Postmodernism (1)Image Society sees their meanings as slippery, multiple and contingent (因時而定的). -後現代主義(Postmodernism)cultures which challenge language and the other types of “Truth,” foundation and tradition. (Poststructuralism as one example.) -後現代狀況(Postmodernity)The socio-economic and intellectual conditions which make postmodernism possible. Image society from different language forms to societys “languages” - one major pm phenomenon: implosion (內爆 ), not explosion or expansion, of floating signifiers or “simulacra,” which are dissociated from their signified. Loss of meanings; possibilities of self- reflexivity. - Our classs uses of images (videos, pictures, ppt files, etc.) Are we bombarded by images or are we still active learners?Outline1. Image, image everywhere. A. CausesB. Effects 1. Conformity and stereotypes; 2. Loss of meaning/feelings/history; 3. Self-reflexivity in the use of signs 2. Examples A. mixtures of images: Music Videos it is more easily available to the general public. - Autonomy denied: Artistic autonomy is either a- historical or counter-revolutionary.Examples of reproduction: “Creation of Adam” “Creation of Adam” in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican (source)Examples of reproduction Barbara Krugers political revision of “Creation of Adam”Untitled 1982The words are imposed on the original image to intercept its representation of power (of Mans).Causes 2: development of imageBaudrillard: the successive phases of the image: 1. it is the reflection of a profound reality; -e.g. of Gods 2. it masks and denatures a profound reality; - e.g. industrial revolution or early capitalism. 3. it masks the absence of a profound reality; - e.g. the death of God or truth 4. it has no relation to any reality whatsoever: it is its own pure simulacrum. Hyperreality the only real is that which can be reproduced.Causes 3: development of capitalismJameson: cultural logic of postmodernism: Overall commodification: Capital commodifies everything. On the one hand, art is commercialized; on the other, consumption can be aestheticized, too. Effects 1: Conformity and stereotypes; Capitalism commodifies everything and emphasize its symbolic value or value as an image. every mass-produced images Conformity: The consumers identify with the images they buy with the commodities and thus are massified by them (become a mass). Self: flattened and collaged identity Other: stereotypes Effects 2: Loss of meaning/feelings/history; loss of meaning floating signifiers; loss of feelings no sense of involvement; loss of history history presented with stereotypes. Effects 3: Self-reflexivity in the use of signsThe destabilization of traditional meaning structures also means freedom to create new meanings: - in art metafiction (e.g. M. Butterfly) - in popular culture mix and re-mix; parody and pastiche - in consumption choice and combination of style; choice of leisure activities and routes to travel. Music videos self-reflexive uses of video images“Money for Nothing” (1985) “Losing my Religion” (Out Of Time 1991) “If” (Janet 1993) “Atom Bomb” (1996) MTVs and Channel Vs commercials in 1999. Gradual loss of meanings?1. Dire Straits- took their name from their early financial status - “Money for Nothing“- chanting that pop stars get their “money for nothing, and their chicks for free“ - “But rather than causing a stir in the music industry or unleashing a backlash by the video community, MTV embraced the song as their new anthem. The video, which featured sophisticated (for the time) 3-D computer animation, went into heavy rotation, and the band became international superstars. The message of the song, meanwhile, was evidently lost on everyone.”2. “Losing My Religion”: video as metonymic expressions of the lyrics1. Lyrics: struggle by oneself to communicate; “Thats me in the corner Thats me in the spotlight Losing my religion Trying to keep up with you And I dont know if I can do it Oh No, Ive said too much I havent said enough” 2. Video: a collage of singing, “spotlight scene,” and “Icarus scene”“Losing My Religion”: parodying the Icarus myth “Everything is just a dream.”“If” by Janet JacksonLyrics: “Oh the things Id do to you Id make you call out my name Id ask who it belongs to If I was your woman The things Id do to you But Im not So I cant Then I wont But If I was your girl”Video: desiring and rejecting the male dancer“If”: Orientalism Multiple choices of virtual sex: single, double, trio, two couples. Janet Jackson still the central object of desireAtom Bomb by FlukeAtom Bomb, a computer game (the Sony Playstation game Wipeout 2097) sound track that brought to life a Japanese Manga styled cartoon character in the shape and form of Arial Tetsuo, aka Rachel Stewart. (sources: info, image.Fluke, a UK electronic bandAtom Bomb : pastic