Chapter 15 The Postmodern Film So far we have seen what postmodernism is and how it influenced arts, particularly literature.

In this chapter we will understand how cinema has responded to this phenomenon. In his The Dismemberment of Orpheus (1982), Ihab assan constructed a list to compare ! contrast the differences between modernism and postmodernism. "his #oes as followin#$

Postmodern cinema Postmodernism as a literary/cultural phenomenon is characterized by: delegitimation and dedifferentiation, leading to indeterminacy and erosion of authority. Some key features of postmodernist cinema are: Narrative fragmentation which can be exemplified in films such as: Moulin Rouge, Run Lola Run, Zelig , Memento, Fight Club, and Requiem for a Dream. Nostalgia as a prevalent mode: Velvet, Cry-Baby, Hairs ray, !leasantville, "#$ar# %&issorhan#s, 'he 'ruman %ho$, and also in pastiches of Hitchcock films for instance, !us "an Sant#s Psycho$. Fragmented psyche/delusion as seen in %avid &ynch films, Dead Ringers, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich , S necdoche !e" #ork, $ Serious Man, Shutter island, and %nception& Resistance to closure$ 'ulp (iction, "he )laderunner, *atural )orn +illers, Inception, contemporary Iranian cinema, cinema of ,on# -ar ,ai Self-referentiality: ( ), *ag the Dog, %tar#ust Memories, 'he !ur le Rose of Cairo, Barton Fin+, "# *oo#, and 'o Die For.

Hyperlink is a term coined by author %lissa &uart for films which are multilinear in a metaphorical sense. 'xamples of this kind of cinema are: !ul Fi&tion, ,#a tation, %li#ing Doors, ,more !erros, -. /rams, Babel, %yriana, Crash , and City of /o#. Anthology or omnibus or portmanteau film is a film consisting of se(eral different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking e(ent often a turning point$. Some notable examples include: )offee and )igarettes, Paris, * lo(e you, +ew ,ork, * lo(e you, -he +ew ,ork Stories, -okyo Stories, and -oronto Stories. Sometimes there is a theme, such as a place /city symphonies e.g. 0e$ 1or+ %tories, !aris, 2e t3aime, 0e$ 1or+, 4 Love 1ou$, a person e.g. 'oronto %tories, Four Rooms$, or a thing e.g. '$enty Bu&+s, Coffee an# Cigarettes$, that is present in each story and ser(es to bind them together. Hollywood also has anthologies of horror films. .ecent examples from Bollywood include .am !opal "arma/s Darna Mana Hai and its se0uel Darna Zaroori Hai 5-6678.

Paris Jtaime (2006) % collection of 12 short films by 31 celebrated directors from around the world. -he film tells of an incident or an encounter in (arious Paris neighborhoods. -hematically, *t co(ers the range from drama, romance, comedy, mime, and e(en (ampire mo(ies, and offers a stunningly beautiful 4postcard# (iew of a Paris that a tourist may/may not usually (isit. -he film is an ode to the romantic dislocations of urban life. -he two5hour film is set in different arrondissements of Paris, and captures the essence of the city of Paris to its inhabitants, and the world at large. -he fragmented narrati(e pro(ides snapshots of the most romantic city in the world, which is not necessarily the glamorous setting of films and no(els. Coffee & Cigarettes (2../) ,riter0director 1im 1armusch2s antholo#y film was ori#inally, a 12 minute blac-3and3white short film in 1984. "he film consists primarily of a conversation between Steven ,ri#ht and 5oberto )eni#ni in a coffee shop, which would later be included in the feature3len#th 'offee and 'igarettes released in 2../. 6 common thread that runs throu#h the several stories is a sense of power plays between people based on nationality, attitudes, #ender and social status. 6 recurrin# idea of the movie is that the entire world is a -ind of instrument, a 77transmitter of acoustical resonances,8 (attributed to the physicist *i-ola "esla).

John Woos Face Off (1

!)

