Monday 23 March 2015

Essay

Most post modern media texts remove many formats of grand narrative. They are created purposely to question, as to whether we have a distinct ideal difference between what reality is and what reality isn't, due to there being no absolute.  As an audience, we believe a re-creation of real past truths are the most appealing products, however we are fooled into thinking they are a re-creation. Industrialisation was the platform for postmodernism.


In 'Django: Unchained' the film expresses the politics behind race and status. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Post modern films like to approach historical topics such as these in different ways. In Django: Unchained, Quentin Tarantino pays homage to 1966 Spaghetti Western film Django, and Mandingo, directed by Richard Fleisher in 1975, released by Paramount Pictures. However, Tarantino pays pastiche to other western films such as The KKK and Birth of a Nation by adding humour to a scene where the characters ride horses for an attack blind folded. As well as this, black Django played by Jamie Foxx becomes empowered by a white man, and therefore contradicts the real truth of this time period, meaning the film doesn't reflect history the way it actually occurred, resulting in the manipulation of time.


Music artists also manipulate time and space via simulacrum. An example of this is Miley Cyrus, as she represents herself through three different people - Miley Cyrus, Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana, all of which aren't her real name. This therefore exhibits to the consumer that she is a product rather than a person. As well as herself, her songs are also a product. In 'We Can't Stop' Cyrus samples sound from 'La Di Da Di' by Doug E Fresh, and then this was used in DJ Earworm's mash up United State Of Pop. This identifies that all songs in the industry are a remix of each other and therefore there are less and less originals each year. Therefore manipulating space.


Miley Cyrus was criticised in the press for damaging the image of a Disney character through her own new material and videos. An example of this would be the music video to her song Wrecking Ball, where she is explicitly revealed to her consumer. As well as this, Cyrus pays pastiche to Nicki Minaj via a photo posted to her fans on social network, mocking an iconic pose whilst wearing large gluteal pads to offend fans of Minaj. This image had a caption 'Hannah Conda' to mock the song 'Anaconda'.


Cyrus's latest album 'Bangerz' is an example of bricolage. She ranges from genres Hip Hop to Country to identify the contrast of influences the new album has, as well as a platform to express her vocal range. This showcases that she has manipulated time and space in the same period, by not only releasing different genres of music on the same album, but also releasing them as three different artists, demonstrating that she has no real identity.


Therefore, if time and space is constantly manipulated by the media it creates a structure for post modernism to continue to occur. However, it can be argued that directors, artists and song writers are becoming less different and more mainstream, due to excessive sampling. Furthermore, leading to a distinct fall in postmodern products because everything will end up becoming the same.










Tuesday 17 March 2015

Essay Plan

"Postmodern media manipulates time and space" To what extent does this definition apply to texts you have studied? 

Topic - Postmodern Media
Aspect - Apply to texts you have studied
Viewpoint - Manipulates time and space
Instruction - To what extent does this definition

Topic

Postmodernism

  • The rejection of modernism 
  • Offers truth, improvement, hierachy and order.
  • Grand Narratives are rejected - (The Big Bang)
  • Industrialisation created possibility for PoMo to exist because everything became identical 
  • Loss of identity = Simulacrum


Viewpoint









Space - an area / position in relation to something else
Time - linear measurement from start to finish







All songs are a remix or a form of bricolage

They either pay Homage or Pastiche

In the essay -

Name of the text (Year, Directors / Composers)
Everything is a Remix / Hybrid





Essay Structure
(5 Paragraphs)

Paragraph 1 - What is PoMo? 

Paragraph 2 - Django: Unchained 

Reference to Gone with the Wind - Mississippi titles scrolling at the start of the film. 
KKK parody scene - Reference to Birth of a Nation.
Black exploitation -  One of the few American Westerns that portray Americans in a negative way. 
Everyday box office films feature big stars appearing as the hero of films. This is not the case in Django.

