Postmodern music video

Postmodern music video

Features of postmodern music videos

Parody

Irony

Intertextuality

Playfulness

Fragmentation

Discontinuity

Pastiche (imitate –it celebrates rather than mock)

Bricolage (constructions/creation of a work from a diverse range of thing that happen to be available)

Daniel Albright summarizes the main tendencies of musical postmodernism as (Albright, 12):1.Bricolage (the construction or creation from a diverse range of things)2.Polystylism (the use of multiple styles).3.Randomness

Features of postmodern music videos

Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17) describes postmodern music as:1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of

both a break and an extension2.is, on some level and in some way, ironic3.does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present4.challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles5.shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity6.questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values7.avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)8.considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts9.includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures10.considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music11.embraces contradictions12.distrusts binary oppositions13.includes fragmentations and discontinuities14.encompasses pluralism and eclecticism15.presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities16.locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Example of a postmodern music video

Jessie J - Who’s Laughing Now

Intertextuality In the open scene of the music video, a

group of girls are shown to be staring and talking about another girl who is walking along the corridor. This links in with the film “Mean Girls” as it looks like a typical scene in the film, particularly with the girls dressed in pink.



Intertextuality Lyrics - "Hey Jessica, you're so funny

You've got teeth just like Bugs Bunny“

In this line in the song, an intertextual reference to Bugs Bunny was used as an insult.



In another scene the “mini Jessie J” is shown to be mocking what others may have said to her before saying:"Oh Jessie, we knew you could make itI've got a track and I'd love you to take it“"Oh Jessie, I saw you on YouTubeI tagged old photos from when we was at school"



Throughout the whole music video Jessie J acts as many different characters including a student, teacher, cleaner as well as a dinner lady.

Hyperreality - inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of realityIn this video, there is no clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins. It is unclear whether Jessie J is thinking about the past and it’s a flashback or it is the young Jessie J’s imagination.



The whole video is generally quite playful with Jessie J acting out as different characters within the school and with the young version of Jessie J having the same hairstyle to indicate she is playing the young version of her.

There are quite a few parts which are sarcastic and are trying to mock others. Mostly with the young version of Jessie J mocking what others said to her.

Education

Postmodern music video