Q. Explain how certain types of media can be defined as postmodern.

Q. Explain how certain types of media can be defined as postmodern.

Postmodernism is a style used nowadays that incorporates previous iconic views and samples and is replicating and reinterpreting modernism in different ways. 

An artist which I have studies that could be described as postmodern is Jay Z . I feel he could be regarded as postmodern in many ways. Postmodernism can be seen in many things as it is just re-iterating art and recognition such as Jay Z's real nickname "Jazzy"given to him from where he grew up in Brooklyn, New York. It was then adapted to Jay-Z and eventually the hyphen was dropped in 2013 because Jay Z preferred his stage name without it. His name also pays homage to an older rapper Jay-O. In present times Jay Z pays homage to many artists. He is returning an old, overlooked style of work to the big stage by interpreting their work. For example in the song "Niggas in Paris" Jay Z used a clip/sound from "Reverend W.A. Donaldson - Baptizing scene" 1959. This is the screaming and talking "how you'll feeling" speech that can be heard at the start of the song. Jay Z used this country/folk song in a completely different way to which it was intended and created an intro for his rap/hip hop genre of music. Jay Z also can be described as postmodern for other reasons. Jay Z pays homage to to artists in a more informal way. During the 2012 BET awards Jay Z interrupts Kanye West during his speech just like Kanye did to Taylor Swift 3 years previous. This shows postmodernism as Jay Z is replicating a moment from the past to achieve humour.

The film "Her" directed  and written by Spike Jonze could be described as postmodern in many ways. In the film Her the characters seem to live in a hyper-real universe. It is hard to tell whether it is just meant to just be in the future or whether it could even be seen to be a parallel universe. It is filmed in Los Angeles, California but the characters styles differ to what you would expect the 'norm' to wear in Los Angeles. There is a consistancy to the hyper-real world with all male characters seemingly wearing high waisted trousers and very colourful 60s/70s type shirts. However it didn't fully follow the 60s/70s theme as no flares or big collars were seen throughout the film. This mixture of genre and elements could be seen as postmodern as Spike is paying homage to a specific era and re-inventing it for a new purpose in the film. Another thing that catches the audiences attention that adds to the hyper-real world is that lots of people are walking in Los Angeles. This isn't the stereotypical thought of LA as in most films it is very dense with traffic. Adding to this and the style, a lot of the men can be seen to have mustaches. This isn't an in fashion in the present times. These mixture of elements co-existing in the hyper-real wold that Spike has created could be seen as postmodern as they are paying homage to older styles and recreating a world for a fictional purpose. Another thing that could be seen as a postmodern element is that Theadore develops an intimate relationship with his OS (operating system). It seems this technology is a futuristic version of today's Apple products. This could be seen to be postmodern as it is recreating scenario's in the future using similar existing products. The use of a mixture of genres and music types could be regarded as postmodern as there is a 60s soul song "sure of love" that seems to coincide with the 60s type fashion theme. This is re-creating a time period in a futuristic hyper-real world.

Overall I feel there have been several elements that could be described as postmodern.Such as the manipulation of conventions and styles that can be seen in 'Her' and the intertextuality in which Jay Z can be described to be paying homage to other texts/artists.This combination of influences create such an effect that can be described as postmodern media.

Essay Question - Unfinished

"Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework tasks"



Narrative theories can be applied to all media products. These theories can be applied to the video "Hollow - The Look". The featuring band are of indie/alternative genre and have a target audience of 15-25 year olds. The narrative theories can be applied to this bands song are cultural, symbolic and semantic.


Roland Barthes' narrative codes can be applied to the establishing shot from Hollow - The Looks music video. At 0:00 the cultural code can be applied, the shot relates to people in the same culture as the band themselves. This is because the audience may idolise the band as they play instruments or they may already play instruments therefore they have an understanding of what the band is doing. They can also make a link through the aesthetic things that can be seen. The band will be wearing attractive/similar style clothing to the genre audience they are targeting. The symbolic code can also be applied. It is symbolic that the band has deadpan facial expressions as this is the opposite to the bands real quirky personality. The semantic code that can be seen is that it is literal. What the audience can see is what is actually happening, the band are playing the instruments/music.


Narrative codes can also be applied to the shot 1:19 of Hollow's video. This shot represents culture as only an audience that appreciates musical instruments being played in an indie/alternative way will be able to understand the skill and talent behind playing the guitar.This shot can be seen as symbolic as it is showing off the modern guitar which is an adaptation of the ancient and noble instrument, whose history can be traced back over 4000 years. Many theories have been advanced about the instrument's ancestry. It has often been claimed that the guitar is a development of the lute, or even of the ancient Greek.

Post-modernism and Music - Jay Z

Post-modernism and Music - Jay Z

Homage

 –
 does your chosen artist use other people’s music in a respectful way? Are they bringing a
potentially overlooked or forgotten style to a new audience?

