Postmodern media manipulates time and space

Postmodernism is the reaction to modernism- an action revolving around culture,

history and art. Postmodernism is a development from this; an action interested
with the past, the present and the future all at the same time- whilst challenging
traditional genre boundaries. Both film and music can be defined as postmodern
due to the challenging of genre boundaries, the bricolage, pastiche, parody or
homage elements and also due to the intertextual references within them.
Deadpool, produced by Marvel Entertainment, is considered a deeply
postmodern film due to the crude humour, the lack of morality and the rejection
of grand narratives (Lyotard). Space Rocket Nations The Neon Demon is also a
postmodern text due to the fragmented narrative, the rejection of grand
narratives and the elements of bricolage. Similarly; The Weeknd whom rose to
fame in 2010 is an extremely postmodern artist due to his racy lyrics, his
intertextual references, the mixing up of genres and the attitude his persona
indulges upon his fans. Throughout each postmodern text; there is a clear
manipulation of time and space; explored through fragmented narratives,
simulacrum and as George Ritzer would argue; the mix up of time and space.
Deadpool is considered a postmodern film as elements of postmodernism are
used within the actual storyline of the film. The film, shown in 1 hour and 48
minutes; is meant to be representative of multiple years. This is a manipulation
of time in itself as the audience are subject to multiple years of a life, within less
than two hours. Also, Deadpool may be considered manipulative of time and
space as George Ritzer would argue, postmodernism refers to the mixing up of
time and space and the blur between representation and reality, a convention
heavily incorporated within this film through flashbacks and fourth-wall breaks
throughout the film. Not only this; the flashbacks used throughout the film
highlight it as a postmodern text as Anne Friedberg also argued that
postmodernism mixes up time and space. Deadpool portrays this through the
flashbacks used throughout the film which gives the distortion of time which is a
representation of the manipulation of time and space throughout this
postmodern text.
The Neon Demon may also be regarded as manipulative of time and space as it
follows a fragmented narrative; in which the storyline is unclear, there is no
grand narrative as Lyotard would argue and as Baudrillard would suggest, it is
very hyperreal. The fragmented narrative is a clear manipulation of time as the
audience are unaware of the time passing; and the actual narrative of the film.
The fragmented narrative creates confusion and disallows the audience to gain a
sense of understanding, nor follow a storyline for the actual film. Cohens idea of
a hyper-spectator may believe this to be a form of art, in which they appreciate
the aesthetics of the set, the mise-en-scene and the acting, as opposed to
following a traditional narrative. However; this could also be seen as a
manipulation of time as rejecting grand narratives makes it harder for an
audience to become invested within the film; possibly stunting the films
success. The fragmented narrative can therefore present The Neon Demon as
manipulative of time and space.
The Neon Demon also manipulates space as throughout the film, there is a vast
lack of extras and surrounding people. Other than the main characters of the

