Postmodernism: 'Un Chien Andalou'

This surrealist picture is known as the best developed avant-garde film of the 1920’s (referring to people who work experimentally towards art, culture and politics in a respectful manner), which represents a ‘pushing of the boundaries’ against the expectations of the conventions, norms and status quo. It is 16 minutes surrealistic silent film, released in France in 1929. Spanish director Luis Bureal and artist Salvador Dali produced the film. ‘Un Chien Andalou’ was banned for eight months in Paris due to its graphic imagery, although it is now well respected. It is in respect regarded as modernism, with distinct values of postmodernism.
I noted some postmodern aspects throughout the film, being extreme from this time as it was in the early developments of film, adding to its dramatic acknowledgment of its day – and to this day, too. After watching it, I made various notes upon the film:







• Silent film – forces watcher to imagine – aim to interpret own meanings through sound – freedom in imagination
• The use of ‘Once upon a time…’ in the opening, adds to storytelling
• Film noir – important man, black and white shaded. Noir before its time
• Man alone – singled out – a theme?
• Shot goes to moon – aims for viewer to highlight what’s happened so far – man looks at moon, which parallels this
• Close-up of woman’s eye. Shows it being slit. Moon interrupts as shot-reverse-shot to provoke shock and meaning/thought upon this – now a clouded moon – adds to things being unclear? Both at time/in story
• Follows on with ‘Eight years later…’ which continues the story and adds to thought process
• More modern – stylish buildings and cyclist – day time/contrast in colour, which represents mood? Light could mean change, within the time and from dark places?
• Shaky camera – perspective uneasy. Follows man cycling from front, as he is shaky and uneasy as he rides. An omen for the story. Cut to him from behind, adding to varied perspectives
• Now see modern buildings, a contrast?
• Effects of bugs on hand – covering him. A dirty motif, adding to his soon personality and feelings. Grotesque person or surroundings?
• Graphic match from this to a bruised armpit, which would be noticed at this time due to the noticeable effect of that time. Can acknowledge the technology functions – postmodern? Also an unusual inserted image, which adds to questions? Could be nostalgic, as a flashback. Forces a recognition between shots, too
• Individuals playing with a bloody hand in the street. Highlights people’s relationship with crime at that time – not a big deal or a scare so they neglect it? Or could reflect people’s future perspectives on crime, and how people show no affection towards crime? Historical element?
• The use of fast-paced, quick edits shows a speeded pace of time. Transfer of time before eyes – made to make the audience interpret how fast reality goes – time travels by past? To saviour their lives. However, could also be drastic for what is to come – a skip in time to a large change then means audience have to value what has happened, and take in own account of what has happened within time gap
• Unknowing what they say through speech – adds to imagination – focuses on facial emotions/physical movement and actions
• Ambiguous storyline – no answers as to what’s happening/why – ponders
• Man attempts rape – male gaze stressed. This adds to male dominance with a patriarchal society, although ads to assumptions that all men perform rape, or will over time become sexually dominant (as time gap has progressed). Man tackles to control woman – through ropes – ads to self-conscious attitudes of men. Psychological issues, as they have physical needs versus own reaction.
• His determination shown as he draws closer, pulling objects as well as bizarrely other man. Could reflect assumptions of all men being sexual predators, although the main core of their facial reactions hint otherwise, as they seem perplexed and scared – highlights to not make assumptions
• Lack of protection – no police around. May relate to lack of security over society
• Image of dead animal adds to the baroque of the scene. A sign/corruption of animal cruelty
• Women trapped in corner – highlights they’re trapped within society? Also use of girl being blurred shows their inferior position.
• Man ill in bed – outcome of attack. Highlights mental diseases – paranoia?
• Comparison of classes highlighted as feeble, lower man in bed appears scared in reflection to a business man. Added as man shakes him and appears annoyed, possibly capitalism’s need for more workers – higher status?
• Male looks at camera- his interpretation to the audience. Lures out audience to this being a film, and back into reality, although as film continues they draw back into the distorted storyline
• Unreliable and ambiguous storyline, due to the constant skips in time – again ’16 years ago…’ shows a storytelling, retrospect touch
• Shows help in communication as the camera follows the falling man to the ground – adds an understanding to the story
• Woman is reminded through flashbacks of harsh past (e.g. repetition of bruised armpit, concludes the meaning) – this allows the audience to put together their own interpretation, although the film doesn’t go into extreme details. Hypertextualization from this, as jumps around in story line.
• An answer is given in finale, although not fully. The woman is shown to be happy, with a new man. This differs from postmodernism as answers are fully given, although a massive gap of the story has been distorted due to the man being left out. There are no answers behind his life line nowadays. Therefore, once the film finishes, it aims to leave the audience pondering over what has happened. They can establish their own ending for the man’s outcome. This stems from Freud’s associate – Josef Brewer’s – theory, which states ‘no censor of thoughts, just an allowance for the patient to unconsciously learn.’

