inglorious basterds post modernism

In what ways is Inglorious Basterds postmodern?
Inglorious basterds, a 2009 war film, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, gives a historically inaccurate portrayal of the Nazi Germany war in the 1940’s. The film contains various elements that could be considered post modern, firstly in the title itself which belongs to another film but spelt wrong, incorporating a controversial swear word.
For example, Brad Pitt, the leader of an organization of Jews, demands 100 ‘scalps’ from each of his Basterds. This is an inaccurate portrayal of war as nowhere was it recorded that ‘scalping’ was a form of violence used upon the opposition. This inaccurate portrayal of historical events is also highlighted by the shotgun in the cellar scene. This scene is very similar to set ups in lots of Westerns, and therefore again takes away the 1940’s war atmosphere. However it wasn’t uncommon for the bartender to keep a shotgun behind the bar. Another element that adds to the postmodernism created by Tarantino by differing from a real account of WW2 is the way in which Hitler is murdered as oppose to history recalling he committed suicide. This could be considered postmodern in that this is a very controversial, possibly brave choice by Tarantino to produce a narrative that differs so strongly from that that actually happened. However despite possibly border lining causing offence with inaccurate perception of events in WW2, the contrast of fact and fiction possibly is what makes it so appealing to its audience. In fact, over-the-top acting and intertextual references, such as the doorway scene with Hans Landa watching Shosanna run away, make the film almost veer towards parody. However the acting is still on the right side of comedy, particularly by Martin Wuttke who plays Adolf Hitler.
A second element within Inglorious Basterds that could be considered post modern is the music. The film due to its war context is obviously set in the 1940’s era, however we hear music from various other genres and eras within the film. For example, when Shosanna is doing her hair and make up in preparation for the cinema premier, we hear a David Bowie song, which in a sense is ridiculous as the song was not released for a somewhat forty years after the film was set. We also hear a lot of non diegetic music from Spaghetti Westerns such as tracks from ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly.’ This use of music mixes up genres but oddly does not leave the audience in question as to why Tarantino used the piece of music as all pieces arguably still work for the atmospheric portrayal.
Reality of the context of the film is instantly taken away with the way in which the film begins and thereafter is split up. The film begins with ‘once upon a time’ which a phrase generally used for fairy tales. I feel that this gives a sense of irony as a fairy tale tends to end with a ‘happily ever after’ where as the true recollection of events of the war certainly did not. Secondly, the film is split into chapters, again taking away the realistic feel of the film as you would expect a war film to be separated into dates of events perhaps. Also amongst these on screen visuals, we see these appear in yellow text which creates an intertextual reference to Kill Bill.
Inglorious basterds, despite giving an inaccurate almost humorous portrayal of events in world war two, still works in appealing to its audience. The film creates a new sense of reality which the audience become absorbed by therefore almost blocking out anything that questions the reality of the film.

fight club post modernism

In what ways is Fight Club considered post modern?
Fight Club, an American film directed by David Fincher in 1999 contains various elements which could be considered postmodern. However the fact that these elements are so discreet and the enigma of the film isn’t revealed until the very end, I feel is what made the film so successful.
The first thing we become aware of is the narration throughout the entire film, the voice of Ed Norton’s character. This narration aims to fill in gaps within our knowledge and that which the actual character of Ed Norton, doesn’t present. However as the film progresses, we find that information fed by the narrator isn’t necessarily reliable. Almost two thirds of the way through the film and we are yet to have a name for Ed Norton’s character. This creates an enigma for the audience as we become to question what it is we actually know about the character as he defies original perceptions. This post modern element of keeping Ed Norton’s character, in a sense, anonymous, is effective in keeping the audience intrigued to find out who he really is.
Perhaps a deeper element of postmodernism represented within Fight Club is the internal change in which Ed Norton’s character, as well as the other members of Fight Club, endures. It is arguable that the change came from within and not from external forces. This could be considered post modern for it tends to be society, an external force, which expects us to conform to change. However, by conforming, one is not considered ‘manly’. Of course this is a vital characteristic to feel as the entire films arguably revolves around the examination of masculinity and if perhaps that was what the members of fight club were missing from their seemingly ‘dull’ lives. It isn’t until they have the opportunity to rebel from the forced conformity that they feel manly. Hence; project Mayhem.
A third element of postmodernism represented within fight club, is the subliminal messages we see throughout. At the beginning of the film, we see ‘flickers’ of a person from the view point of Ed Norton, so quick that we frequently miss them. It isn’t, of course, until the end of the film that we realise these ‘flickers’ were the beginning of the creation of Ed Norton’s alter ego; Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt. Tyler Durden is everything that is desirable to Ed Norton’s character, hence him creating him within his mind. The way in which this schizophrenia is post modern is that the entire film is based upon a partnership to ultimately be defied by the realization that Tyler is a ‘made up’ character. Again I find the fact that Ed Norton wants to be so much like Tyler Durden ironic. He bases his desires upon Tyler’s carefree lifestyle and attitude. However once fight club progresses to project mayhem, the group becomes fascistic, defying the whole original purpose of the organization. It began to escape reality, to rebel, and to excel the conformity they must face within society. However within project mayhem, they all present the same hair cuts, uniforms, have homework, etc. The most ironic thing about this, is that Tyler/Ed Norton ends up being the figure of a dictator and the cause of this conformity, which goes against everything he was trying to change about his life.

Spiderman

The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. The series began in 1963 and continued for 37 years until a new number order. The storyline is very much the same as the more recent films. Peter Parker being an ordinary teenager, turned superhero, works for the Daily Bugle to support him and his frail Auntie, faces critics about the annonymous spiderman, and endures romance which another student.

Adam West's Batman

This is an image of the original Batman played by Adam west in the 1960's American television series. His costume connots humour and still this day I think is what is concieved as a typical Batman outfit, despite more recent Batman's being played in all black costumes and various others. In this serious Adam West (batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) are to crime fighting heroes who defend their city. This again differs from later 'darker' interpretations of Batman's character.

Batman

Batman gained his own comic book title in 1940. Throughout the years lots of interpretations of Batmans characters were seen but towards the end of the 60's, creators aimed to take Batman back to his original dark roots, which is where Batman: The dark knight returns series and the 1989 film; Batman comes in.