Study Task 2: Parody & Pastiche

Sources

• Hutcheon, L. (1987) The Politics of Postmodernism: Parody and History in Cultural Critique, No. 5, Modernity and Modernism, Postmodernity and Postmodernism, University of Minnesota Press.
• Jameson, F. (1984) Postmodernism: Or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, pp.17-25.

Jameson defines postmodernism as an era of mess and confusion which is lacking of a Grand-narrative when being compared to the modern era. Cultures from the past were recycled and simplified so that it is acceptable for the mass audience. Jameson is a proponent of the idea that postmodernism is not idiosyncratic, hence lacking of substance. According to him, it reflects the effortlessness and its effect on creativity which leads to a cul-de-sac for originality. The superficial understanding of avant-garde culture creates a dystopian society with historical deafness, and hence the problem of 'random cannibalisation of styles' (Jameson, 1984) prevalent in creative works. Postmodernism is arts of pastiche. Pastiche itself is a 'blank parody'; 'without any of parody's ulterior motives, amputated of satiric impulse, devoid of laughter and of any conviction that alongside the abnormal tongue you abnormally borrowed, some linguistic normality still exists.' (Jameson, 1984)



Hutcheon (1987) has a different insight on postmodernism which criticises Jameson's theory of postmodernism. She thinks that they are 'art marked primarily by an internalised investigation of the nature, the limits, and the possibilities of language of the language or discourse of art.' In other words, postmodern art is an application of art forms and its theory from the past, carefully crafted in order to 'abuse, install and then subvert convention in parodic ways'. This relates closely to Hutcheon's (1987) definition of parody: 'the formal analogue to the dialogue of past and present that silently but unavoidably goes on at a social level.' Despite all the criticism, Hutcheon acknowledged Jameson's take that postmodernism lacks 'genuine historicity'. The double-coded nature of postmodernism has resulted on the popular perception that postmodernism marks the fall of the avant-garde movements from the modern era. Hutcheon dismissed the negative connotation by arguing that avant-garde have undergone a paradigm shift to parodic postmodernism in which artists place more value on revealing 'the close connections between the social production and reception of art and our ideologically and historically conditioned ways of perceiving and acting.' (Hutcheon, 1987) This is pertinent to the present day situation where animated comedies, such as South Park, Family Guy and American Dad!, make use of narrative and symbolism as a powerful propaganda tool to influence the public's perception on socio-political issues.

Research and Epistimology part 2

This lecture guides us on how to make connections and coming up with a question based on facts that will drive the whole essay-writing process. Reflects what our ambitions as practitioners. Finding facts, knowledge, research on questions which would help us come up with the revised research question that funnels the gap between what we know and what you don't know. This way, the essay serves as a synthesis combining both in a way that makes sense to us.

Paradigm position

You as an individual and your outlook on the world. But you're in a degree course, so put into context of what you're specialising in. (i.e: Animation you should consider how the question relates to the 12 principles and/or industry-related facts and issues)

Ontology: What is there to study?

Ontology is what is or can be known, such as production process and 12 principles of animation, these are the some facts, properties and processes that form knowledge. Conceptualising and categorising animations in genres is also a process that uses existing knowledge to critically analyse and kick start the research process.

Epistimology: How can we know about it?

Making connections and forms philosophical analysis of scope and nature of knowledge in order to find a backings of our personal take on the question. Finding out something new could also lead us to a paradigm shift, in which we have to make decisions of whether we are going to change the discourse or to stick with what we have started with. 

Methodology: How do we study it?

Consider who and how can we get the information that we want, analyse the information that we have gotten from the source and turn these source material to evidence our take on the research question.

Study Task 1: Triangulation

Summary

In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey (2009 [1975]) discussed about the difference between the roles of men and women in films, in a way that the male protagonist keeps the narrative going, while women disrupts the flow of the diegesis. Active-male and passive-female roles both contributes to the development of scopophilia for the audience. The female figure integrate sexual pleasure in male audiences and the male protagonist projects an ideal ego 'giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence' (Mulvey, 2009 [1975]), which leads to 'misrecognition' of themselves on the screen (Storey, 2008). However, McDonald (1998 [1979]) dismissed the idea of intentional sexual objectification of women in narrative cinema as he pointed out the inclusion of 'looks directed at the male body and also looks between male characters' in films. Nevertheless, he clarified that contradiction between star's image and the concept of eroticism could overturn the effect of constructing a look that eroticises his body. The women figure connotes the to-be-looked-at-ness, which is why when 'a woman performs within the narrative; the gaze of the spectator and that of the male characters in the film are neatly combined without breaking the narrative versimilitude' (Mulvey, 2009 [1975]). McDonald's argument reiterates Mulvey's male gaze theory in relation to the content offered by popular cinema as a male-dominated industry. Hence, the patriachal influence apparent in the narrative flows as means of escape from an 'unpleasurable re-enactment of the original castration complex' and to 'salvage pleasure' as proposed by Storey (2008).

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Class Discussion: Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Harvard reference

Mulvey, L. (2009[1975]) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema in Visual and Other Pleasures, Basingstoke, Palgrave.

