THERE IS NO NEWS... ONLY TELEVISION

Ok - so here's a postmodern theory / idea for you to consider.

In days gone by, the news would be just that - a programme about current events. Now, in a postmod environment, the news has become more than the sum of its parts. It is 'entertainmemt' - with live call-ins, viewer polls, hyper-real graphical displays to back up the content presented not by a newscaster, but by TV-beautiful icons who are becoming more celebrity than the celebrities they report on (eg Paxman)

They broadcast from a hyper real studio, filled with graphical images and this adds to the postmod experience.

http://archive.org/details/NbcNews17march1949

TV News in a Postmodern World by Terry L. Heaton I heard a report the other day about math and science scores in American public schools as compared to the rest of the world. We don’t do very well, folks, and that has all the usual suspects pointing fingers of blame. Politicians on both sides of the aisle use statistical stories such as these to argue their own agendas, but everybody seems to miss the reality that we, as Americans, live in a culture that views such teaching as increasingly irrelevant. Whether that’s good or bad is not the point of this essay. I merely wish to point out that my daughter’s calculator makes her legitimately ask why she needs to memorize math tables. Math and science themselves have created the tools that allow the users to move past learning fundamentals and into application, the experiencing of the knowledge as opposed to the learning thereof. This is basic postmodernism, a fun little cultural change that has happened in my lifetime, and one to which few TV journalists have paid much attention. Too bad, for without this understanding, none of what’s happening in the business of TV news makes much sense, nor does there seem to be any way to plug the holes of this sinking ship. The truth is that a sinking ship eventually sinks! I say, "Let it go and build one that can stay afloat in the 21st Century." But that requires a fresh perspective on life in these United States. What is postmodernism? I don’t believe there is a single, universally accepted definition of this term. As a movement, it essentially points to the end of modernism, a cultural era that touted science, logic, and the mind of man over traditions, especially religious ones. I also doubt that there is such a thing as a pure postmodernist, for that would mean somebody completely anti-intellectual and entirely relativistic. In fact, it’s very difficult for a logical modernist to accept or even understand concepts so contrary to his or her own core perspective. Therefore, rather than taking a standard definition from a philosophy text, it will be more useful for this discussion to compare postmodernism with modernism on a few important levels: Modernists share a universal faith in logic and science. Postmodernists (Pomos) see the realism of limitations. Words like purpose, design and hierarchy are modernist, while postmodernists would rather use play, chance and anarchy. Pomos don’t completely reject logic, but their own experiences tell them that order isn’t over all, and they passionately despise what they see as the inherent elitism of hierarchy. Modernists view much of life of life at arm’s length. Postmodernists experience it as participatory. Life is not "out there" to Pomos; rather, it is all around us — something that we can have as little or as much of as we choose. One of the most defining differences is with God, where the modernist would first see God, the Father. The postmodernist would see God, the Holy Spirit. God, the Father, represents distant authority, which Pomos reject, while God, the Holy Spirit, is among us, something we can experience for ourselves. For the modernist, the parts logically make up the whole, but the Pomo views the whole as greater than the parts. Premodernism: "I believe, therefore I understand." Modernism: "I think and reason, therefore I understand." Postmodernism: "I experience, therefore I understand." Most people I know today are a combination of modern and postmodern thinkers, but the shift from one to the other is unmistakable, if you allow yourself to see it. What’s interesting is exploring the various writings about postmodernism, because everyday events begin to make sense. My generation has helped create a world wherein this postmodern thinking can flourish. My daughter’s calculator, for example, permits her to use math, something that I couldn’t do without memorization and discipline. Likewise, the Internet enables her to use science, because knowledge is there at the click of a mouse. "Use it" is very postmodernist, while "Study it" is very modernist. Armed with knowledge and information promised by the Internet, postmodernists are a serious threat to every institution in America whose power is derived from protected knowledge. Why do you think the American Medical Association was quick to create a lobbying arm that would keep informational medical Websites under its purview? The AMA is an entity governing a modernist institution whose members are licensed based on knowledge. Pomos don’t believe anybody should have to pay for knowledge, and they reject the idea of governing bodies, because they view them as self-serving. Modernists would argue this is really about protecting consumers from the unscrupulous, but postmodernists would say it’s about the AMA protecting its own interests first. I believe this cultural shift has significant ramifications for the news business. Postmodernism wants to play and experience, and it will not sit still for lecturing and passive participation — both of which are fundamental essentials of TV News. The anchor is a traditional authority figure. Postmodernists abhor authority, especially what they view as elitist, and the more we try to promote that, the more the postmodern world moves away. The more we try to educate, the farther away moves the audience. They don’t wish to be taught; they wish to learn by participating. Postmodernism sees through our bells and whistles, our live shots, our promotional copy, and our trickery. The more we attempt to explain what we view as out-of-control, the more we lose postmodernists, who view anarchy and chaos as acceptable realities and reject the modernist idea of a logical way things "ought to be." The "broad" in broadcasting is gone forever. The very ideas of community and group identity have changed. "Tribes" is a word often heard in postmodernist discussion; diversity is a righteous concept among Pomos. Tribes transcend communities. A mosaic that spreads beyond anybody’s melting pot has replaced yesterday’s logical, American mindset. This also runs counter to modernist news organizations, which still operate with a logical belief that the whole (community) is the sum of its parts and that we’re all in this together. 10 ideas for consideration So how does one "do news" for postmodernists? In my opinion, the following ideas are open for discussion: Firstly, there IS no news except television (better: "video") news. Pomos want to see and hear for themselves, not read about it from a distance. News must be available 24/7. Gone are the days when people will tune in at a specific time to be "given" the news. There’s no such thing as a newscast in a postmodernist world. Stories must be available simultaneously, with the viewer able to select at random. Pomos don’t believe they should have to wait for anything. News must not be afraid to present the absurdities and contradictions of life as parts of the reality of a multi-cultural, diverse world. News must include everybody’s perspective, identify the organization’s own perspective, or give none at all. The artificial journalistic hegemony known as objectivity is dead. It never was real and Pomos see through it. News must give up its obsession with stardom and celebrity. Postmodernists reject authority and elitism (newscasters and reporters) in favor of participation and the knowledge acquired therein. Reporters could and perhaps should represent the various tribes. This would provide sort of a global view from which viewers could pick and choose. "Now what?" is an important question for postmodernists, but only insofar as they can make up their own minds. "Live" is hypercritical, for the Pomo wants to participate more than anything else. News must be interactive, but the goal is participation, not driving viewers to goals or solutions. I believe it’s time for TV stations to spin their news departments out as wholly owned subsidiary companies and permit them to seek their own distribution outlets. Create a licensing arrangement with the parent company for broadcast rights, and let the laws of the market determine who continues and who doesn’t. Despite their similarities, broadcasters are not Web people, because their interests conflict. Consequently, TV stations only play with the Internet, and in so doing, they miss the point of the technology. They also deny and ignore the primary conduit to the whole postmodernist movement. It will stay that way unless the news becomes its own master, complete with the option to decide how best to distribute its product. Chasing the young demos Young people are vastly more postmodern than their parents, and the gap between generations today is far more than simply one of age. This is critical for television people to understand, for it offers an identifiable clue as to why TV News audiences are getting older and older. If you want to catch trout, you must use trout bait. The currently accepted philosophies of television news will never be attractive to postmodernist-leaning young people. The digital era, created by the logic of a modernist world, has done far more than simply empower young people with knowledge. It is the force accelerating an enormous cultural shift and leaving broadcast news organizations in a very fragile position. Like Dorothy, Pomos have cast aside the curtain and revealed the Wizard for what he really is — a profit-motivated entity that they believe has fooled people for decades. To paraphrase Murrow: "We can deny and ignore this shift if we choose, but we cannot escape responsibility for the consequences."

