Film Theorists

Bauldrillard-  According to Bauldrillard, what has happened in postmodern culture is that our society has become so reliant on models and maps that we have lost contact with the real world that proceed the map. Reality itself has begun merely to imitate the model, which now proceeds and determines the real world.

Barthes- Barthes argues that every narrative is interwoven with multiple codes. Although we impose temporal and generic structures onto the polysemy of codes (and traditional, "readerly" texts actively invite us to impose such structures), any text is, in fact, marked by the multiple meanings suggested by the five codes.

Jameson- in his magisterial work he has offered us a particularly influential analysis of our current postmodern condition. Like Jean Baudrillard, whose concept of the simulacrum he adopts, Jameson is highly critical of our current historical situation; indeed, he paints a rather dystopic picture of the present, which he associates, in particular, with a loss of our connection to history. What we are left with is a fascination with the present. According to Jameson, postmodernity has transformed the historical past into a series of emptied-out stylizations (what Jameson terms pastiche) that can then be commodified and consumed. The result is the threatened victory of capitalist thinking over all other forms of thought.

Lyotard- The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge is a 1979 book by Jean-François Lyotard, in which Lyotard analyzes the notion of knowledge in postmodern society as the end of 'grand narratives' or metanarratives, which he considers a quintessential feature of modernity. Lyotard introduced the term 'postmodernism', which was previously only used by art critics, into philosophy, with the following observation: "Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives".

Genette- In order to understand narratology's contribution to semiotics, it is important to grasp the distinction between its three fundamental entities: story, narrative and narration. The story generally corresponds to a series of events and actions that are told by someone (the narrator), and represented in some final form, producing a narrative. As a field of study, narratology looks at the internal mechanisms of narrative, the form taken by a narrated story. devised 5 groups only 4 relate to film. Intertextuality (Quotation of past work), Architextuality (the designation of genre, could be done by writer or audience), Metatextuality (explicit or implicit critical commentary from one text to another), Hypotextuality (Elaborates or extends on previous work)

Mcluhan- Devised Medium Theory. Medium theory focuses on the medium characteristics itself (like in media richness theory) rather than on what it conveys or how information is received. In medium theory, a medium is not simply a newspaper, the Internet, a digital camera and so forth. Rather, it is the symbolic environment of any communicative act. Media, apart from whatever content is transmitted, impact individuals and society. McLuhan’s thesis is that people adapt to their environment through a certain balance or ratio of the senses, and the primary medium of the age brings out a particular sense ratio, thereby affecting perception.

Cohen-has identified a new phenomenon in the history of film, the ‘hyper-spectator’. ‘Such spectator, who may have a deep knowledge of cinema, can reconfigure both the films themselves and filmic fragments into new and novel forms of both cinema and spectatorship, making use of the vastly expanded access to films arrived at through modern communications equipment and media. The hyper-spectator is, at least potentially, the material (which here means virtual) creator of his or her hyper-cinematic experience’ (157) ‘VCRs and laserdisc-players or newer DVDs have produced, and are still producing, a Gutenberg-type of revolution in relation to the moving image.’

Friedburg- has argued that because we now have much control of how we watch a film (through video/dvd), and we increasingly watch film in personal spaces (the home) rather than exclusively in public places, ‘cinema and televison become readable as symptoms of a “postmodern condition”, but as contributing causes.’ In other words, we don’t just have films that are about postmodernism or reflect postmodern thinking. Films have helped contribute to the postmodern quality of life by manipulating and playing around with our conventional understanding of time and space. ‘One can literally rent another space and time when one borrows a videotape to watch on a VCR….the VCR allows man to organize a time which is not his own…a time which is somewhere else – and to capture it.’


Relating the theorists to examples studies:

Bauldrillard- Hyper reality present in the neon demon as society is perceived as shallow and a lot darker, basic social structures disappear, e.g. policing not involved despite multiple murders and cannibalism present in the text. Abilities of Deadpool and other superhero characters, also constant destruction of same cities. Suspend disbelief in action scenes. e.g. superhero landing. 

Barthes- Relates mostly to Neon Demon as the audience aren't given as much information on meaning of the narrative, they instead create their own ideas using Barthes codes.

Jameson- Hates the concept of the film Deadpool as he believes in a more modernistic style of film. Thinks that the constant references to other texts and indeed itself is just a going to end up with emptied out media.

Lyotard- Thinks that postmodern can't feature a linear narrative, this relates to both Grand Budapest Hotel and dipole as they both feature a non linear narrative and are subject to leotards theory. 

Genette- intertextuality on relates to Deadpool, Architextuality relates to the way that Neon Demon doesn't have a designated genre whereas Deadpool metres comedy violence action, Grand Budapest is crime drama.

Mcluhan- The way in which text's are consumed buy the audience within relation to their social and economic background. Deadpool can be watched anywhere, Neon Demon more prone to watch with others, Grandbudapest more family orientated. 

Cohen-  Hyperspectators are useful to all examples. Hyper spectators get all references used in Deadpool, they also create hidden meanings in Neon Demon and also make plot discoveries/predictions in GBH

Friedburg- Agin the way that we consume films, highlighting uses of technology e.g. Deadpool being released on blu-Ray.