Baudrillard - 5 Minutes

Baudrillard's theories of hyperreality have influenced postmodernism in the media. In his book Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard defined the term 'simulacra' as a simulation of a simulation. In other words, simulacra is a copy of a copy. Baudrillard believed that, eventually, the world would reach a point where there was no real. Everything would be a simulation or 'copy'. We would be living in a 'hyperreality'. It is argued that we already live in a hyperreality, where we have a greater emotional connection to virtual realities (e.g. social networks such as Facebook and Twitter) than we do real life. In many fictional media texts, such as movies, Baudrillard's theories take on a much more literal meaning. No example is more literally related to Baudrillard's hyperreality than The Matrix. In the film, Morpheus explains to Neo that life is a simulation. It is a virtual reality that everyone believes to be real as they have not experienced true reality. The film is so closely linked to the theory, that several references are made. In fact, Neo is seen with a copy of the book at the beginning of the movie.
Alternatively, Baudrillard's theory can be linked less literally. For example, reality TV shows, such as The X Factor, simulate real processes. Eventually, due to a show's popularity, people can begin to see the simulation as far more real than the reality. Talent shows such as The X Factor and The Voice are now seen as the 'easiest' or 'most common' way to get into the music industry, when in fact these shows only simulate the real process. Similarly, shows such as Next Top Model and Project Runway simulate the process of breaking into the modelling/fashion industry, but are more widely known paths to success in their respective fields.

Lyotard - 1 Minute

Lyotard defines postmodernism, in short, as "incredulity towards meta-narrative". This means that postmodernists are generally skeptical of large, overarching 'truth claims'. For example, science, religion and Freud's psychodynamic approach to psychology. Lyotard proposed that in order for the world to progress, small micronarratives would be far more beneficial.
In postmodern films, TV and other media texts, this skepticism of metanarrative is shown through a negative portrayal of metanarrative. Often, parody imitations of the metanarrative are used to undermine its credibility.
From this, Lyotard characterizes postmodernism through fragmentation. This is a technique seen frequently in postmodern media. There are many ways this can be done, for example, through intertextual referencing (making references to popular culture) or an unconventional narrative structure. For example, through flashbacks or jumping backwards and forwards in time.
Lyotard's postmodern theory has been largely criticised for being contradictory. The theory states that there should be no metanarratives. Yet, in this way, the theory is essentially proposing a grand, overarching theory that should apply to everything. It is another truth claim.

Jean Baudrillard and Jean Francois Lyotard

The Purge - Postmodern Film

The Purge (2013, Dir. James DeMonaco) is a horror/thriller set in a future America. One night of every year, all crime is legal for 12 hours. This is intended to lower crime rates throughout the rest of the year.
The film’s concept uses the postmodern idea of the flattening of affect to create a future false utopian society in which people ‘purge’ their hatred through murdering the less fortunate. 

Irony plays a large part in establishing the world in which the film is set. The film begins with a montage sequence, in which, shots of ‘the purge’ are presented to the audience. The non-diegetic classical music alongside this creates a sense of irony, as the soothing and calm orchestral sound juxtaposes the violent images edited to look like grainy security camera footage.                              

Following this, the audience are presented with a man driving through an idyllic neighbourhood, reminiscent of Stepford Wives (2004). Through the radio in his car, the flattening of affect is established through the media. Again, there is a sense of irony in the way the radio presenter talks about the poor being in danger during ‘the purge’ with such an upbeat tone of voice. In fact, everything from the weather to the setting is of an ironically positive nature. For example, the frequent use of the phrase “have a safe night”.

The family the film follows is stereotypical, with a husband, wife and two teenage children, a boy and girl. When the boy disarms the house’s security system and lets in a man off the street, the film opens up a political debate and suggests there is an element of postmodern paranoia.

The man is found to be homeless and being chased by a group of over-privileged teenagers. This represents the political issue raised by the film; that ‘the purge’ is the government’s way of eradicating the poor and boosting the economy. This gives the film a paranoid message, particularly as it is set in the future, in the year 2022. The film suggests ‘the purge’ is a reaction to the current rates of crime and poverty in the US, for example the parents tell their children “you don’t know what it was like”. The paranoid message is implicit, as the more prominent explanation for ‘the purge’ is to rid people of the hatred and anger that they hold onto during the rest of the year.

The over-privileged teenagers create the strongest sense of irony in the film. The costumes are smart and conservative; the boys wearing suits and the girls wearing long, white, flowing dresses. Furthermore, the teenagers wear smiling masks and only one of them removes it. However, the boy’s face is just as happy as the masks the others wear. This juxtaposes their keen desire for violence, something that has much more horrific and serious connotations. This chilling and sadistic portrayal helps to support the film’s paranoid message.

Overall, The Purge is a paranoid portrayal of the future that presents the emptiness of it through the flattening of affect. The film is extremely ironic, compounding this sense of emptiness through juxtaposing the violence of ‘the purge’ with the supposed utopia in which it is set.