Typical post mod question

Taken from OCR - so it's almost straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak...

Postmodern Media
1.  ‘Discuss two or more more media texts that you would define as ‘postmodern’ and explain why you would give them this label. Cover at least two media in your answer.
  MARRS – Pump Up the Volume. A seminal 1987 UK No.1 that was one of the first
tracks to feature samples from other records and had a huge influence on
establishing sampling as a core element of dance music.
  AMV (Anime Music Videos) – fan created cut ups of anime videos using digital
video editing software and alternate music tracks.
  Quentin Tarantino films – numerous intertextual references to a variety of genres
and icons. Kill Bill is a prime example. The martial arts genre is heavily
referenced by Uma Thurman wearing a similar yellow jumpsuit to Bruce Lee and
the use of the original actors from the ‘70s such as David Carradine and Gordon
Liu.

The above was taken straight from OCR.

You could, instead, reference Telephone and the intertextuality with Kill Bill / Ross Myers etc.

Write about how Kill Bill takes from Bruce Lee (as above)

Consider (maybe) Four Lions and how there is no meta narrative behind the story (ie terrorism isn't shown as good or bad. Terrorism just 'is'. As a viewer we're left to make up our own mind about the narrative (death of author etc)

Post mod work

Here's something for you to look at and consider.

Remember, the more you watch, the easier it is to identify postmod influences.

Look at:

Lady Gaga: Telephone
Watch Kill Bill

Consider the look of Betty Page (link to Jessie J look...)

Link Kill Bill / Telephone

Watch Telephone first.

Then conisder the look of Russ Myers films eg Faster Pussycat Kill Kill

See this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdLTIzrRrBo

Make sense about borrowing?

Ok.
Now look at Bruce Lee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q9kYKtvYU0

Classic fight scene. Traditional oriental music accompanies the fight. People in traditional Gi (the fighting suits)

Now link this to Tarrentino in Kill Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jhTRqgTZSM

It's the same... Yet different.

Think about homage and pastiche. Is Tarrentino paying homage to Lee?