Paragraph 3- Madeon 

Homage - Madeon pays respect to a number of artists, old and new 
Intertextual References - 
Bricolage - 


Paragraph 4 - A TV Programme

Conclusion - Predict the future 'sued for sampling' 







"The Death of Uncool"







































































Friday 20 February 2015

Madeon - Post Modern Music

Biography:

Name: Hugo Pierre Leclercq

Born: 30th May 1994

Nationality: French

First EP: Released in 2012 called 'The City'

First Album: 2015 called 'Adventure'

Music Style: French House Style / Electronic

Producer for:



Ellie Goulding - Stay Awake
Two Door Cinema Club - Changing of the seasons
Coldplay - Always in my head, O
Muse - Panic Station
Lady Gaga - Mary Jane Holland, Venus, Gypsy

Also worked with Deadmau5, Pendulum. Martin Solveig, Zedd and Porter Robinson 


Madeon uses homage to mix songs, with a purpose to distribute and educate a new audience in how contrapuntal sounds can complement each other to form a new post modern resource. A sample he created in 2011 included songs such as:

  • Around The World - Daft Punk
  • Starry Eyed - Ellie Goulding 
  • Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
  • Wow - Kylie Minogue
  • Viva La Vida - Coldplay
  • Dare - Gorillaz 


All songs which are featured are post modern in their own respect, and have been used further by Madeon to create a Mix Tape of his own which has been further distributed to exhibit inter-textual reference within his original music. 


There is no form of pastiche through Madeon's music as he only respects the sound from other artists. However he mixes the sounds he produces together to make mixtapes, and gathers inspiration from this to produce his own material.

Madeon uses iconic older songs such as Video Killed The Radio Star as a form of appreciation for the song. He mixes this song with more modern tracks like Starry Eyed which has an electronic based sound to it. This isn't a bricolage as such in my opinion, regardless of him mixing different genres of sound together to make something post modern.

There are intertextual references in the respect that Madeon cuts specific clips from every song he uses, therefore meaning lyrically and melodically these can be classed as references.



Madeon reflects simulacrum like other post modern artists such as Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. He is identified as a different person in the music industry to his name. This could have many reasons attached as to why, however unlike Lady Gaga, Madeon doesn't change his image and therefore wouldn't necessarily be looked upon by a consumer as post modern.

Madeon distributes his music through YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes and Spotify, There is no artefact to accompany the consumption of the product. The music produced is merely just a young male, mixing sounds, which has become popular to many globally.

Madeon is a composer as opposed to a singer songwriter. He creates his sounds through adapting current music, old music and sounds he has established himself to create a whole new sound. This is similar to what other DJ's do like Calvin Harris and David Guetta.

Madeon's videos are very limited with regards to performance. They are very like Clean Bandit's videos in that they look very postmodern - including city landscapes, a focus on one character, whilst having no real connection with the lyrics of the song. Madeon however, does feature in his videos for a split second, which is unlike other DJ's in the industry unless their videos are purposely performance based.

Madeon tends to be influenced by others in the industry at the moment. A recent news story shows that Madeon chased Dan from Bastille around the world following their tour, just for him to record something to feature on his debut album. Madeon has very limited originals that aren't mixtapes, however will become a great influence to many in the music industry in the near future.



Is he cool?

With Dance / Electronic music becoming more and more popular it is seen as cool, when really the sounds produced aren't nice to listen to, and are purely played in clubs and on the radio as a fashionable icon. The charts have noticeably become more based around these genres of music, especially as Summer is relatively close. These types of songs are associated with drinking, dancing and having a good time, which could be why younger generations of people are more interested by this genre than the older generations, for example our parents.
The samples and mixtapes that Madeon has produced use older and newer songs like said before for the purpose of appreciation for all eras of music.
More and more, Madeons style of music is becoming more mainstream, however it still incorporates a niche market, as more younger generations of people enjoy it. This indicates that it is more of a fashion icon regarding the popularity, rather than people actually liking it because it is good.