Vocals / Lyrics
Country / Folk

Baptizing Sceneby Reverend W.A. Donaldson (1959)

	Jay Z and Kanye WestNiggas in Paris
	Watch the Throne Def Jam 2011

	Reverend W.A. Donaldson Baptizing Scene
	Sounds of the South Atlantic 1959

Sample appears at 0:07

Sample appears at 0:04

Vocals / Lyrics
Hip-Hop / R&B

Victoryby Puff Daddy feat. The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes (1997)

	Jay Z and Kanye WestNiggas in Paris
	Watch the Throne Def Jam 2011

	Puff Daddy feat. The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes Victory
	No Way Out Bad Boy 1997

Sample appears at 0:43

Sample appears at 1:31

Pastiche

 –
does you chose artist use other peoples music in order to mock it and its fans? Are they
attempting to damage the ‘authority’ of a style of music?

Hip hop mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter has been accused of ridiculing pop star Taylor Swift in a new song.

The Hollywood rapper, 43, produced "The Great Gatsby" soundtrack in which his song, "100$ Bill," is featured. Jay-Z makes reference to an infamous incident involving his best friend Kanye West and Swift in which the "Mercy" rapper stole the microphone from the singer, 23, at the 2009 MTV Music Awards.

"That cheese made us constipated couldn't tell us s---/Took that, Taylor Swift to a hundred ------- million, -----," Jay-Z raps.

Bricolage

 –
 does your chosen artist use music from different time periods or genres? Does this
change the ‘meaning’ of the original song?

"Girls, Girls, Girls" is the second single from rapper Jay-Z's album The Blueprint. It is a playful description of the artist's promiscuous lifestyle. The song contains a sample of "There's Nothing In This World That Can Stop Me From Loving You" by Tom Brock. The chorus features a lyrical interpolation of "High Power Rap" by Crash Crew. The song has additional vocals sung by Q-Tip,Slick Rick and Biz Markie, but they are not credited as featured guests on the back artwork, they are however credited in the album's liner notes.



Intertextual References

 –
 does your artist reference other songs (lyrically, melodically, stylistically, visually) in their work?

The Jay-Z/Nas feud was a hip hop rivalry during the early 2000s and is one of the most high-profile feuds in hip hop history. It was characterized by comments (both on- and off-record, figuratively as well as literally) between Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Nasir "Nas" Jones from 2001 until resolved in 2005. The conflict received public attention owing to the critically and commercially successful nature of both artists. It is one of the most followed feuds in hip hop history, especially after the aftermath of the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry of the 1990s

Simulacrum

 –
Is your artist ‘real’ or merely playing a ‘character’? For many ‘mainstream’ artists,
their image is just as important as their sound (if not more so), postmodern artists play with ideas of image in the way they re represent themselves.

In Jay-Z's days as a youngin' he was known as "Jazzy." He later changed his rap moniker to Jay-Z to salute his mentor rapper and producer, Jaz-O, and the subway lines of his hometown of Brooklyn. - He is himself but his image has changed over the years as he looks smarter nowadays and has changed his name.

Consumption

 –
 how does your chosen artist wish their music to be consumed? Is there an artefact (object) that accompanies their music?

As part of a broader deal between Samsung and Roc Nation – estimated at $20m – a total of 1m copies ofJay-Z's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, were given away on Thursday at one minute past midnight (US eastern time), a full 72 hours before it officially goes on sale. The Korean mobile company has paid $5m so that the first million owners of Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note II devices to claim the album though a free app from the Google Play store get a three-day headstart on the rest of Jay-Z's fans.



Creation

 –
 how does your artist create their music, are they a musician, a songwriter, a composer,

Songwriter/Musician

Performance

 –
does your artist play ‘live’? Is there a ‘show’ to accompany? Is there a ‘style’ to their
videos? What if any interaction is there with their audience? [
No strong sense of history or the future. Alienation is abolished by saying, 'Utopia is now' as in raves or music festivals.
 Even a critic of postmodernism like Hans Magnus Enzensburger has observed, 'consumption as spectacle is
 –
 in parody form
 –
 the anticipation of a utopian situation' (1974).]



Influence

 –

 Has your artist influenced the wider world of music (are other artists keen to collaborate, have mainstream artists appropriated their sound)?

In 2008, Jay-Z announced a 10-year, $150 million deal to release music through concert-promotion behemoth Live Nation. With one of the best-selling rappers of all time—and a former Def Jam label exec—leaving the major label system, the deal rocked the industry, signaling a new, artist-centric shift in power.

Jay-Z may not have the high-fashion panache of Kanye West, but his influence in street wear over the past decade-and-a-half is undeniable. Yes, he made "the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can," but he's also popularized several other trends, including throwbacks, striped button-ups, Chloé glasses, all-white air forces and platinum jewelry. Plus, there's his clothing line, Rocawear, which, although it's fallen on tough times of late, is undoubtedly one of the most successful urban clothing brands of all time. 

Jay-Z's close relationship with President Obama has brought rap to D.C. He's hosted fund-raisers for the prez, performed at rallies and earned the ire of conservative politicos and commentators. 

Other rappers and musicians have owned parts of sports teams, but it's hard to think of another that's had the impact that Jay's had. Despite his small ownership stake (now relinquished), he was basically the face of the Brooklyn Nets, and played key roles in the building of the team's new stadium, its logo design, stadium decor and more.  