Contextual Facts about Laura Mulvey

• Article first published in 1975 coincides with the Women's liberation movement that started on the late 60s and persisted until the late 70s.
• Mulvey is a feminist film theorist, also an academic.
• Director of films in the field of avant-garde art cinema. An idiosyncratic persona.
• This essay is the most famous work produced by Mulvey because it is highly controversial gender-based critic, and it has been critically analysed and/or referenced by many other theorists, including those who wrote the other two articles.
• Uses psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Lacan as a 'political weapon' to critic Hollywood Films.
• She does not fully agree with the psychoanalytic theories. What she does is selectively choosing parts from the theory and tweak it to form new concepts which supports her tone of voice.

Key points

• Active/passive heterosexual division of labour in cinema.
• Active-male and passive-female according to male audience's perspective.
• Patriachy has its effects on culture. For instance, old pervasive potrayal of gender stereotypes based on the director's preference. It also affects how the layers of meaning in films are formed.
• Male gaze (the way in which the visual arts and literature depict the world from a masculine point of view, presenting women as objects of male pleasure)
• To-be-looked-at-ness of female physique extends beyond the narrative 
• Ego ideal projection of self into the protagonist male characters on screen.

Cine-psychoanalysis

Harvard reference

Storey, J. (2008) Cine-psychoanalysis in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, 5th ed., NJ: Prentice Hall.

Contextual facts about John Storey

• Emeritus Professor in University of Sunderland's Center for Research in Media and Cultural Studies.
• Relevant research interests: cultural studies, especially cultural theory and cultural history and theoretical and historical approaches to popular culture
• In Cine-psychoanalysis, he analysed Mulvey's essay and explained the connections between the essay and the real world context.
• His book 'Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction' is continually updated so that it is up to date to the current social context.

Key points

• Scopophilia involving sexual objectification and narcissism are manipulations apparent in popular cinema.
• Scopophilic elements in popular cinema is driven by male's defense mechanism against castration complex.
• Calling for film-maker to be objective, and make films that contains intellectual stimulation.

Stars and Spectators

Harvard reference 

McDonald, P. Reconceptualising Stardom in Dyer, R. (1998 [1979]) Stars and Spectators in Stars, pp.187-188, London: BFI.

Contextual facts about Professor Paul McDonald

• An academic, currently the Head of Department for Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King's College London.
• One of his research interests is commercial and legal dynamics of conglomerate Hollywood.
• Wrote a handful of books that accounted critical analysis of culture, media and film industry.

Keypoints

• Evidence shows scenes in movies contains recurring shots directed at the male body and also looks between male characters.
• Disavowal of the look diverts the potential of sexual objectification of the male characters in films
• Contradiction between star's profile and the concept of eroticism could overturn the effect of constructing a look that eroticises his body.

Research and Epistimology part 1

Most of the time when I am starting a new brief, I tend to think too much on the outcome. I want it to make a perfect piece that stands out, but I often neglect the importance of research. This is why I have been dreading the idea generating process. Moreover, ideas for animations have to be thought through before making the end product as there is no turning back since animating is a long process. This lecture serves as a reminder for me that the good animation out there are thoroughly researched because they manage to communicate whatever information they want to convey. There is no system of doing a research, but one thing to keep in mind is to venture beyond problem solving into process experiment, and discovery. I often feel that the brief that we get in the Animation course is quite repetitive, but I realised that I have been stuck in my comfort zone when thinking of the solution for the briefs mainly because I think I am doing alright in terms of the grades during my first year. I am starting to reconsider the importance of research and of doing things against my own convention and finding out new possibilities in order to stand out as a professional practitioner in the field of animation.

NOMA BAR is one of the artists that makes me rethink the importance of communicating meaning through visuals.


NOMA BAR - 10sec mixtape1 from Dutch Uncle on Vimeo.

The Flipped Classroom

Today's lecture is a pedagogical method called 'The Flipped Classroom'. Jacques Rancière introduced this method that brought up social revolution in the fight for equality in the education system, which had a huge impact in the Western world. The promotion of this method alongside with the increasingly popular ideologies, such as freedom, equality and sexuality, has indeed helped the repressed young people at that time to come to a realisation that they can break free from the fear of failure and contempt, so that, in the present, students here have equal opportunity to take charge of their own learning, and ultimately life. I feel privileged to experience the significant improvement in the current education system from the use of propaganda against the existing system back in the Modern Era, although I still think that the old-fashioned hierarchical education system can be more useful in primary and secondary education as a guidance for students to measure their ability and decide the subject each of them want to pursue in the future.



No education system could achieve absolute fairness for social barrier and division is unavoidable in real life since discrimination is a part of human nature. In a tertiary art educational institution, the majority of students had come to terms with this 'division' and more or less acknowledge that they are good at different things and have different interests at this stage. They have chosen the subject they want to focus on learning, so there is a higher chance that The Flipped Classroom method to be highly effective. As an animation student, it is essential to be able to think outside the box and communicate my thoughts clearly to other people because animators usually work in teams. So, The Flipped Classroom model has benefited me in terms of having freedom to get creative and receiving guidance from the tutors who pinpoint new things that I can look out for that could be food for thought for both internal and external intellectual dialogue.