This document discusses postmodern concepts in films through analyzing scenes and elements from various movies. It explores how films use simulacrum by replicating or referencing other works, bricolage by combining different genres and styles, hyperreality by presenting unrealistic or exaggerated situations, and intertextuality through references to other films or media. Examples discussed include scenes from Inglorious Basterds, Inception, and Hobo with a Shotgun that demonstrate these postmodern film techniques.

1. Postmodern Texts....
By Charlie Powell

3. Simulacrum
The opening scene of Inglorious Basterds can be
regarded as replicating a scene from ‘The
sound of music.’

4. Bricolage
• The film opens with 1960s universal logo, WW2 was a
global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The logo is of the
wrong era.
• We also see Bricolage as chapter one is introduced. The
text on screen reads “Once upon a time in occupied
Europe” reminiscent of a fairy tale. This fits into the process
of addition because an idealistic story is not what we
associate it with a war film.

5. Intertextual reference:
• Tarintino references his previous films within
Inglorious Basterds, for example the high
levels of gore can be witnessed in ‘Reservoir
Dogs.’ He uses these references as almost
signatures to identify work as his own.

6. Hyper reality
• With Inglorious Basterds being a war film the
audience presumes that some of the violence from
World War 2 will be displayed in the film. For a film
on World War 2 there is a lot less emphasis on
standard warfare using guns rather looking at more
brutal methods of killing, such as the scalping done
by the Basterds or the killing using a baseball bat by
The Bear Jew (Eli Roth). This could be consider
postmodern form how instead of following the
normal fights in war films Tarantino invents his own
methods of violence which goes against the general
trend.

8. Intertextual reference
• In numerous scenes words appear to accompany a
sound, such as when Scott deflects Matthew Patels first attack
the word ‘KPOW’ appears as he does it. This doesn't usually
happen in real life obviously it is a typical convention of comic
strips. The reason comic strips do this is because not possible
to play sound effects as it is just a media text.

9. Bricolage
• The fight scenes are taking place we see the characters as if
they were part of a fighting game and then we have the comic
book text put on screen when punches are made which has
mixed up both of these so that the audience can feel as if they
are both watching a game being played and seeing a comic
book.

10. Hyper Reality
• This whole film challenges the audience’s
perception of reality, as it combines realistic
characters with unrealistic game like
situations, such as mid-air fights where no one
gets hurt.

11. Simulacrum
• This film is attempting to mimic that of a
cheesy hero fighter film, but lacks the
substance of a well known heroes and villains
story. It lacks engaging action and a gripping
storyline.

13. Intertextual reference
• The scene with the mirror reflections has an intertextual
reference to the Citizen Kane (1941) when Kane sees himself
reflected indefinitely. This represents in Inception the idea
that there are many worlds that reflect off of this world but
when Ariadne touches the mirror lightly and it shatters, show
how fragile the dream worlds are and that there is only one
reality.

14. Hyper Reality
• The film ‘Inception’ has many aspects of
hyper-reality. During this film, the mind is
opened into another reality which could be
seen as more desirable than real life reality.
This aspect of the film means a sense of anew,
better and more sought-after world and so
the audience are convinced that it is an
authentic world.

15. Bricolage
• Within inception, it combines the genres of crime-drama, film
noir and a psychological twist. This creates a whole new sub-
division of its own. Within these levels all the senses the
characters experience are copies of the real world and the
unrealistic dream elements are copies of past dreams. The
people are copies of reality and some of the places.

16. Simulacrum
• Inception toys around with the idea of
simulacrum and shows it by travelling to a
dream world within a dream world within a
dream world.

18. Bricolage
• This film combines at heart-felt emotional scenes
with that of comical circumstances that induce no
emotional response at all. This gives the situation a
humorous interpretation. Such as the scene where
the Hobo places a picture of a bear in the prostitutes
empty picture frame.

19. Simulacrum
• This film is based on a trailer for a bad film, and has
attempted to form a copy of the ideas from this
trailer. This form of post-modernism can be criticised
by the beliefs of, for being vacuous, as it is a text with
no intention to serve any purpose, and therefore can
be regarded as a pointless and depthless.

20. Hyper Reality
• Every aspect of this film is hyper-real, as the
characters are over dramatic and provide unrealistic
performances. The situation itself, of a bleak and
wild town ruled by a few rich people seems very
unlikely and poorly explained.

21. Intertextual reference
• Hobo with a Shotgun has Intertextual
references to Steam punk.