Post modernism text

Postmodernism discusses the view that we are no longer in touch with the "real" in any meaningful way; all that remains is our ongoing preoccupation with its departure. In the contemporary world, an object's symbolic value has surpassed its actual value. Baudrillard had 3 important views regarding postmodernism those of which include; everything as a copy of a copy, hyper-reality and simulacra. The phrase "copy of a copy" has been reintroduced in postmodernist thought, especially in reference to debates concerning the link between an original work of art and its copying, thanks to the writings of Jean Baudrillard. Two examples of postmodern texts including the reality tv show Keeping up with the Kardashian and the Disney spin-off series of She Hulk. This essay aims to discuss the features of postmodern text using a variety of characteristics those of which include simulacra, self-reflexivity, parody and hyper reality through the case studies mentioned and relevant theories. 

The most blatant example of a postmodern text could be seen in Keeping up With the Kardashians. Reality shows fall under "hyper-reality" according to Baudrillard. This can be seen in the scripted conduct, speech, and events. Speech or actual events may be pre-planned and scripted, obfuscating or changing the distinction that separates an actor's personality, mannerisms, and behaviors. For instance, Kim Kardashian has freely acknowledged working out and how she keeps in shape, but because she refrains from speaking about her plastic surgery, audiences are left in the dark about what work she has and hasn't completed, creating the blurred line of the undistinguishable truth. Her celebrity life is depicted in a different way than how it actually is. The Kardashians and the show's curators get to decide what will be trimmed and how the incident will be acted out in the episode. For instance, Kim Kardashian depicts herself as immaculate, with a pore-less face and faultless physique on the show and on Instagram, but this is not the reality of the photographs that paparazzi took of her at the Met Gala while she was sporting the notorious "Wet" look. Simulacra is also demonstrated in the TV show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," where the Kardashians are depicted in various ways on TV, Twitter, Instagram, and in the news. For instance, a different personality from the persona depicted on film. Kendall and Kylie are portrayed on the program as disobedient kids, but on social media, they are viewed as fashion idols, models, and grownups. This is especially evident in how one of the sisters, Kourtney, is portrayed. In a recent S4 premiere of KUWTK, Kim freely acknowledged that she had a group chat labeled "not Kourtney" when a fight broke out. Family members are frequently depicted on the show as unhappy or depressed, while being pleased during premieres and other special occasions. The use of self-reflection in KUWTK is another aspect of postmodernism. If there are interviews with the relatives of those engaged in the event, and those people discuss how they feel about what has transpired. This implies that they are aware that they are actors in a play. The fact that the people being interviewed are dressed differently in the interviews than they were when the exact events occurred shows that they chose those events intentionally to come on their show so they could comment on them. The movement in time and location may be a sign of a postmodern perspective. Last but not least, KUWTK's parody element can be viewed as a postmodern text. Even if keeping up with the Kardashians is a serious documentary soap opera, the public and the media make fun of them. For instance, a lot of people make fun of Kim's botox crying face, therefore some people view the documentary as a satire rather than a serious look into people's lives. According to Bulmer and Katz's theory of uses and gratification, viewers divert their attention away from their personal lives while watching for entertainment. Kim even went as far as to commercialize the meme by producing goods like phone cases. This demonstrates how far the family would go to stage a scene in order for it to go viral and generate income. Commodification of culture was a view expressed by Guy Debord regarding postmodernism, In contrast to being genuine representations of human creation, art and culture have been made into commodities to be consumed, according to Debord, who attacked postmodernism for this practice.

A few characteristics of postmodern writings are bricolage, intertextuality , self-reflexivity, satire, irony, common themes (such as what if or future of technology), and loss of reality. A show that displays these would be the Marvel/Disney spinoff of SheHulk, released in 2020. This will discuss specifically to S1 episode 9. The show portrays self reflexivity through "breaking the fourth wall" by conversing alongside viewers and making remarks that look directly into the audience. Self-reflexivity, for instance, breaks the fourth wall in traditional superhero movies. This strategy can further stimulate viewers' interest because it modifies how they perceive this Marvel superhero, creating a sense of relatability with its audience and piquing their interests with unexpected twists.  We were exposed to SheHulk being forced to leave her program on the Netflix, then afterwards jumping right into the writers room, or the "actual" world. SheHulk's season finale (episode 9) features a reference to Marvel's Executive Producer, Kevin Feige, as SheHulk battles the robot dubbed "K.E.V.I.N." with the intention of parodying Kevin Feige.  In order for viewers to grasp the "K.E.V.I.N." robot, Barthes' narrative and cultural codes of culture demands sufficient understanding of the Marvel universe and their executive producer, due to this postmodernism may not be able to be analyzed as easily as it requires the audience to be media-literate. However as soon as the audience is aware of this, a lighthearted comedy may be able to deepen their attention. Guy Debord contends that these traits, such as satire, are frequently hypocritical. . She Hulk parodies the plot-driven nature of all Marvel films, but She Hulk also fits into this category because the grand narratives portrayed nevertheless adhere to the standard course of superhero films, with the Super Hero ultimately triumphing and receiving an "idyllic conclusion" otherwise known as "happy ending". We may also discuss SheHulk's use of the postmodern satirical device of duplicating or mimicking material intended for a bigger audience. In this instance, SheHulk offered an observation as well as a critique on how all Marvel films follow a formula for adopting the same storyline and a decently similar narrative of heroes are the only "good guys" which gets happy endings, therefore being ultimately tedious and monotonous - when it's story arc finishes on a highly expected ending by the audience. Due to the reasons above, it is fair to say that Shehulk is the epitome of a postmodern text with not only a few but the bulk of post-modern text characteristics.