Essay

Consider the ways in which postmodern media challenge conventional relations between audience and text. Refer to at least two media forms in your answer.

Pulp fiction is a post modern media text, it challenges the usual conventions of films throughout the film itself. A usual convention is that it usually is plain and simple for the audience to quickly realise and to be able to establish what genre the particular product is, however throughout the film ‘Pulp Fiction’ we see a number of genres being brought together for example, action with the fighting and then romance in the way two characters are running away together. This particular feature is not a normal convention between the text and the audience as usually there is one set theme that the audience are supposed to grasp. We also see this post moder feature within the Lady Gaga music video ‘paparazzi’ where we see a hodgepodge of ideas being thrown into one text, for example how the genre is like a short movie, then a advert and then a music video. Eclecticism is a key feature in post modern texts.

Another convention that is challenged within the movie ‘pulp fiction’ and then points toward the text being a post modern one is the way in which the whole narrative is almost a jumble, it is not the usual linear narrative that we are used to. It is a very important convention between the text and the audience as like a post modernist view it creates questions for the audience as they don't know whose story within the film to study the most and take to, seeing the events in different people's eyes creates many questions for the audience to answer in the way which they decide.

Both Lady Gaga's music video and the movie pulp fiction have a blur between high and low culture within the music video we see a blur between high and low culture in the manner that it is set out like a short film yet it is actually a music video. We see a blur between high and low culture within the movie pulp fiction because we have the storyline from the one character with a deep religious meaning then also we have the low culture sexual references and scenes which would be viewed as low culture.

The characters within the movie show elements of quirky fun without, each and everyone of the characters are quirky in their own way, for example the use of cocaine, the way in which some are gangsters. There are quirky elements such as these throughout the movie which keeps the audience entertained and enjoying the movie. This is similar to lady gaga's music video in that manner as that video goes from serious to non serious frequently throughout for example the quirky spiral appearing out of the blue. Also Lady Gaga herself is a quirky artist and her dress sense is quirky throughout. Quirky features are integral in post modern texts.

Another post modernist feature that i noticed was the dialogue, a large amount of the dialogue used within pulp fiction was small talk and not relevant at all to the plot, this is not a usual convention for a movie.