'To what extent does Post-Modernism challenge the forms and conventions of traditional media?'

Its 2022....

and a new television show, 'Survival of the Fittest' has been released onto technologies such as computers and televisions.


Four characters, Joe, Steve, Rachel and Jessica live in a hyper real, panopticon style world, where they have no contact with reality, and all characters have been there since a young age but do not have any recollection of how they got there. When they become the age of 21, they go through a selection process, all of them have to have a certain look about them to be able to participate in these challenges (similar ones to 'The Hunger Games'-- recycles new and old ideas) , where all of them have to fight to the death to try and survive. Each challenge they face takes them to a new level, within this hyper real world,  but never seems to end (distopian futures). It will also contain emotional story-lines between the characters, (love, death, hatred etc)
The audiences that watch this have the opportunity to choose what they want the ending to be, this can either be voted, through social networking like Facebook and Twitter, or the audience can create their own ending (user generated content) upload it to a certain Youtube channel and it will be added to the end of the story, to jumble up the boundaries of this program.

Stylistic vs Theoretical Essay applied to Scott Pilgrim and 15 Million merits.

15 Million merits and Scott Pilgrim are very similar in a number of ways, but they both show different aspects of Post Modernism, Scott Pilgrim features a number of stylistic approaches and 15 Million Merits takes a more theoretical approach, the two theorists I am going to apply to this is Jameson and Baudrillard.

Baudrillard said that ‘We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning’ and 15 Million Merits resembles this, as the characters in it no longer have a meaning, other than to ride the bikes and earn the merits they need, so that they can live. They live in a system, some of them disagree with it, but the main character Bing is like this but at the end he simply becomes apart of it. Even though 15MM looks very stylistic, as an audience this isn’t what attracts us, it is the situation of the characters. Baudrillard’s theory of Hyper reality and Simulacra can easily be applied to 15MM as the world they live in is fake, they do not know a reality or the outside their world, all they know is to ride bikes, ‘Fake fodder is the only think that works anymore’ this theory can be applies to the avatars they have to represent themselves as people, it is a simulation of what, or what they would like to look like, like the social networking site Facebook.  It is hyper real as an audience we have not encountered the world they live in, so it gives us an insight to what sort of world we could live in, in the next 100 years. It could be argued that 15MM have also gone for a stylistic approach by making everything that is featured in the program very modern and futuristic, and the fact that all the characters communicate and live by using very developed technology. Also, in 15MM, they are represented as ‘a society of the spectacle’ they are watched all the time through cameras, a good example of this is when Bing is in his room and because he does not want to watch something he covers his eyes, but due to the fact that people/someone is watching him, they pause it until he stops, and is forced to carry on. This links in with other media texts, such as Big Brother, a reality show. People are put into a house for 12 weeks and are watched by the british public 24/7 and have to survive evictions and whoever is the last one standing wins a cash prize. This also links into Debord’s theory of ‘Consumer culture’ and that ‘the only way we can escape is if we go onto a reality show’  shows like Big Brother change people into celebrities over night, but this only puts them in the society’s spectacle and are only represented in the media, this applies back to 15MM as that is the purpose of the talent show ‘Hot Shot.’

Scott Pilgrim on the other hand is very stylistic, as it takes a theme of video games that runs the whole way through the film, especially in the fight scenes, as they are exaggerated with effects and hyperreality, so Baudrillard can be applied here too, but Jameson’s theory of ‘recycling old, to make new’ applies very well, as they are using other medias (video games) to make a new product, the fight scenes in Scott Pilgrim all represent pre-made video games, for example, the second fight is represented like a skateboarding game, and this is also heightened as one of the characters throws Scott into a tower and he comes out with no scratches or blood, which is what you would have expected. Another example of the fights is the very last one, it is represented as ‘The Final Level’ where you have to destroy the main villain. Everything in Scott Pilgrim represents the video game style it has, with titles to inform the audience who the characters are, how old etc, and also their ‘ranking rate’ which once again links back. These titles break up the film as it is told in the form of a video-game. Another aspect that makes Scott Pilgrim post modern is the band ‘Clash at Demon head’ as they are very style over substance, this is also the case for Ramona, as she is constantly changing her hair colour. The style over substance themes link to other medias such as X-Factor, because as soon as the contestants get to the live shows, their image gets changed drastically, for example, X-factor 2011, Janet Devlin went on the show and her hair got dyed to a different colour and the clothes she wore changed. It could be argued that Scott Pilgrim focuses on the video game themes so much that it is taking a theoretical approach from Baudrillard because of the hyper real elements, like in the opening scenes, the length of the room is heightened.

