective ones. Post-modern texts reflect this state of being by being ambiguous in their meaning, message. They defy an ‘absolute truth’.