Angel Dewing-Hall
film; the audience do not see any police; authority, nor regular citizens. This
therefore is a clear manipulation of space as within a normal society, there are
people everywhere and so the lack of people seen within this film convey almost
a claustrophobic atmosphere to the film; further highlighting the manipulation of
space.
The Weeknd is could also be considered to manipulate time and space due to his
large array of songs, albums, videos and genres. The Weeknd mixes genres of
pop, house music, alternative and hip hop; whilst still incorporating his main
genre of alternative R&B. The large array of genres and sounds produced by The
Weeknd; for example, the contrast between songs such as Angel (from his album
Beauty Behind the Madness) and Starboy (from the album Starboy) highlight a
vast difference and this could be argued to be manipulative of time as he
incorporates sounds from different eras and different artists. The Weeknd was
greatly influenced by Michael Jackson, - Jackson topping the charts in the 1970s
and onward, demonstrating the array of music and eras incorporated within the
work of The Weeknd, demonstrating further the manipulation of time throughout
his career. Similarly; Jackson has had a vast influence on The Weeknds
performance style; which is especially clear through music videos such as I Cant
Feel My Face, where The Weeknd emulates Jacksons trade-mark moonwalk. The
similarities with the dance moves that The Weeknd has emulated from Michael
Jackson may also be considered controversial as they are his iconic moves,
whom everyone is aware of. The influence Michael Jackson has had with the likes
of songs such as Dirty Diana and his iconic dance moves (e.g. the moonwalk)
highlights The Weeknds incorporation of both the old and the new- once again
demonstrating Cohens hyper-spectator elements. Demonstrating his influence of
older music; making his music feature elements of different eras- further
manipulating time.
Not only this; Deadpool has vast levels of Genettes idea of intertextual
references within the film. The film makes multiple references to other
characters within Marvel, particularly X-men. The references to other Marvel
superheroes places Deadpool on a clear Marvel Timeline; fitting in in-between
the X-men films and Logan. This is a manipulation of time as Marvels world of
superheroes has its own concept of time; demonstrating the manipulation of
time further. Ryan Reynolds refers to himself and his silky smooth acting skills,
whilst still in role as the character of Deadpool. Deadpool also refers to the
juxtaposition between David Beckhams attractiveness and his unappealing voice
and he also makes rude jokes about Wolverine and Rosie ODonell. The
intertextual references within the film manipulates time as it demonstrates the
cotemporary elements of the film, through the well-known references to
celebrities of this time. Cohen would argue that this attracts a larger audience as
a hyper-spectator would recognise these intertextual references as they would
have a broad knowledge of the film industry and in particular, the superhero
genre. The extensive amount of intertextual references within the film
demonstrate the manipulation of time and space as it demonstrates how
contemporary the film is to a modern day audience.
Similarly; The Weeknd has intertextual references throughout many of his songs.
Particularly; his new song Party Monster. It is inferred that he is referring to
Angelina Jolie and Selena Gomez- Angelina, lips like Angelina, Like Selena, ass
shaped like Selena and with his new relationship with celebrity Selena Gomez,

Angel Dewing-Hall
this reference appears highly likely. This further demonstrates the manipulation
of time as the references to modern-day superstars highlights The Weeknd as a
contemporary artist. Kramers theory would suggest that the references to
artists and other celebrities within a similar age range/ music style appeals to a
larger audience and also attracts a hyper-spectator as their advanced knowledge
within genre would attract them to the references that are, in fact, mainly aimed
at them. This further emphasises the idea of manipulating time and space, as
references to modern-day superstars contrasts with his wide range of music-
manipulating the old with the new.
Deadpool is also considered a postmodern film due to the elements of bricolage
within it. It features elements of bricolage addition with the extra genres
incorporated within a superhero film- elements of comedy, violence and romance
have all been added. It also includes elements of gross humour and crude
language and fourth wall breaks which are all uncommon within traditional
superhero films and thus; may be considered manipulative as it is unusual within
a superhero film and therefore may be considered extremely postmodern and
something not seen before; demonstrating the manipulation of time as it may be
considered to be futuristic. Deadpool also used bricolage deletion as the
fragmented narrative as the removal of a linear narrative demonstrates a
manipulation of time, through the use of flashbacks and flash-forwards. Lastly;
Deadpool uses elements of bricolage through transposition. Deadpool links to the
Greek myth of Orpheus who goes to the underworld to get his wife back from the
devil, on the journey he experiences hellish things in order to save her. Much like
Orpheus; Deadpool goes through extremely traumatic experiences, firstly to gain
a longer life together, and secondly, to save her from the villain who ruined his
life. The influences of this Greek myth demonstrates the influences ancient times
has had upon a modern day society; demonstrating the manipulation of time
further.
The Neon Demon features Levi-Strauss bricolage throughout the film. Firstly;
bricolage addition was featured with the extra genres incorporated within a
horror film- elements of fairy-tale, thriller and psychological thrillers were all
added to the genre of the film. It also added another feature of danger, as the
colour red was featured within every clip of one of the films antagonist, Ruby.
Also, The Neon Demon uses elements of bricolage subtraction, with the opposing
audience to traditional fairy-tale type films. A traditional audience would
consider fairy-tale films to be aimed at children, yet because of the horror
elements within the film; the film is aimed at adults- this may be considered to
be manipulative of time and space as it distorts the audiences traditional belief
of what is traditional for a specific genre. It also uses aspects of bricolage
deletion as theres a removal of a linear narrative and instead, there is a greatly
fragmented narrative in place. This heavily incorporates Baudrillards theory
regarding the rejection of a message behind the medium as it could be argued
that it is simply just art for arts sake. This further emphasises the idea of the
manipulation of time and space as the fragmented narrative greatly distorts the
time frame of the film, as well as the actual story-line of the film. However; a
hyper-spectator (Cohen) may deem this to be art and therefore understand why
the narrative used is fragmented. The Neon Demon may also be following
aspects of bricolage transposition as it is argued that the Greek Myth Narcissus is
referenced to as the films heroin becomes egocentric and obsessed with her
own beauty. This further demonstrates manipulation of time, as the Greek myth