Wednesday 28 January 2015

Bricolage Cd Cover Images



The Death of Uncool

First 12 songs on shuffle on my iPhone:

James Arthur - Get Down (Pop)


Kodaline - All I Want (Irish Rock)



Lewis Watson - Droplets (Singer-Songwriter)



James Arthur - Supposed (Pop)



Ella Henderson - Yours (Pop)



Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You (Pop)



Sam Smith - Safe With Me (Singer-Songwriter)


Mumford and Sons - Ghosts That We Knew  (Folk-Rock)



1975 - Me (Indie-Rock)



Jeremih - Don't Tell 'Em (R&B)



Michael Buble - Hollywood (Smooth Jazz)



Olly Murs - I Need You Now (Pop)




My postmodern meaning of my shuffle mix indicates that although I mainly listen to pop music, I also listen to a variety of other music styles such as Rock, and their sub genres e.g. Irish Rock etc. This suggests that the music industry is become more diverse.
I dont feel embarrassed to have any of these songs come up on shuffle, however I believe that there are songs on my phone which I wouldn't have liked to have came up on shuffle.

Tuesday 27 January 2015

Django: Unchained

Questions:

What is a Western Film? 
The Western is a genre of various arts, such as film, television, radio, fiction and art. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name.

What is a Spaghetti Western Film?

Spaghetti Western, also known as Italian Western or Macaroni Western (primarily in Japan), is a broad subgenre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success.

What is a Blaxpoitation film?
It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience appeal soon broadened across racial and ethnic lines.

Which three films does Django take its name from?

  • Django
  • Mandingo 
  • Hercules Unchained
Why does Franco Nero appear in the film, and what is the significance of his dialogue with Jamie Foxx? 
Franco Nero, making his cameo in the film, is seen wearing white gloves. This may be a reference to his wounds in the original Django film. However, this should not be seen as him being the same character in both movies, as Django (1966) takes place in the 1870s and Django Unchained (2012) takes place before that, in the 1850s.
Franco Nero has a cameo as the owner of the slave that fights against a slave owned by the character played by DiCaprio (the screenplay gives his character the name Amerigo Vassepi). After being asked to spell his name, Django explains, "The 'D' is silent". Nero replies, "I know".

What song plays over the final credits and how does this film connect to the original film Django?
The song is called Trinity (Titoli) 

Which other song from Django features in Django Unchained?
The song called Django by Rocky Roberts and Luis Bacalov 

Who or what is Mr Ed? 
A horse which was able to move its mouth to make it look as though it was talking. 

What is the significance of the red mask worn by Zoe Bell as Django murders the killers of Dogtanian?
Bell seems to hold no grudges, and was reluctant to share too many details, as she didn't want to displease her director. But she did go on to explain that her red scarf wasn't just a fashion choice, "There was a little sneaky secret under the mask: part of my face was missing." 

The name of the saloon in which Schultz and Django  drink is called Minnesota Clay, why?
Minnesota Clay, is a 1965 Italian / French/ Spanish international co-production spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci.

Who is Ennio Morricone?

Ennio Morricone is an Italian composer, orchestrator and conductor. He has written over 500 pieces of music for television programmes and motion pictures, as well as classical work.

He has conducted work for motion pictures such as Dollars Trilogy, A Pistol for Ringo, The Big Gundown, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Great Silence, The Mercenary, A Fistful of Dynamite and My Name is Nobody.

What connects him to both Django Unchained and director Sergio Corbucci?
Ennio Morricone is linked with Django: Unchained because he wrote songs for the soundtrack of the film. He is linked with Sergio Corbucci because he wrote music for both the original film, and the remake by Quentin Tarrantino 


What sequence has made the 1903 film "The Great Train Robery" so iconic?
 One of the wanted posters, calls for the apprehension of Edwin Porter for train robbery. Edwin Porter was the filmmaker of The Great Train Robbery.


Boss Nigger

Buck and the Preacher

Charley One-Eye

Legend of Nigger Charley