107-092 Postmodernism and the Cinema

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Usually 37.5 points of Second/Third Year Cinema Studies, see Prerequisites.

Semester

Subject Description

This subject will explore the relevance of postmodern theory for the cinema, in particular the problem of defining the postmodern. Students will discuss: postmodernism's heterogeneity and intertextuality; cinematic pastiche and parody; the critique of the master discourses as they affect film narrative; the relationship between the avant-garde in film and postmodernism; issues of film spectatorship, gender and race; the traditional advocacy of classic art over popular culture. The subject will explore the writings - in relation to postmodernism and film - of Jean Baudrillard, Umberto Eco, Fredric Jameson, Linda Hutcheon, Vivian Sobchack and Kobena Mercer. On conclusion of the subject students should understand the meaning of 'postmodernism' and the reasons why the concept is difficult to define, and understand the relevance of postmodernism for an analysis of the cinema in relations to form, style and content.