"he on# +on# born director 1ohn ,oo e9plores the issue of blurred identities, where hyper3real violence ma-es the film a cinematic spectacle. "he film , starrin# 1ohn "ravolta and *icholas :a#e, offers a representation of masculinity which can be perceived as the self3conscious actin# out of #ender roles. (redric 1ameson sees the reliance on the styles of the past as an indication of the particular -ind of nostal#ia that is one of the definin# characteristics of postmodern art and states, ;random cannibali<ation of all the styles of the past8 reduces the past to a series of spectacles, a collection of ima#es disconnected from any #enuine sense of historical process (in 'ostmodernism= or, "he :ultural &o#ic of &ate :apitalism). "he openin# scene in sepia colour tone >uotes from the clima9 of itchcoc-2s Strangers on a Train, with plenty of intercuttin# between the credit shots. ,oo also ma-es use of ?usic as pastiche with a blend of %ie#etic (or the music within), hi#h brow music ( andel2s allelu@ah) and ;Somewhere over the rainbow8 from The (i)ard of O)= and e9tradie#etic (music which is not a part of the narrative but is located outside) roc- music at various places. "he film2s basic premise, of Swappin# identities throu#h technolo#ical advancements, too is >uite postmodernist. 6#ain as a self3referential device, :a#e2s transformation into 6rcher ("ravolta) evo-es memories of his earlier roles as a haunted hero, for e9ample, in ?oonstruc-, :on 6ir. &i-ewise, "ravolta into 'ollu9 (:a#e ) comes with his customary fluid movements, reminiscent of his turns as a cool, dancin# star in *rease, Saturda !ight +ever, and ,ulp +iction. "li#er $tones Natural Born Killers (1 %)

,alter )en@amin in his essay, ;"he ,or- of 6rt in the 6#e of ?echanical 5eproduction8 describes film as the ;most powerful a#ent8 of the wor- of art by modern, mechanically reproduced art forms.8)en@amin believed that by their very nature, films are fra#mented(divided into shots0scenes0ta-es) and disrupt the sense of wholeness that #ives traditional art much of its reli#ious flavour. )en@amin believed that films shatter the aura of the traditional sanctity of art and are instrumental in democrati<ation of human societies. )en@amin also ur#ed ?ar9ists to politici<e art.

!atural Born -illers was radical at the time of its release by the use of pastiche, and colla#e of popular #enres. It was also noted for innovative intercuttin# of ima#es , a blend of items from films, tv, and cartoons. "he films employment of ?"A3li-e editin#, distorted ima#es and saturated colours distanced the audience from the film and re>uired them to reflect over the nature of media3saturated lifestyle of 6mericans. "he central idea

evo-es )audrillard2s observation, ;in contemporary 6merica, reality e9ists only in the conte9t of media ima#es.8 :ritically and commercially well3received, *atural )orn +illers was denounced by the 5epublicans ! conservative :hristians, and the 5epublican candidate )ob %ole in 1994 cited it as an e9ample of the ne#ative influences of ollywood films on the 6merican society. Conclusion In his analytical study of postmodern ollywood cinema, +eith )oo-er concludes, ;Bne should e9pect a #reat deal of artistic creativity in postmodern art, even in forms (such as film) that are dominated by economics in particular obvious ways.8 Indeed with directors such as ,on# -ar ,ai, 5obert &e'a#e, "im )urton, "he :oens, 'aul "homas 6nderson, and %avid (incher , the postmodern cinema pro@ect will be alive and -ic-in# for a lon# time to come.

&'()
1. 6nswer the followin# in brief$

i. ,rite a brief note on Ihab assan2s distinction between modernism and postmodernism. ii. C9plain the term hyperlin- cinema, with e9amples. iii. C9plain the difference between die#etic and e9tradie#etic music.

2.

(ill in the blan-s$

i. 5esistance to DDDDD. is a -ey feature of postmodernist te9ts. ii. DDDDD.. ?ar9ists to politici<e art. iii. :offee and ci#arettes is an e9ample ofDDDD film.

*ns+er ,e2. i3closure = ii.3,alter )en@amin = iii. 6ntholo#y0portmanteau $elected readin.s/

1. )oo-er, +eith ?. ,ostmodern .oll "ood. &ondon$ 'rae#er, 2..E. 2. :onnor, Steven (ed). The 'ambridge 'ompanion to ,ostmodernism .

:ambrid#e$ :ambrid#e Fniversity 'ress, 2..G. /. 1ameson, (redric. ,ostmodernism/ or, The 'ultural 0ogic of 0ate 'apitalism. %urham, *:$ %u-e Fniversity 'ress, 1991. G. asan, Ihab. The Dismemberment of Orpheus. ?adison, ,isconsin$ Fniversity of ,isconsin 'ress, 1982.

$elected +e0sites/ http$00en.wi-ipedia.or#0wi-i0'ostmodernistHfilm http$00www.film3philosophy.com0inde9.php0f3p0article0view0IGE0G4.