Costume... Very formal DJ for the men (black uniform), but the eye-bands give it the post modern feel.

No judgement is expected on the part of the audience. We are not supposed to feel good / bad / revolted by watching the violence. There is no narrative to it or point behind it.

Now watch the next scene...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3aFv8IQb4s

What are your initial thoughts?

How did you feel about it?

Was it 'cool'?

Was it stylish?

What cuture / convention / genre is being taken here?

Think about the Japanese media obsession with schoolgirl-look and Manga.

Scribble down a few comments now...
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Then think that, in essence, you've just watched a schoolgirl get murdered.

Why is this postmodern? Did you make, or were you asked to make, a moral judgement based on what you just watched?

No.

Was there retrospective hand-wringing from parents / siblings / teachers?

If there were, it would 'tell' us what to think (eg sorry for the child and the death)

But's it's not. There's no call on us as viewers to make the moral decision as to what is right and what is wrong. Tarrentino doesn't tell us what to think.

This links in to Barthes and the death of the author idea... ie that 'it is not what is written that is important, only how it is interprited by the reader.'

Essentially, YOUR interpritation is all that counts, not what is intended by a writer / director / producer et al.

Work for Monday, March 11

Here you go...

Don't panic too much, but here's a typical exam question... Along with some help answering it.

Complete the table first of all (go online or refer to your notes to help you), then have a go at the question.

Link the numbers to the letters so, for example, 1 = K. You can have that one for free!

1. Post-modern	A To copy something in a humorous and tongue in cheek way.
2. Post-modernity	B A culture and society in which individual and collective identity is constructed in material acts of economic exchange e.g. shopping
3. Parody	C The semiotic landscape of a society dominated by consumer culture and information technology
4. Pastiche	D A copy without an original
5. Hyper-reality	E A historical period in Western culture after the Second World in which society became dominated by information technology
6. Consumer culture	F The knowledge and information that informs  people’s cultural consumption in a post-modern society
7. Simulacrum	G The basic units of semiotic analysis.
8. Cultural capital	H To copy something without humour, irony or anything else that communicates difference
9. Signifier and the signified	I The dominant way of thinking about society and culture enforced by the ruling class.
10. Multi-accentuality	J A system of belief or ideas.
11. Ideology	K The collapse of the distinction between the real and simulated.
12. Hegemony	L The way in which meaning changes according to context and over-time.

 THEN:

Consider the ways in which post-modern media challenge conventional relations between audience and text. Refer to at least two media forms in your answer. [50]

HELP:

Re-read the question and define in your own terms what is meant by the following words or phrases:

Post-modern 

Post-modernity

Conventional relations between audience and text

Post-modern relations between audience and text

Using the list below select texts in each category you would feel confident with looking at.

Remember to be specific e.g. don’t just say post-modern Art, say Damien Hirst.

Computer Games / Platforms

Play Station, Nintendo DS, wii etc, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Combat, Virtual Football Manager, Warcraft, CoD

Interactive Media

Internet, Social networking, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube etc.

Cinema

Blue Velvet, Desperate Living, Videodrome, The Graduate, Clockwork Orange, The Matrix, The Full Monty.

Television

Reality TV, Big Brother, Black Mirror, Life on Mars, Soap, Sitcom, Mighty Boosh, Flight of the Conchords.

Music Video

Eisenstein, Hollywood Musicals, Rock ‘n’ roll films, The Beatles, Queen, MTV, Michael Jackson, YouTube,

Advertising

Compare the Meerkat, Cadbury’s. FHM Sports Driver, viral marketing, niche marketing, multi-platform, interactive.

Art

Romanticism, Modernism, Post-modernism, Situationism, Surrealism, Pop Art, Saatchi Gallery, Turner Prize.

Homework... Finish this off!

Homework - male gaze

Ok, 1. Have a look at the following : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QA-ksOHP0bY It's a scene from Apocalypse Now, a classic movie. Deconstruct the scene and think how Mulvey's work relates. For example, how are both men and women shown? What are the instincts / ambitions of the men in the audience (and the cinema audience)? How are the women shown? What effect does the lighting have on the scene? Does this reinforce any of the comments or points you've made? What is the fetishistic gaze? Is it relevent? Are women exploited - what do you think? What are the connpotations with only male voices being heard? Try and write this as an essay - email it to me, but also add it to your blogs.

Look at these...

Look at this / these... http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/music-groundbreakingvideos/1/ http://whatculture.com/film/6-groundbreaking-films-that-redefined-their-genres.php http://www.ifc.com/fix/2009/06/50-greatest-trailers

Laura who?

Homework and lesson time: Make sure you have decided on a song / genre / sub genre Look at (or try to find) benchmark videos from the genre What does Laura Mulvey have to say about where viewers look... Crypic I know, but think how her views on the male gaze can be interprited by you in your own work. This is true for music vids and trailers... What draws a viewer's attention to a text et cetera.