Post-modern
media, is media that originates from another time or existing piece, it defies
the rules of context and meaning, by formulating creations that use any
combination of components. Nothing can be wrong. Works can be full of depth and
depth-less at the same time. They steal, change and warp current
concepts.
One example of a real media text that directly manipulates time and space, is
the film Inception. Inception can be considered post-modern, as it changes the
viewer's perceptions of reality, both within the film and their own life. The
film is based on the ability to enter and share people's dreams and plant an
idea. The film becomes complex and involves multiple layers. Although it is
portraying a dream like world, most of the sets are actually based in real
places or using real models. This in itself is an example of hyper-reality, as it is using a real
place to create a fake reality intended to be fake. The characters within the
film have times when they too struggle to separate the dream world
from reality and this doubt is transferred to the audience with the end
scene, in which the spinning top is left spinning and the audience is left in
suspense as to if it falls (symbolising it's the real world) or if it
spins forever (indicating a dream.) This scene of the film is an example
of self-referencing, also
post-modern, as inception means 'Planting an idea in someone's head without
them realising.' And this very scene plants doubt in the audiences mind that at
the end of the film they still haven't returned to reality. The ways in
which inception manipulates time is with its warping of speed during each dream
layer, time being variant and dependant on which layer they are in, something
we do not experience in the real world. To reflect the change in the speed of
time, the song 'Je ne regrette rien.' is played at different speeds within the
film to signify whether it is real time or dream time. From doing this, the
film presents time as something that is not constant, but changing. Inception
also manipulates space within its Paris scene, where the city is seen to fold
over and have two separate gravitational pulls in one area (people
can walk upside down.) This warps the viewer’s perception of physical
boundaries and limitations. This is continued in the second dream layer
where the hotel experiences gravitational shifts and the corridor is seen to
spin and have periods of zero gravity.
A further film that warps space is 'Scott Pilgrim verses the world.' This film
is post-modern as it uses constant referencing
throughout, specifically of comic books and video games. With scenes
appearing like a comic book strips, such as words appearing in time with
sounds and actions 'Kpow!.' It also uses game music, such as that of Zelda, and
arcade game music as the Universal logo is introduced. Ways, in which this film
manipulates space, is with its very unrealistic fight scenes that allow
characters to fly through the air and fight viscously whilst
remaining unscathed. One clear scene that also manipulates time, is one in
which Scott is getting ready to leave his apartment, and a sped up montage of
his actions are presented e.g. puts on hat and coat in a second each. However
when he comes to tie up his shoes, they make a comedic point for it to be in
real time, to emphasise the chance of pace. This also presents the possibility
that time is not constant.
Further
examples of time manipulation can be witnessed in Quentin Tarintino’s film ‘Inglourious
Basterds.’ Most of Tarintino’s works are explicitly post-modern with frequent intertexual reference, such as to that
of his past works e.g. within this film it references the high levels of gore
within ‘Reservoir dogs.’ The specific element of the film that manipulates time
is as the opening credits run, where Tarintino selects the background music to
be that of a spaghetti western track, a piece of music created after the film
is even set. This element is an example of Levi Strauss’ 'Bricolage', bringing separate material together and placing
it in a new context with no consideration to its previous relevance. It
also defies the laws of time, as it combines two separate time periods, this
explicitly indicates that the film is not trying to be true to reality as it
explores an impossible combination.
To
conclude, many post-modern works can be seen to manipulate time and space, as
the very nature of post-modernism is that it does not adhere to such rules or
expectations. This is reflected in the fact that these seemingly essential
components of most media texts, e.g. continuity and practicable patterns do not
structure in such pieces. Post-modernism was criticises by Jameson to be
vacuous and trapped in circular reference. Although these mentioned examples do
feature such referencing. It can be argued that the post-modern approach also defies
past preconceptions of how media should be presented e.g. with the presents of
Bricolage and formulating unusual combinations of elements. And therefore the
presents of time and space manipulation is an example of how post-modern media
is full of possibilities.
