Postmodernism and Master Narratives

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The first example we have that critiques a master narrative is the television show titled “Sister Wives” that is broadcasted on TLC. This show stars a polygamous relationship with one husband and four wives and aims to offer a glimpse into their everyday lives. I feel that this show critiques the master narrative of monogamous relationships by comparing the problems of a regular marriage to a polygamous relationship. The standard in the U.S. is a monogamous relationship, but with the openness of society today more alternative lifestyles are becoming accepted. The purpose of this show is to educate society on the subculture of polygamous relationships to potentially increase their acceptance. Currently polygamous marriages are illegal so by participating in the show, this family is putting their family at risk of scrutiny. They try to showcase their values of believing in God and supporting their children to try to have regular families feel as though they can relate to them. The show even discusses the benefits of a multi-parent family by suggesting that the children involved have a better parenting situation because there are more people available to pay attention to them and help raise them.

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Religulous is a documentary movie that stars Bill Maher where he questions religion. He travels the world and discusses religion with various people of many different backgrounds. The movie tries to identify each individuals one God. It also questions who's God is "the one God". In doing so the movie analyzes the master narrative of religion. This type of movie would not have been able to be made or viewed in the past. Since the postmodern era religion has slowly been questioned and this practice has been more widely accepted.

The Commodity Self, Culture Jamming and Marketing Coolness

1. What is the commodity self and commodity culture? Find an example of the commodity self or commodity culture used in a movie, a television ad or an internet ad. Explain the commodity culture that the ad/movie targets.

The commodity self is the part of our identity in which we express ourselves through commercial products and aim to associate the things we own or use with the type of person we want to be. The stronger our commodity self is, the more we tend to lose our real self because we become buried in tangible items.

A commodity culture is one that chooses to represent its values through products and tangible items. The more the people of a culture identify with consumer items, the more the culture is represented by consumer items.

The example we found of commodity culture was the product placement scene in "Wayne's World". The purpose of this clip is to portray cultural satire in the way that our culture uses product placement. It seems that almost all forms of media are using products to portray a specific image. In this scene the two main characters are verbally expressing the importance of not "selling out" while using a variety of name brand products crammed in a minute long scene.

2. Marketing Coolness? Find an example of an ad that uses a counterculture or anti-consumerism to sell it's product. Explain the approach of the example.

The ads that we are choosing to represent anti-consumerism are the PETA anti-fur ads. Many of the ads feature celebrities posing almost nude with the statement, " I'd rather go naked" than to wear fur. They are using the theme of "sex sells" to encourage people to support PETA. By using popular celebrities that people look up to, PETA is giving consumers an image to follow.

3. What is an Anti-Ad? What is Culture Jamming? Find an example and explain the strategy of the ad.

Anti-ads and culture jamming take place when people use a pre-existing ad or concept and change it so that it contradicts the original. The example that we chose are the "Truth" ads that are anti-smoking campaigns. These ads offer a glimpse into what it would really be like if tobacco companies told the truth about their products. This ad shows the "cool" cowboys talking about the real consequences of smoking. The strategy is to take an ad that people are already familiar with and alter it to portray the "scary" truth of the product.

Spectatorship

The Breakfast Club

1. The Breakfast Club is about 5 teenagers from different cliques who all get detention on the same Saturday afternoon. They work together to trick the principal so they can escape detention hall, and in the end they discover have a lot more in common than they thought.

2. YouTube Video and Film IMDB

3. This film communicated the perspective of people from different backgrounds working together to overcome conflict.

4. This movie does a good job of using setting, language and body language in order employ spectatorship. The writers want you to believe a group of stereotypically different students are trying to escape definition together. To make us accept they are all so different, when the students are introduced they are physically divided into cliques. They sit at separate tables and the characters deliver their lines directly to the screen. When the characters say their lines, they are shot individually and that reinforces the idea that they are different from one another. Throughout the movie, the characters slowly reveal stories about their lives. Eventually, they learn that they have a lot in common and all gain a new perspective on their classmates. As the students learn this, they are shot in the same frame and they are no longer sitting at the separate tables, in fact they eventually sit in a circle on the floor of the library. The perspective that they are individuals and very different from one another is slowly removed.


Back to the Future



1. A teenage boy, Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time when he is on the run from Lybian terrorists. While he is in the past he has to make sure he changes nothing. Immediately, he prevents his parents from meeting and therefore alters the future. He has to get them to meet and fall in love. He also has the problem of needing to find his way back home. To get home, he gets help from Dr. Emmett Brown, the creator of the time machine. Dr. Brown doesn't know his time machine works. So Marty also has to get the Doc to believe him.

2. IMDB

3. The film communicates that time travel is possible.

4. The film-makers use spectatorship to their advantage by using a family photo that is used throughout the entire movie. Marty keeps a photo with him and depending on the decisions he makes, members of his family fade. This keeps the rules of time travel consistent and allows the spectator to accept them more readily.