essay on 15 million merits

“15 million merits” is a programme filled with demonstrations and attributes towards postmodern theorists and the idea of a postmodern and hyper-real world which reflects on the post-modern theorist’s theory baudrillard. Baudrillard’s theory of a postmodern world is the idea and concept that everything is heightened in a hyper-real state which is most definitely shown throughout the episode “Black Mirror” as the characters come across to the audience to care more about their virtual image of themselves (avatars) rather than their actual human state. Baudrillard said “We live a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” This is a reflection on a hyper-real world because their avatars are non-existent just demonstrating how reliant humans are becoming of keeping this digital outlook of them for others to see at a standard they feel that suits them best. This could possibly also relate to today’s social networking sites facebook, twitter etc this virtual presentation of ourselves we spend a great amount of our time perfecting and coming across a better person then what is probably expected. 15 million merits shows not only the importance these avatars are to the people but the fact they are in a prison cell earning merits to get better items for their avatar just creates this hyper real world it is also futuristic and showing how dependant and reliable humans would be in years to come on technology as everything they do e.g. shower and eat they control this through the technology. The real world has no meaning now everything can be done through technology.

From the episode Black Mirror, we as the audience get the impression that the characters are being watched. This relates to Foucault’s as he talks about notions of looking and voyeurism where we see the characters inside a “media prison” constantly being forced to watch media (adverts etc). They are constantly under a watchful eye therefore the characters cannot escape this media prison and if they try not to watch the media shown in their prison cells their prison cell would be alerted therefore there is complete control over these characters they cannot act themselves or separate themselves from the simulated world which can be applied to the elements of panopticon.

Debord's theory can also be applied to this episode of 15 million merits as he says we are all born to consume and to work and to consume some more which can be shown in this show because they are constantly working to earn merits and consuming the media that they are shown. they are shown these adverts as something to aspire to and to work harder for more merits for items for their avatars. this relates also to Debords idea of consumerism.  

images american horror story references

jameson homework

Postmodern style Nostalgia & Recycle – Jameson

“In a world in which stylistic innovation is no longer possible, all that is left is to imitate dead styles”

Jameson classifies that the key features of postmodern culture are: self-referentiality, irony, parody, and pastiche.

Jameson refers to this cultural recycling as historicism – the random cannibalization of various past styles – erasing historical depth.

Initial thoughts as prosumers:

Being that postmodern plays a big role in today’s society nearly everything we watch, read and wear has intertextual reference or inspiration from a historical context before.

Arguments for: it is difficult to not be influenced by media content because it is constantly surrounding us now even if its camera techniques from a specific music video, film, etc. therefore trying to come up with an original and unique idea isn’t possible without a reference to something.

Arguments against: even though it’s not consistently new ideas, it is not all “imitating” and a copy of everything they all have their own twist of own narrative, our idea for our music video probably isn’t unique or anything new but we had created something that wasn’t just an imitation it was a figure of all different references and inspirations. We mainly played around with the lyrics of the song to

Typical post-modern example: family guy in each episode there is an intertextual reference and a use of parody throughout, scary movie, American horror story and shaun of the dead. 

i agree with Jamesons idea but it cannot be helped that there is no way of generating or creating new and fresh ideas however twisting and referencing them in a different style gives each reference a new edge.

Homework piece 1

1. What does Post Modernism suggest about the value of high art (eg opera) and popular culture (eg TV)

the value of high art is rejected completely by post modernism, it suggests that no value of art is better than another. every type of media produce is of the same value.

2. What does Post Modernism suggest about the ideas of truth or reality - how is this linked the the Media?

that we live in a state of reality which we are lead by images and other representations that we feel we need to relate to by the media so we dont know what is the truth anymore of our reality.

3.Who were the 2 big thinkers and what concept do their theories share?

two big thinkers were: Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudrillard
the theory they shared: they thought that the truth needed to be taken apart so we can challenge the dominant ideas of what is the truth.

4.Give an example of 3 'Grand-narratives' or 'Meta-narratives' (2 will need you be your own not listed in the chapter)

1. a metanarrative (sometimes master- or grand narrative) is an abstract idea that is supposed to be a comprehensive explanation of historical experience or knowledge. According to John Stephens it "is a global or totalizing cultural narrative schema which orders and explains knowledge and experience".

2. Many Christians believe that human nature, since the fall (Genesis 3), is characteristically sinful, but has the possibility of redemption and experiencing eternal peace in heaven - thus representing a belief in a universal rule and a telos for humankind.
3. The Enlightenment theorists believed that rational thought, allied to scientific reasoning, would lead inevitably toward moral, social and ethical progress.
4.Categorical and definitive periodizations of history, such as the Fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages and Renaissance are rejected by postmodernists.