Overall, I think both stick to their themes and both have many aspects of postmodernism. which they show well, but one has more stylistic elements than the other, and the other has more theory behind it.  But comparing these two texts leaves us with questions of will we live in a world where we have to earn merits to live like in 15 Million merits?  or will the stylistic approach of Scott Pilgrim take affect on other films and follow Jameson’s theory of recycling old elements to make new ones? These are questions that cannot be answered until we get there, but for now, I think that the difference between theoretical and stylistic approaches works well as it gives audiences a wider choice of what films to watch, and gives us hope that maybe someday we will be able to watch more stylistic films, or actually live in a world where we can only use technology to communicate and survive, some will look forward to it, and others not. But thats the divide postmodernism puts in between audiences. 

Stylistic vs Theoretical approach applied to Scott Pilgrim and 15 Million Merits

Why is some media described as Post-Modern?

15 Million merits and Scott Pilgrim are very similar in a number of ways, but they both show different aspects of Post Modernism, Scott Pilgrim features a number of stylistic approaches and 15 Million Merits takes a more theoretical approach, the two theorists I am going to apply to this is Jameson and Baudrillard.

Baudrillard said that ‘We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning’ and 15 Million Merits resembles this, as the characters in it no longer have a meaning, other than to ride the bikes and earn the merits they need, so that they can live. They live in a system, some of them disagree with it, but the main character Bing is like this but at the end he simply becomes apart of it. Even though 15MM looks very stylistic, as an audience this isn’t what attracts us, it is the situation of the characters. Baudrillard’s theory of Hyper reality and Simulacra can easily be applied to 15MM as the world they live in is fake, they do not know a reality or the outside their world, all they know is to ride bikes, ‘Fake fodder is the only think that works anymore’ this theory can be applies to the avatars they have to represent themselves as people, it is a simulation of what, or what they would like to look like, like the social networking site Facebook. It is hyper real as an audience we have not encountered the world they live in, so it gives us an insight to what sort of world we could live in, in the next 100 years. It could be argued that 15MM have also gone for a stylistic approach by making everything that is featured in the program very modern and futuristic, and the fact that all the characters communicate and live by using very developed technology. Also, in 15MM, they are represented as ‘a society of the spectacle’ they are watched all the time through cameras, a good example of this is when Bing is in his room and because he does not want to watch something he covers his eyes, but due to the fact that people/someone is watching him, they pause it until he stops, and is forced to carry on. This links in with other media texts, such as Big Brother, a reality show. People are put into a house for 12 weeks and are watched by the british public 24/7 and have to survive evictions and whoever is the last one standing wins a cash prize. This also links into Debord’s theory of ‘Consumer culture’ and that ‘the only way we can escape is if we go onto a reality show’ shows like Big Brother change people into celebrities over night, but this only puts them in the society’s spectacle and are only represented in the media, this applies back to 15MM as that is the purpose of the talent show ‘Hot Shot.’

Scott Pilgrim on the other hand is very stylistic, as it takes a theme of video games that runs the whole way through the film, especially in the fight scenes, as they are exaggerated with effects and hyperreality, so Baudrillard can be applied here too, but Jameson’s theory of ‘recycling old, to make new’ applies very well, as they are using other medias (video games) to make a new product, the fight scenes in Scott Pilgrim all represent pre-made video games, for example, the second fight is represented like a skateboarding game, and this is also heightened as one of the characters throws Scott into a tower and he comes out with no scratches or blood, which is what you would have expected. Another example of the fights is the very last one, it is represented as ‘The Final Level’ where you have to destroy the main villain. Everything in Scott Pilgrim represents the video game style it has, with titles to inform the audience who the characters are, how old etc, and also their ‘ranking rate’ which once again links back. These titles break up the film as it is told in the form of a video-game. Another aspect that makes Scott Pilgrim post modern is the band ‘Clash at Demon head’ as they are very style over substance, this is also the case for Ramona, as she is constantly changing her hair colour. The style over substance themes link to other medias such as X-Factor, because as soon as the contestants get to the live shows, their image gets changed drastically, for example, X-factor 2011, Janet Devlin went on the show and her hair got dyed to a different colour and the clothes she wore changed. It could be argued that Scott Pilgrim focuses on the video game themes so much that it is taking a theoretical approach from Baudrillard because of the hyper real elements, like in the opening scenes, the length of the room is heightened.

Overall, I think both stick to their themes and both have many aspects of postmodernism. which they show well, but one has more stylistic elements than the other, and the other has more theory behind it. But comparing these two texts leaves us with questions of will we live in a world where we have to earn merits to live like in 15 Million merits? or will the stylistic approach of Scott Pilgrim take affect on other films and follow Jameson’s theory of recycling old elements to make new ones? These are questions that cannot be answered until we get there, but for now, I think that the difference between theoretical and stylistic approaches works well as it gives audiences a wider choice of what films to watch, and gives us hope that maybe someday we will be able to watch more stylistic films, or actually live in a world where we can only use technology to communicate and survive, some will look forward to it, and others not. But thats the divide postmodernism puts in between audiences.