Jay-Z's 2011 book Decoded, which broke down the lyrics to many of his classics, put brand-new spotlight on the skill, poetry and meaning behind rapping. Although RapGenius was founded in 2009, it's more recent success was arguably fueled by Hov's pioneering book.

Jay-Z's track record as a music exec at Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam and Roc Nation is no joke. He signed Rihanna and Kanye West, two of the biggest, most influential artists of the new millennium. He also helped launch the careers of J. Cole, Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Just Blaze and other skilled rap luminaries who've left an oversize mark on the game.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé, who recently became music's first billion-dollar married couple, are inspiring millions with their successes and their support of one another.  

In a world where too many fathers—even famous ones—aren't there for their children, Jay-Z and Blue Ivy are making a daddy-hood look cooler than ever. 

Jay-Z is shattering walls and glass ceilings that have long held back hip hop. In 2011, he broke Elvis' record for most No. 1 albums by a solo artist. In 2004, he became CEO of Def Jam, one of music's biggest labels. In 1999, his Hard Knock Life tour showed that rap could fill arenas. Rap is now widely accepted as part of mainstream pop culture, and Jay is a big reason why.

Over his years behind the mic, Jay-Z has arguably become the most successful rapper of all time, with dozens of truly timeless rap classics to his name. Even when Roc Nation folds and the Barclays Center rusts away, Jay's music will live on, inspiring and entertaining aspiring rappers, young moguls-to-be and everyday people. 

Sampling

Bricolage

Shuffle Playlist

1. Do You Want It All? - Two Door Cinema Club
2. Objects in the Mirror - Mac Miller
3. Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit
4. Pick Up The Mic - JME
5. Talk - The 1975
6. Higher Than The Sun - Peace
7. Brianstorm - Arctic Monkeys
8. Rooftops - Mikill Pane
9. Little Hospitals - Biffy Clyro
10. Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
11. Another Night - Mac Miller
12. Sandwiches - Tyler, The Creator (feat Hodgy Beats)
13. Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John
14. Kiara - Bonobo
15. Someday - The Strokes
16. Bringing It Back - Master Shortie
17. Queen of Your Dreams - Example
18. Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake
19. Better Than That - Miles Kane
20. Emily's Heart - Jamie T

Django Unchained and Postmodernity

What is a Western -The Western is a genre of various arts, such as film, television, radio, fiction and art. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Many feature cowboys, bandits, lawmen, soldiers and Indians, as well as spectacular mountain scenery. Some are set in the colonial era. There are also a number of films about Western-type characters in contemporary settings, such as JBunior onner set in the 1970s and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada in the 21st century. The Western was one of the most well-known Hollywood genres from the early 20th century to the 1960s.

What is a spaghetti Western? - A western film that has been made cheaply in Europe by an Italian director.

What is a blaxploitation film? - Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the 1970s. It is considered an ethnic subgenre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience appeal soon broadened across racial and ethnic lines. The term itself is a combination of the words "black" and "exploitation."

Which three films does Django Unchained take it's name from? - 
-Django 
-Hercules Unchanged 
-Angel Unchained

Why does Franco Nero appear in the film and what is the significance of his dialogue with Jamie Foxx? - he had his first lead role in Sergio Corbucci's Django (1966) a spaghetti western and one of his best known films. "The D is silent".

What song plays over the final credits and how does this film connect to the original film Django? - 
Trinity (Titoli) Annabale - Django Unchained 
Originally played in the first Django film.

Which other song from Django features in Django Unchained?
The theme, "Django", was also the theme song of the 1966 film.

Who or what is Mr Ed?
Mister Ed is an American television situation comedy produced by Filmways. The Mister Ed show concept was derived from a series of short stories by children's author Walter R. Brooks, which began with The Talking Horse in the September 18, 1937.

What is the significance of the red mask worn by Zoe Bell as Django murders the killers of d’Artagnan?
In the original Django film, the characters wear red masks. Tarantino makes a stunt women wear this to make reference to the original film.

The name of the saloon in which Schultz and Django drink is called Minnesota Clay, why?
Sergio Corbucci made a film called Minnesota Clay and he also made the original Django therefore there is a reference to a similar film.

Who is Ennio Morricone?
Ennio Morricone, is an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor and former trumpet player, who has written music for more than 500 motion pictures and television series, as well as contemporary classical works.

What connects him to both Django Unchained and director Sergio Corbucci?
He composed a song for both directors for the original "Django" and "Django Unchained".

What sequence has made the 1903 film "The Great Train Robbery" so iconic?
Among the earliest existing films in American cinema - notable as the first film that presented a narrative story to tell - it depicts a group of cowboy outlaws who hold up a train and rob the passengers. They are then pursued by a Sheriff's posse. Several scenes have color included - all hand tinted.

What is the significance of the name Von Shaft?
Von Shaft is the name of a film made in 1971. Broomhilda Von Shaft is linked with shaft and is meant to be his ancester.  

What TV western does Django's western style outfit pay homage to?
Bonanza.