Angel Dewing-Hall
of Narcissus extremely portrays the influence the old has upon the new;
highlighting the manipulation of time.
The Weeknds music is a demonstration of his postmodernism; but he is also a
simulacrum. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd, is a
Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. In late 2010, Tesfaye
anonymously uploaded several songs to YouTube under the name "The Weeknd".
The persona used by The Weeknd is carefree, he has women, drugs and money
all at his disposal. The persona in which he created may be considered a
manipulation of time and space as it could be argued that the persona he
becomes freezes his actual character and instead, becomes someone else.
Dyers idea of star image is expressed through his character as it was built from
the anonymous posts to YouTube; creating a mystery about his character which
he has developed further within his persona through the rejections of interviews.
This may highlight the manipulation of time and space as his mystery distances
himself from his audience as they are never truly allowed to see into his
character- creating space between himself and his audience. Kramer would
argue that The Weeknd is also self-reflexive as the persona he has built for his
character works due to his own self-consciousness, but also due to his knowledge
of what succeeds within the music industry which may make him, as Cohen
would argue, a hyper-spectator within his own career. The Weeknd also
challenges Kramers idea of low and high styles. His wide range of genres
mean that his music appeals to both mainstream and unconventional audiences
and therefore both high and low styles will have the ability to appreciate some
elements of his music, as none of it is the same. This may further demonstrate
the idea of manipulation of time and space as he breaks the boundaries of high
and low styles; bringing them together which may be a manipulation of space,
not allowing for genre boundaries.
The future of postmodernism is being directed to more mash-ups of genres; CGI
actors and real actors- which are all aspects that have been used in the past.
Deadpool mashes up the genres of; superhero, sci-fi, romance, comedy and
violence all at once. Not only this; Star Wars and Gladiator have previously used
CGI to bring back characters/actors from the dead. The future of postmodern
music is being directed into holographic stage performances; which, again, has
already been done in the past by Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Also;
postmodern music will lose albums and appear only as EPs and downloads
aspects which are already being achieved by artists such as Kanye West whom
only sold hard copies of his album on black Friday, mainly on playlists with other
artists within the same genre as people do not listen to full albums in the same
way anymore. This demonstrates that the future of postmodernism is already
being achieved in the present day, yet we may possibly see it in the future on a
larger scale.
Therefore; it is clear through Deadpool, The Neon Demon and The Weeknd, that
postmodern media does manipulate time and space. This is clear through the
use of fragmented narratives and George Ritzers idea of the mixing up of time
and space which is vivid throughout each of these media texts; demonstrating
that postmodern media does, manipulate time and space.

Angel Dewing-Hall