"To what extent do Post-Modernism challenge form and conventions of traditional media"

Good source for X-Factor info: www.bfi.org.uk/education/conferences/.../x_factor.pdf

 "To what extent do Post-Modernism challenge form and conventions of traditional media"

i) Do they/Don't they & in what different ways DO THEY CHALLENGE FORM AND CONVENTIONS OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA? HOW ARE THEY POMO? how each text does not challenge traditional forms & style?

X-Factor’s is a great example of postmodern text, this can be identified through the narrative that is used for the competition style show  where contestants have to go through many stages in order to succeed. Majority of the population enjoy the show for the whole rejection/selection process which has a major effect on the audience as the judges are the key in this process from the beginning stages where the audience have no control of who goes through to the next stages. The judges roles are constructed around the narrative and contestants back story. Each contestant have their own narrative which could / is mostly a personal tragedy that has happened to them in their life which has caused them to go on to the show to better their situation, this ‘ordinariness’ of a contestant allows the audience to develop a sense of audience identification. This ties in with the genre in which this show holds as it is an example of a ‘hybrid text’ where is uses familiar codes and conventions of a talent show (‘knocks and new faces’), reality TV and a variety show, involving the audience in being active where voting, hosts and judges, journey of contestants take a sharing a house, progress in which the contestants make, showing of contestants as “real people” with their strengths and flaws. In modernist TV, the audience would not be active or have control over the outcome of a situation like this. X-Factor holds a similar style ‘fly on the wall’ footage which is like Big Brother and the panopticon where the contestants know they are being watched therefore they change their behavior. Contestants on the show become self-reflexive as they are aware that their being watched and the development process of each stage on show is becoming less and less fake.

Between the judges on the show they all have distinguished characteristics that the audiences learn and begin to side with the judges. Louis is seen as the more emotional and rude judge who shows childish qualities, where Simon (SYCO records) his honesty enables him to be cast as the type of ‘villain’. When it comes to the female judges (Danii and Cheryl) they are caring and emotional who develop a connection between them and the contestants (which usually involves drama and tears!) this resembles the typical dominant ideas of gender. Similarly all of the contestants are presented according to their narrative for example, Stacey Solomon who is an Essex girl who was a single parent at the time, which represented her as the ‘victim’.

The whole idea of being on the X-Factor is of course the reward, which involves the boot camp stage which is a reward in itself as the contestants are given a taste of the lifestyle associated with fame and success when they spend time at the judges homes (mostly somewhere sunny and luxurious). Once they have passed this stage and they become finalists they are fed more of the notion of celebrity culture through their opinion of ‘living the dream’ where they have their own stylists, presentational advice and are involved in parties and film premieres. However the styling they receive does not always reflect their personality or music choice. The prize money reward at the end of the show does not really have much effect on the contestant because do they really even see the money? They see very little and very little is spoken about this as it is mainly spent on the recording and marketing processes.

So further on, how post-modern is the X-Factor? Well it definitely breaks down the traditional barriers of modernist media by reinforcing the importance of the audiences activity within the show, the audience is present at each stage of the competition apart from the boot camp (judges houses) here the audience are only shown the judges and audience interacting with each other demonstrating loyalty and rapport. The audiences are encouraged to vote and interact by supporting through a cross-media approach involving Internet (social networking), TV interaction (red button) and apps. This text reflects the fixated celeb culture that we live in, the promises of wealth and fame to ‘normal people’.

This show is very ‘style over substance’ which is apparent through the modern culture preferences of glamour over the event content and its meaning. In the live final stages, the show have themed weeks which indicate the need for songs that fit into a wide variety of popular styles rather than developing their own styles or sound. Similarly the artistic approach and impression that the contestant has is more important than the music, which is performed on the show.

The contestants hold a similar look, sound a performance to existing artists, which present the contestants as simulations/imitators of the real artist, for example Alexandra Burke who performed ‘Candy Man’ by Christina Aguilera which was consisted of iconic images from 1940s big music bands. X-Factor is very ironic when it comes to reality tv being postmodern. How often on X-Factor are we presented with something new and authentic? Not on today’s TV, last year’s winners Little Mix were the first band to have reached the final, essentially this group is just a recycled version of Girls Aloud. There is no ‘originality’ in any performance anymore as all contestants aspire to be like an existing artist, similarly to Little Mix with Girls Aloud.  There's no authenticity anymore, due to the use of self-reflexivity in the use of Autotune and the way in which the show is edited.

Unlike earlier modernist reality programming with those who succeed have to go through the process of the grueling audition process and the live finals. Changes in format of the show are made to keep the brand fresh and exciting to keep in the audience engaged and to maintain the shows success. Today the audiences have a wide variety of media entertainment options and new digital media has helped to maximize the audiences reach thus keeping the competition in the public eye.

Gorillaz show very specific traits of being post modern through style and convention. They are very much style over substance as their band identity is based around a simulation of a real band. This is represented around the intertextuality of japanese anime as the style of their bands identity. Their a band that use 'virtual personalities' which has become more important than the actual music itself, as this is what appeals to the audience in a playful and more pleasurable way at the same time hiding their real identities of the band members to the audience to avoid the price that comes to fame. The simulation of the band and the use of animation which is applied to their music videos. When they collaborate with another artist they are often ‘disembodied’ for example in ‘Feel Good Inc’ De La Soul appears on a large screen. All their live performances are performed in the virtual simulations of the band. This affect is has on consumer culture is the band productize themselves, therefore the audience then buy into their art and not just their music, this is easier for them for the hyperreal state. Along with the idea of this identity and the challenging of the concept of ‘reality’ they are a hybrid band that have an eclectic mix of genres such as hip-hop, punk, dub and reggae incorporated into their sound (known as bricolage), which according to Lyotard is postmodern.

Conclusion

To what extent does Gorillaz & Reality TV challenge traditional forms?

What aspects do you see as influential in developing Media Futures - where is our Media Culture headed?

In conclusion the extent of these two media texts both challenge traditional forms through stylistic approaches which have successfully made these become very postmodern. To the extent of whether or not what society is watching is particularly 'good' or 'bad' TV the ideology of 'mass culture' suggests that people watch programmes because of it's high profile and popular culture and also because other people are watching it therefore as long as it has an audience then it will be sold.
I believe that the development of future media culture is headed towards more programmes that will challenge the traditional forms yet us a society will be so brainwashed into the style and form we will not even consider this. However, I also believe that the use of Television will decline because of the ability and development that technology now has on audiences becoming prosumer and being able to create and upload their own videos and media that will be recycled from existing shows and ideas already out there, nothing new will be created. Things are only going to become more media saturated than they are now (if thats even possible!?)