Question 2

ESSAY IN BRIEF
Explain How Certain Kinds of Media Can be Defined as Postmodern. 
Introduction
Postmodernism is a way of grouping and describing the different styles of thought. Postmodernism offers different ways of constructing and also deconstructing an idea. Postmodern text deliberately play with meaning. They are designed to be read by a literate audience and exhibit many traits of intertextuality.Many texts acknowledge this, due to the diverse audience today. Postmodern texts tend to use images and ideas in a way that is entirely alien to the original function. This distinction between media and reality has collapsed and we now live in a 'reality' defined by images and representations, also known as a state of simulacrum. Images refer to each other and represent each other as reality rather than some 'pure' reality that exists before the images represent it, also know as a state of hyperreality.
Postmodern Texts which should be considered as postmodern include Tom Twyers 1999 'Run Lola Run', Lady Gaga video for 'Telephone' in 2010, the video game produced by Rockstar North 'Grand Theft Auto' and lastly the TV series Glee. These are the case studies i have choose to look into greater detail to find out why they can be defined as postmodern and what features they share in order for them to be classed as postmodern.
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Run Lola Run is a key example to describe how media texts can be described as postmodern because of the concept of hyperreality displayed through out the film, as the film runs like a video game, some parts of the film are made to seem real to life, while other parts are very much fictional.
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Lady Gaga's video for telephone is another good example of a postmodern text as it displays intertextuality, another postmodern trait. The video is based on Tarrinto's films such as Pulp Fiction & Kill Bill.
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The video game 'Grand Theft Auto' is similar to Run Lola Run, as the film allows the audience to watch Lola try to achieve her goal, each time she fails she gets another chance, while in Grand Theft Auto, it is the player that has control and can choose what the character in the game does. The game is also based on different states in America, and can be compared to real life situations, which is what makes it postmodern because the boundaries of what is real and simulation are blurred, which is also what the game has been criticised for.
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Lastly, Glee is the last case study which i believe to define post modernity because it brings more than one postmodern feature together in one. For example, Glee involves a mash up of generic influence, intertextual influences and ideological content, which is best referenced in the episode 'The Power of Madonna'.
Conclusion
All in all, i believe these are key examples as media text to define what post modernity is and what it is all about. Despite arguments suggesting post modernity is nothing but a myth, or the theory is contradicting, it is still very much a part of modern society, for these very reasons.



Explain how your case studies could be described as being postmodern.
Postmodern texts tend to deliberately play with meaning and are designed to be read by a literate audience and show many traits of intertexuality for example. Postmodern texts also tend to use images and ideas in a way that is  entirely alien to the original function in order to achieve this. 'Postmodern Thought' has cause revolution across all different academic subjects, such as physics, English and geography. Postmodernism offers different way of constructing and deconstructing texts and ideas.

The case studies i have choose to study include Tom Tywkers 1999 film 'Run Lola Run', TV drama Glee, Lady Gaga's music video for 'Telephone' in 2010 and lastly the completer game 'Grand Theft Auto' by Rockstar North.

Run Lola Run is about a young woman in Germany who after receiving a phone call from her boyfriend who has 20 minutes to deliver 100,000 deutshmarks, otherwise he is going to steal the money from a supermarket.
The film could be described as postmodern for many reason, one of which the way it simulates a video game. for example, in a video game, if you don't get it right the first time, you have the oppertunity to try the level again, and can continue to do this to until you get it right. The film is split into three section to demonstrate Lola attempts at the mission she has been set, each section being one of her attempts. The fact she gets more than one attempt to complete the task is an example of hyper reality, and this does not happen in real life, you only get one chance to get it right.
Tom Twyker uses fast paced music thought the film to involve the audeince, so when they are watching they feel t encourage Lola and want to see her succeed and achieve her goal, so the two attempts she fails come as a disappointment, and the audience will her to do it again. 
The use of pastiche throughout the film is also an example of postmodernity. he film is very similar to the real video game 'Tomb Rader'. In a postmodern text baurillard would identify this as simulacra, as distinguishing between whats real and fake becomes blurred.

Another video game is 'Grand Theft Auto', which is slightly different to Tomb Rader as Grand Thft Auto gives the game player autonomy, as they have complete control over what happens in the game; there is no set storyline. It was released on windows and playstation in 1997 and then 1999, and its released cause a lot of controversy in the media.
The game is set in three primary setting in America, for example Liberty City is based on New York, Vice City is based on Miami and lastly San Andreas is based on San Francisco. Simulating real life activity.
The game works by the player striving to achieve a target number of points on several different levels, performing tasks for the city's gang leaders. Each time the player completes a mission they have the choice to attempt harder mission and gain higher rewards, but if they fail the task it affects future game play and can block future rewards. whatever the player does can affect the whole game. Just like in reality, the choices we make affect the rest of our lives, however we only get one chance to make that choice.
Away from taking part in crime in the city, the game player can also choose to freely roam the city and take part in mini mission, on the right side of law, such as driving a yellow taxi picking up passengers around the city and getting paid for dropping them to their destinations. This simulates real life and enables the audience to be emmersed into the diegisis world of the video game.

Lady Gaga was born in 1980 in New York and released her debut album in 2008 named 'The Fame'. 'Telephone was released off her second album 'The Fame Monster' in 2009, just a year later. Telephone was written by Gaga herself, but was orginally intended for Britney Spears. It was officially released in 2010.
Lady Gaga is considered to be a postmodern idol. reasons for this can be seen in her video for telephone, most significantly when the audience see bother Lady Gaga and Beyonce driving off into the sunset in a vehicle named 'The Pussywagon', which is an intertextual reference to Tarintino's film 'Kill Bill'. Also in the video, Beyonce is referred to as 'Honey Bee' which Lady Gaga has also used from another of Tarinto's films 'Pulp Fiction' The fact she has made intertextual references to Tarinto itself is postmodern, as Tarinto protests not to be postmodern.
The whole video runs like a short film, set in a badly maintained prison and Lady Gaga is on the road to the cafe after being released from prison. The video also carries on from previous video 'Paparazzi', as in 'Telephone' Beyonce is seen wearing glasses which are very similar to the glasses Lady Gaga wears in 'Paparazzi'. This shows that Lady Gaga makes intertextual reference to her own work.

The las case study i have been looking into is American TV drama 'Glee'. In particular the episode 'The Power of Madonna'. Glee is a TV drama aimed at 13-21 year olds, purposely so they can relate to the 'Glee Club'. Generally in episode they Glee club will perform song and dance about the problems they are experiencing in their own life. This can be linked to the 'Uses and Gratifications' theory, which suggests different reason the audience may have for using the media, and what they can gain from the media.
In the episode 'The Power of Madonna' intertextual references and pastiche of pop icon Madonna are just some aspects which could be considered as postmodern. other aspects include the pularity of characterisation and nostalgic content. The Glee club portray a mixture of different races and religions, different personalities and different cliques. these all reinforce the mash up of content. For example, in this particular episode, the boys are represented as over powering the girls and for this reason Will decides to assign the difficult task of Madonna songs, hoping the boys will being to respect the girls, due to the underling messages of the songs such 'Express Yourself' and 'What it Feels Like for a Girl'. The use of Madonna songs presents the elements of Nostalgia that are constantly addressed in the show.
The fact Glee is a mash up of all different genres is another reason why it should be considered as a postmodern text. genres include comedy, drama, teen and musical.