Kinsella Media: January 2010

Monday 18 January 2010

An examination of how the postmodern theories of Dominic Strinati are evident in the narrative of the film “24 Hour Party People”.

“Being Postmodern before it’s fashionable” (2002)

“A narrative is some kind of retelling, often in words (though it is possible to mime a story), of something that happened (a story). The narrative is not the story itself but rather the telling of the story -- which is why it is so often used in phrases such as "written narrative," "oral narrative," etc. While a story just is a sequence of events, a narrative recounts those events, perhaps leaving some occurrences out because they are from some perspective insignificant, and perhaps emphasizing others. In a series of events, a car crash takes a split second. A narrative account, however, might be almost entirely about the crash itself and the few seconds leading up to it. Narratives thus shape history (the series of events, the story of what happened).” (Nelmes. J 2003, pg.84)

Film makers use a narrative style to ‘tell the story’, however not all narratives have the same structure.

Linear Narrative – where we are given a straightforward story from A- B for example Notting Hill.

Non Linear Narrative – a somewhat experimental type of film making where we are jolted forwards and backwards throughout the narrative. For example: Memento

Postmodern films work against the mainstream conventions of narrative structure. These films generally test the minds of the audience due to their style and way of story telling.

Many viewers may be familiar with the following postmodern films:

“Pulp Fiction”, “Memento”, “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” and “Blade Runner”

Audiences may find films such as Pulp Fiction pointless if they are watching a postmodern film for the first time, viewers not familiar with postmodern film styles often have a negative reaction to such films as they find it difficult to follow the narrative.

“24 Hour Party People”

The postmodern film that I have chosen to focus on is “24 Hour Party People”. I will investigate whether the narrative fits ‘Dominic Strinati’s’ ‘5 point structure’. The blog will also make reference to other postmodern films.

Here is a trailer from the 2002 release of “24 Hour Party People”. Even the trailer is Postmodern…

“24 Hour Party People” is set in the UK, the film is about the Manchester music scene between the late 70’s and 1992, it specifically looks at ‘Factory Records’ (a British independent record label)

The film begins with the ‘punk rock’ era moving through to the ‘Madchester’ scene in the late 80’s onwards. Although the story is built around the music scene the narrative strongly follows ‘Tony Wilson’s’ story ‘The News Presenter’ from Granada Television. The head of ‘Factory Records’ is played by comedian ‘Steve Coogan’, the film also features the music of artists such as ‘Joy Division’, ‘The Happy Mondays’ and ‘New Order’. After the premier of the film and the music soundtrack release these bands all had further success.

24 Hour Party People, has been dedicated to the people of Manchester, rather than any of the bands or artists involved within the film. The film is looked at as a piece of Nostalgia, whether it be for a reader that has grown up with the Manchester music scene or a reader that has never heard of the music scene let alone the region where the film is set.

The film is a dramatization that is based around rumor, urban legend and true events plus a great deal of imagination from the creators. We are reminded of this constantly with the fourth wall being broken by our presenter ‘Tony Wilson’, this is shown through him interrupting the drama and speaking straight to camera, this style is quite controversial, the film ‘Alfie’ was one of the first films to do this in the 1960’s.

Dominic Strinati’s 5 point structure of post modernism

1. There is no distinction between culture and society.

2. An emphasis of style over substance.

3. Breakdown of the distinction between high culture (art) and popular culture.

4. Confusions over time and space

5. The decline of the “metanarratives”

This blog looks at the film “24 Hour Party People” and examines to what extent it meets Strinati’s 5 point break down of postmodernism.

There is no distinction between culture and society.

Strinati states that; “…popular culture signs and media images are taking over in defining our sense of reality for us, and this means that style takes precedence over content, then it becomes more difficult to maintain meaningful distinction between art and popular culture” (Stinati. D, 2004,pg.213)

Culture refers to “ the perceptual frames, values and norms used in social life; as the way society looks at itself as a filter for what it sees.” Michael Keating, The New Regionalism in Western Europe: Territorial Restructuring and Political Change (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 1998 pg 153)

Simulacrum is used within ‘24 Hour Party People’; although it is a mirror image of the time in which it is set, it is difficult for some audiences to determine the real. Due to the producer using reconstruction, recycled footage and imagination, it may be difficult for the viewer to understand what is happening throughout the film, on the other hand the producers want the viewer to bring their imagination to the film, creating a sense of nostalgia throughout.

