Postmodernism

Is this a postmodern text?Helena O’Keeffe

Taylor-swift.tumblr.com

Overview• This is a blog dedicated to Taylor Swift. It was

created by fans and is contributed to and discussed by many other fans.

• It contains many images of Taylor and also videos and quotes.

• It aims to provide a collection of different media texts that give a broad overview and show ‘what she is like’.

• The likely audience for this text would be Taylor Swift ‘fans’; these are typically teenage girls (11-16).

What is postmodernism?

• Baudrillard: According to Baudrillard, postmodernity is an era of hyper-reality. He suggests that images no longer refer to reality, but are merely images of images. The world is now saturated with images that disconnect us from reality.

• Lyotard: this theorist suggests that postmodernity is concerned with a lack of faith in metanarratives. Particularly the metanarrative of progress. He suggests that we decide upon our own truths and morality, the world no longer holds a unified view. He would also say that ‘science’ is another way of expressing opinion and is no longer concerned with finding ‘truth’.

• Jameson: Jameson takes a negative view on postmodernism. He suggests that postmodernity does not exist, it is more a state of late capitalism. The postmodern style is produced by large companies to ensure consumers keep buying and don’t question the world.

Features of postmodernism; Bricolage

• A patchwork of styles from a range of eras or genre.

Taylor Swifts ‘star image’ is a collection of styles from many different eras. She models styles from the 40’s ‘flapper’ era to 50’s young sophistication. Displayed on this fan site, we also see her move between the typical ‘country’ genre associated with the star to a more ‘rock chic’ look. This imitation of styles could also be described as pastiche; a copy of style/text with little attempt to comment on the original.

RepresentationIn this picture, Baudrillard would say simulacra occurs in the sense that Taylor Swift’s clothing and style appears to be reminiscent of the 1950's era, however the image does not represent a true reality of this time. It is merely an image of what this era is portrayed as, it is a representation of a representation of a 1950’s woman. Swift doesn't appear to be making any comments on the era and so this is also a pastiche(Jameson). The text is only concerned with the surface image, there is no attempt to create meaning and so the image both lacks depth, and focuses on surface over content.Barthes would argue that the audience create their own meaning from this text, that in fact it doesn’t matter what the artist intended, only what the audience takes from it. Similarly, Lyotard suggests that within postmodernity, we view the world from our own experiences and so each reader would take their own interpretation from this text about how Swift is being represented.

Fragmented Identities• The adoption of different roles and identities, often playful.

The fan site is primarily made up of different images of the star. These all create a brand image. When Taylor Swift first appeared on the music scene, she had a clean cut, country genre, innocent young girl image. As time has gone on, the star has become more daring with her image and started experimenting with different representations. Not only does she do this through the fashion and hairstyles she chooses, but through her music and her actions too. These are all portrayed through the media text, revealing clearly the ‘play’ with images and identity.

Fragmented IdentitiesIn one section of the site, Taylor is portrayed as a caring, loving person. Many pictures show her visiting sick fans in hospital or signing autographs for children. This creates a positive representation of her and shows she is a good role model for the young girls that look up to her. This is potentially a modernist feature as it creates a deeper meaning and tries to push society forward by revealing a strong message about caring for others. However Baudrillard may argue that this is a simulcrum of ‘caring’ and the image is more important than the content of it.

In contrast to this, the site represents Taylor in a sexually objectified mannor. Typical of women in the media spotlight, Swift is subject to the ‘male gaze’. This image makes no attempt to create meaning, it is primarily concerned with the surface image. The cowboy hat shows intertextuality as it references images from the western genre, this could also be described as pastiche(Jameson) as it makes no comment on the image, it merely imitates it.

Fragmented IdentitiesIn this image, Taylor Swift is representing herself as a simple, country artist. The checked shirt is typical of the country genre, along with the plaited hair and guitar. The image is concerned with surface over content, it does not attempt to make a comment on the genre it is illustrating. This also means that the image has a lack of depth. It illustrates clearly Baudrillards idea that we can ‘play with signifiers’, the conventions of the country genre have been adapted and glamourised to suit the overall portrayal of her Star Image.