Terms in relation to postmodernism

As follows are a range of words with their definitions following, to which should be useful for my postmodernism work I will be involved with later on throughout the year.

Ironic – This word comes from the Ancient Greek, meaning hypocrisy, deception or fake ignorance. It is used through words or actions, usually in a literacy technique or rhetorical device, going against the most obvious of phrases. It is usually used as an intentional emphasis upon the truth, through a deliberate action of a direct opposite meaning within language (through a simile or sarcasm, for example). It is usually emphasized drastically and on purpose.

Nostalgic – This term is in relation to the past, yearning for it in an idealized form. From Greek compounds, it refers to ‘returning home’, ‘pain’ or ‘ache’. A general interest is found from it through past eras, personalities and events, usually triggered through memory, a remembrance or childhood. It is formed from the Early Modern period through medical conditions, and has been translated into Romantic topics.

Narrative Style – This forms from the narrator of any literacy work, play, verbal account, etceteras, and how they interpret and produce their work. They develop their viewpoint through their ‘style’, which may be recognisable through a series of their work e.g. a certain camera shot being frequently used within different movies from the same director. They are responsible for the storytelling of the plot, from their own inhabitation of the real world, which the reader will refer to and interpret in their own form, as theirs too is different.

Intertextuality – This is the shaping of a texts meaning through or by other texts: storytelling. The author may borrow or transform a previous text, and refer to it within their own, or perhaps develop this previous text into their own personal interpretation or possibly through a parody. The term has been borrowed and coined various times since its introduction in 1966 by poststructuralist Julia Kristeva, although now – as William Irwin states – it has ‘many meanings to the user’, simply from those ‘faithful’ to the introduction of the term to those who now acknowledge the definition in a ‘stylish way’.

Parody – This is also known as a ‘send-up’, ‘lampoons’ or ‘spoof’. It is in aim to mock, comment on or makes fun of an original work, as well as the subject, author or the style of the work that they display. It is usually portrayed in a humorous, satiric or ironic way, which can be implied in seeing others making a mistake of the original, genuine article.

Self-referentiality – When a sentence or a formula refers to itself – either directly, through an immediate formula or through encoding, sometimes through paradoxical behaviour. In relation to philosophy, an individual may refer or speak to themselves, expressing the story through first person. It is studied in various forms, such as within mathematics, philosophy, computer programming and linguistics.

Postmodernism in film

Postmodernist film follows the idea of using postmodernism as a process through the cinematic medium. This type of film is aimed to upset the mainstream conventions, with their narrative structure and characteristics. They dispute against the audience’s ‘suspension of belief’, therefore through the use of non-realistic elements; the viewer would not make assumptions or judge the picture upon stereotypical genre’s of the film. Its main aims are of stirring questions, interpretations, remembrance and representation.

I read the book above - 'Postmodernism in Cinema' - which helped with my understanding towards this whole topic. It helped me to understand the theory in depth, as well as allow myself to relate postmodernism to films, therefore helping contribute towards my understanding of the topic for the eventful year.

Jean Baudrillard

• Jean Baudrillard was born on the 27th July 1929 in Reims on the northeastern coast of France, developing into a French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist, political commentator and a photographer. This work gave him a high status, due to it being widely developed and acknowledged within the medium of postmodernism and post-structuralism
• During high school, he became absorbed within pataphysics, which is a combination of metaphysicis (nature and being of the world), referring to nonsensical language, meaning a written text that is written or spoken in human language but lacks any coherent meaning. It is thought that these early studies relate to his later thoughts.
• He later went on to become a teacher of the German language and literature, which was transferred into sociology, referring to his most known book, ‘Le Système des objets’, meaning ‘The System of Objects’.
• His theories may relate to his travels, which include many to the USA, and in 1973, to Japan (Kyoto). Whilst here, he was gave his first camera, which led to his famous photography.
• In 1986, he moved to IRIS (Institut de Recherche et d'Information Socio-Économique) at the Université de Paris-IX Dauphine, where he spent the majority of his teaching career. Through this, he moved away from sociology, in order to discipline himself – in a ‘classical’ form. He then went on to teach full time.
• He continued to write books during the 1980s and 90s – published in both French and English - which gained a wider audience, contributing to his popularity, almost earning the status of ‘intellectual celebrity’ in his final years.
• His best work was known for analyzing mediation and technological communication, as he was a social theorist. He covered a variety of topics through his writing, such as the effects of social changes, consumerism, gender relations, social understanding towards history, journalistic commentaries (AIDS and cloning, for example), and world-wide disasters, such as the Gulf War and the attack upon the World Trade Center - for example, he thought these global phenomenons did not happen, even calling the World Trade Centre a 'dark fantasy'. From this, we can relate this to film, with the use of editing being exposed into the media to reflect what we are 'told' what happened, in comparison to actually experiencing the problem. Therefore, these events could not have actually happened unless we experienced them personally.