5.What is significant about Disneyland and simulacrum?

Disneyland is a place that is real yet it shares a significance of simulacrum because it uses the thought of everything being perfect and there is nothing that can go wrong. which obviously conflicts because the real world is not perfect and there is such thing as violence and everything else that the world faces.

6.How is our understanding of the events of 9/11 hyper-real?

the event of 9/11 was real but we can only state it as hyper-real because we wasn't there when it happened we were shown by the media and films so there is no certainty of what is the truth.

7.What is significant about the Matrix as an example of Baudrillards ideas of simulation & hyper-reality?

The character Neo is seen reading Baudrillard's books simulation and simulacra which instantly creates the idea of hyper-reality and simulation because he know he is living in a simulation world specifically a "fake" world.

8.Why are Post-modern elements of The Mighty Boosh ?

it is impossible to situate The Mighty Boosh into one genre because of its use of parody, genre traits, intertextual references of other televsion programmes, etc. it has a wide range of conventions.

9.Why are Post-modern elements of Extras ?

the elements of extras are: intertextuality, parody, pastiche which makes it post modern

10.Why is Grand Theft Auto Post-modern?

Grand Theft Auto is Post-modern because it is a game where we humans can create ourselves as a character in a game that has no limits of what that person can do. it is a simulated version of reality where whatever you do e.g. steal cars, shoot people, etc is not against any law because it is a game.

11.Why is the Cadburys Gorilla ad Post-modern?

The Cadburys Gorilla ad is Post-modern because it is not so much selling the product, but a factor that has a direct connection to the pleasure of eating the product despite that todays society is trying to promote healthy eating. it is the enjoyment people get out of eating the product.

12.What does FLOW and IMMERSION mean?

Flow= is the state of someone participating in an activity where they face achievable challenges and give regular feedback
Immersion= the amount of imagination the gamer puts into a game and how they fully involved they are with the game or gaming world

homework piece 2 essay

I chose American Horror Story because it is a recently new series (2011) in which has many post modern references such as "The Shining" and "The Amityville Horror". the title also ironically reflects what the programme is about as the intertextual references are famous american horror story's however it has its own story to tell. We see a slow motion shot of a creepy yet attractive house which is similarly used in the film "Amytiville Horror" and a family of three starting a new life in the house which is a use of pastiche as the camera shots are the same. this programme instantly can be classed as hyper-real because its a life that cannot physically be lived as the house is filled with ghosts that can interact and touch the living. this trailer includes more then just intertextual references from films but also  famous film characters that are similar and also famous film quotes. throughout the quick shots we hear the word "you're going to die in here" which is an exact quote from poltergeist 2. the characters shown in the trailer, we see a young maid in which the quick shot transforms her from being young to old this references "The Shining" where the young woman seduces jack ad turns out to be an old woman similarly the male character in American Horror Story (ben) is seduced by this young maid who infact turns out to be an old lady. we also see two twins appear behind the woman which could also be identified from The Shining and we get a shot of a man with a burned face which can be referenced to the famous horror character in history, Freddy Krueger. .There is countless intertextual references that clearly state that this new programme/ this trailer is postmodern as there are clear distinctive texts and references that can be familiarized by a wide range audience.

Homework for half term- PostModernism piece 3

1. Post-modern= C. The semiotic landscape of a society dominated by consumer culture and information technology 

2. Post-modernity= E. A historical period in Western culture after the Second World in which society became dominated by information technology 

3. Parody= A. To copy something in a humourous and tongue in cheek way.- stylistic approach

  

4. Pastiche= H. To copy something without humour, irony or anything else that communicates difference 

5. Hyper-reality=K. The collapse of the distinction between the real and simulated. - can be argued style and a theme. a hyper real style and hyper real theme. 

6. Consumer culture= B.  A culture and society in which individual and collective identity is constructed in material acts of economic exchange e.g. shopping  

7. Simulacrum= D. A copy without an original- it is a theme not a style. 

  

8. Cultural capital= F. The knowledge and information that informs 

people’s cultural consumption in a post-modern society 

9. Signifier and the signified= G. The basic units of semiotic analysis. 

10. Multi-accentuality= L. The way in which meaning changes according to context and over-time. 

11. Ideology= J. A system of beliefs or ideas.

12. Hegemony= I. The dominant way of thinking about society and 

culture enforced by the ruling class. -