This image constructs a more daring, ‘rock chic’ appearance. The change of hairstyle and clothing creates a completely different representation of the Hollywood star. The combination of different styles from different eras means that this image could be described as bricolage. The image offers examples of different styles without commenting upon them, the star is not attempting to create humour from the replication and so the image is a pastiche. It is also heavily concerned with surface over content and so presents a lack of depth.

Intertextuality• The fan site is a large example of

intertextuality in itself. • The blog is made up of references

to other texts and images, it is a collection of anything to do with the star.

• Many of the images are ‘borrowed’ from other media texts such as blogs or music videos.

• There are no further intertextual links within the images that appear in the text. This suggests a low cultural capitalism as the audience do not need a deeper level of understanding to take meaning from a text.

RepresentationThis media advert shows Taylor Swift promoting ‘Diet Coke’. Jameson would argue that this image suggests a large ownership of products that work together to encourage consumerism. He suggests that the economic system cannot be separated from postmodernism and in fact, the postmodern style is created from the economic system and consumer culture. Baudrillard might say the image is a simulacrum of drinking diet coke, it does not represent the true reality. He might also suggest that this image promotes ideas about consumer culture- by drinking diet coke, you are saying something about your own image or identity. It might provoke the idea that drinking diet coke will make you more like Taylor Swift, encouraging the target audience of teenage girls to buy this product. In turn, it could be said that they are buying their identity.

Lack of DepthThe fan site is made up of various images of Taylor Swift. Most of these convey no meaning and offer no opportunity to push society forward or challenge view points. They focus mainly on surface over content, concerning themselves only with the aesthetics of the final image. In the image to the right, it is clear that there is no deeper meaning to this image, this means it could also be described as a pastiche(Jameson). Taylor Swift is copying the styles and fashion of a previous era without attempting to comment upon it.

However; In other parts of the text, controversial arguments are offered surrounding issues such as Sexism. This presents the idea that the text may be of modernist tone. An argument was written by the target audience and submitted to the site. (http://pleaseimbeyonce.tumblr.com/post/41342769596/sexism-and-taylor-swift)It concerns itself with the representation and judgements of Taylor Swift as an artist. It considers her personal life and the way it is viewed in the media spotlight, the writer offers their own opinion on this.‘The type of person she embodies, somehow seems to be INCOMPATIBLE to what is socially accepted in our society.’By challenging the viewpoints of many others and suggesting what is morally right, the text is taking a modernist approach by attempting to push society forward. This contradicts Lyotard’s theory that society no longer moves in a unified way towards a moral goal. It could also be taken however that this argument supports Lyotard’s theory; the writer is offering their own view and creating their own truth and interpretation from the media text.

Is this text Postmodern?The fan site, taylor-swift.tumblr.com, presents many postmodern features. The site itself is a large example of intertextuality as it is made up of images that have been taken from other media texts. These range from images from other blogs, to magazine adverts, to video and television clips. The text is concerned mainly with surface over content(Jameson), it makes no attempt to challenge ideas or push society forward. This supports Lyotard’s theory that postmodernity has a lack of faith in metanarratives, particularly the metanarrative of progress. This also suggests that there is a lack of depth within the media text, there is no deeper meaning or underlying sense of purpose.The text presents a wide range of identities that are fragmented, it allows Taylor Swift to play with images and create different versions of herself. Again, Lyotard may suggest this shows she is creating her own truth and not working towards a unified view. Baudrillard would say that this illustrates a ‘play with signifiers’ as Taylor Swift is not creating a true representation of herself. She is creating many identities based on other images. This means that theimages are simulacra as they are not referring to reality.

So in conclusion, I think this text is postmodern. Although it contains some elements of modernism (such as the sexism argument), the main ideas and features within this fan site strongly reflect postmodernism.