• His work inspired many post-structuralism followers, as his work combines philosophy with sociology. His theories followed similarities alongside theirs, such as the meaning behind something brought systems of signs working together. For example, Baudrillard believed a word – such as ‘dog’ – can be argued to relate to the absence of the word, such as not just what it says, but what it does not say – e.g. ‘cat’ – as objects, images, words and signs are ‘situated in a web of meaning.’ For example, we can only understand one word’s meaning through its relation to the meaning of other objects. Therefore, if things were not seen, they did not happen.
• From this, he could construct broad theories upon human society, with images always relating/searching for other meanings. Therefore, there is not a total understanding of our world, and therefore part of it always remains elusive. ‘Formations of knowledge, therefore, only emerge from the result of its relations to power’. From this, Baudrillard developed theories that searching for total knowledge lead to an inevitable delusion. Therefore, understandings try to be solved, but relations to the understand need to be overcome firstly, therefore producing an unsolved web of desirable yet impossible results.
• He concludes that a complete understanding of human life is impossible. When individuals think otherwise, they become involved in a “simulated” version of reality, relating to “hyper reality” – not an unreal world, but a fast-paced society that force a logical picture, although add to a pressured, insecure society, making reality ‘die out’.
• He notes in the late 20th century, the world is far more petrified, disclosing Marxists and liberal followers, with the smallest event now being emphasized as something dramatic: adding to Marshall McLuhan’s “global village” phrase. As the ‘globe’ now focuses on the exchange or merchandise, blindness highlights symbolic acts such as terrorism, adding to this scare. He believes that consumption – therefore greed – is what drives the capitalist society, differing from Marx’s theory upon production being the thrive. Contributing to this, he notes that – likewise to Francis Fukuyama – history has ended or ‘vanished’ due to the spread of globalization, adding that this could be the collapse of the idea of historical progress.
• Baudrillard died on March 6th 2007, aged 77, in Paris, France. His ideas and expressions have been noted within postmodernism history.

Postmodernism

Postmodernism

• Postmodernism is a trend within culture, which is characterized by rejecting both objective truth (a central category of decisions made by an individual, know as ‘mind-independent’ - unconsciously) and global cultural narrative (a comprehensive explanation upon historical experiences or knowledge, such as telling a story within a story).


• Postmodernism highlights both language and power relations, such as emphasizing topical subjects such as: male versus female; straight versus gay; white versus black and imperial (unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationships between countries, usually between lower class and dominant empires) versus colonial (a colony or group of people/group of people colonizing an area/taking control as a metropolis/upper class taking control over lower class in same area). Postmodernism has influence many, such as literal criticism, sociology and the visual arts. It comes from the rejection of ‘Modern’, with progression towards Enlightment (wisdom/religious/spiritual).
  
• There is far more freedom within postmodern films, as they allow the interpreter to judge the outcome of the film consciously. Usually typical conventions can be found within these films, such as oxymoron’s; retelling stories; levels of reality and unreality, with quantities of info, fictional elements and a combination of actual footage; requires high levels of cognitive concentration; the allowance of open interpretations; own iconic fragmentation; hyper textualization – interruption of one storyline to another; baroque (artistic expression); infinite and multiple endings, and they focus on details and fragments within frames.


• They have several layers of communication; it involves modernist technology versus postmodern ‘cyber technology’; the use of heterotopology – the space we live in is highlighted which draws us out of our self, with unexplained events being highlighted as characters metamorphose; carnavalized cinema, where the worlds are divided and narratives fragmented; the shifting of narratives through ‘metalepses’, highlighting multi-voiced storylines; images become the significant space between frames to highlight the narrative; images double and juxtapose; the outcome ‘Flanerio’, created by Friedberg which is a form of tourism through time; an historical style with futuristic elements; anamnesis – the use of dissociated and partial memories combined; perplexed editing to distort storytelling; metaleptic – multi-layered imaging; historiographical (the retelling of the past) and an obsession with memory, known as the ‘pleasure of repetition’.