'15 Million Merits' theoretical approach; Googan, Baudrillard and Kane.

'Capitalism has reinforced its control over the masses through the transformation of culture as a whole into a commodity- something to be bought and sold. Thus the spectacle is not so much a set of particular culture or media events and images,- like say the X factor final-but characterizes the entire social world today as an illusion, a separation form, or masking of, real life.' - Mick Googan.
This theory can be applied to 15 Million Merits as all characters within the series have no understanding of reality, they all live in a place that is very different from real life, everything that they know is that they have to ride bikes to earn merits, which they spend on advertising, food and other consuming products, the outside world to them is an illusion, but to the audiences, the world they live in is an illusion, everything they do and know is to earn merits. With the talent competition 'Hot Shot', it is a ticket out of ridding the bikes, and as an audience we feel that they will be able to go back into the 'real world' but at the end, we see that Bing, the main character has only become part of the system and what he sees is only a simulation of the real world. This links in with my next theorist, Baudrillard, who said that 'We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning' this applies to the program as the characters lives have become insignificant to everyone around them, they are absorbed in the hyperreal and simulated world that they live in, that they do not realise that everything that they consume has more meaning than their lives do. Baudrillard also came up with the theories of 'hyperreality' and 'simulacra' in 15 Million Merits these two theories become apparent within the first couple of minutes. They live in a simulated world as everything they consume is not for them, but for the 'avatars' they create to represent themselves, they can improve these avatars by changing their style, and what they look like, for example, the oriental girl in 15 Million merits,  makes her avatar look different to what she actually looks like in reality, by giving it piercings and blue streaks in its hair, even though she does not resemble that in the slightest. 15MM is also very hyperreal, as the reality we live in as consumers is very different to what they perceive the world as. Everything is very futuristic and hyperreal, something we haven't encountered or experienced yet. Examples of the hyperreality aspects are that they can control what they want to watch, and do everything like showering, eating food and watching what they want through technology. 


'The reality television phenomenon is a collective expression of our panoptic transition, and in being so offers a glimpse into the different potential futures that postmodernism can take. What is reality television then, and what makes it so appealing? Reality television occurs when Regular Joe people like you or me, play themselves on TV. Of course this alone would be boring. So reality television consists of putting ordinary people into extraordinary and unexpected situations. Why is this interesting to others? I believe this is interesting to others because the watcher of reality television performs an immediate reflexivity in which the watcher becomes, in their own mind, the watched.' - Joshua Kane. 
This theory strongly relates to 15MM as they are constantly being watched on their actions, what they are doing or if they are doing something wrong, a good example of this is when Bing is in his room and because he does not want to watch something he covers his eyes, but due to the fact that people/someone is watching him, they pause it until he stops, and is forced to carry on. Another example of Panoptic is when Bing and Abbie are waiting for the audition at 'Hot Shot' but she gets pushed forward as they like the look of her and can see her, it isn't down to her potential talent, it is because she fits in with the society and can be used somewhere else within this simulated world, for 'better use'. 


Looking through all three quotes, I agree that 15 million merits is extremely hyperreal and has many aspects to it that make it a postmodern media text. The use of simulacra and hyperreality give it a unique image but as well as this we have seen it before, in films such as Star Wars and The Minority Report. It also has an underlying story line of 'girl likes boy, boy likes somebody else' which is used in nearly all films and TV series'. So 15 million merits is a post modern text in many ways.

Homework, 9.03.12

Baudrillard:

Baudrillard said that ‘the media can now create such idealistic representations of reality that out perform actual reality’ and in 15 million merits this is the case. Bing, the main character in this series is living in a simulated world, where to us, the audience it seems futuristic and modern and an idyllic place to live in, but judging the characters attitude towards it, it seems like they are trapped in this simulated world and the only way they can get out is if they work for it. Another example of this form of simulated world is the X-Factor, where normal people are put into a simulated world of fame and fortune, when actually they are only there for entertainment purposes, this links into the scene of the talent competition in 'Black Mirror' as she gets harshly judged and rejected.  As well as Simulacra, ‘The Black Mirror is full of Hypereality, and this is apparent from the first scene when he wakes up and we see the type of world he is living in, something that us as an audience haven’t experienced yet and the rooms are higher compared to our reality. 

Applying a theorist to my products.

My Thriller:


Derrida: 


Jacques Derrida said that 'the law of genre is a principle of contamination, a law of impurity'  this means that genre is impure because none of it is original anymore. I can apply this to my Thriller as I had many influences for it, like Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later, so this affected the originality of my ideas, for example, in 28 Days Later, there is a boy/girl relationship that goes wrong, but turns out for the good. I have a similar story-line, but I adapted it to not turn out for the good, giving this thriller a twist of my own. It is like this in many other aspects too, but I also changed the conventions I was following by putting in the flashbacks at the end.