Tarantino uses this theory within his films with themes and techniques from his other films in his newer projects to create the reflection of his previous work.

Popular culture, signs and media images somewhat dominate our sense of reality. It is difficult to differentiate between Culture and Society as they merge and become one way of looking at our reality.

Here is an example from Quentin Tarintino’s Pulp Fiction .

Strinati argues that "Postmodernism tries to come to terms with and understand a media-saturated society. The mass media, for example, were once thought of as holding up a mirror to, and thereby reflecting, a wider social reality. Now that reality is only definable in terms of surface reflection of the mirror" (Strinati. D 2002)

An emphasis of style over substance.

The second point Strinati conveys is that there is often within post modernist texts an emphasis placed on the style over the substance of the work. This isn't to say that post modern texts lack substance but that the images and visual style are as important in defining the work as the pure story being conveyed.

24 Hour Party People is mainly concerned with the style and look of the film focusing on nostalgia and paying homage to the Manchester music scene of the 80’s and 90’s. Audiences who are old enough to remember the period can relate to the film due to the visuals, even if they are not familiar with the Manchester music scene. The film itself is first and foremost a comedy, the information we are given may be factual, although it is important to remember that a lot of the film is stretched to fit its genre and entertain its audience therefore the visuals and music used within certain sequences present stylistic information rather than factual information.

The film itself is made up of a number of different elements which include animation, archive footage and reconstructed comedy scenes, this makes it difficult to differentiate between the real and the drama. However it does make the film suitable for any viewer to watch, and create their own perception of the time concerned.

Compared to a traditional documentary film “24 Hour Party People” has less substance and information for the viewer, instead like most postmodern films and texts, it focuses on the aesthetics with the use of strong cinematography, iconic music, and always mirroring other types of media with this being used it evokes nostalgia in an attempt to connect the viewer with time frame that scenes are set.

Here is an example of the use of animation, breaking the 4^th wall, imagination, real even reconstruction and comedy from “24 Hour Party People”

This also highlights another aspect of post modernism, bricolage, which is the re-use of previous styles and genres and the mixing up of these to create a new twisted take on something that has gone before. We can also see in fashion examples where many styles from the 50's, 60's and 70's have become popular again as people mix styles to create a new take on something that had been fashionable before but within a new context. Thus the creators are more interested in presenting a style rather than telling the story.

Strinati’s view about style over substance can also be seen in the opening sequence of ‘Fight Club’ there are many extravagant camera moves throughout which are mainly created by special effects, although they do create a unique and distinctive style within the film, however they are not integral to the plot or structure, the style within this type of film is strong which overrides the actual matter of the film.

The viewer may get lost with the narrative of the film due to the style and tone used throughout “24 Hour Party People” as there is more focus on visual effects and music than telling the story of ‘Factory Records’ or the musicians of the time. However this is not critical, as the film is created to conjure up the feeling of nostalgia, where it is important for the viewer to bring their ideas and understanding to the entertainment which they view. The viewer is as important as the director within this type of film, it is important for the director to create something which is relevant to the audience, however it is just as important for the viewer to dissect the film and bring their ideas to the film, therefore every individual viewer will see the film in a different way.

Breakdown of the distinction between high culture (art) and popular culture.

Narrative theorist Bauldrillard states that “A crucial implication is that in a post-modern culture become more important, and evoke in turn a kind of 'designer ideology'. Alternatively, as Harvey puts it...'images dominate narrative'. The argument is that increasingly, surfaces and styles consume images and signs for their own sake rather than for their 'usefulness' or for deeper values that they might symbolise.” (Bauldrillard, 1991)

An example of High Culture and Popular Culture:

High Culture (Art)	Popular Culture
Opera	Pop Music
Theatre	Films
Literature	TV

The breakdown of the distinction between art and popular culture is the third point which Strinati highlights as featuring in post modern texts. We can see this in the media rich world we live in, especially in the field of advertising. Here there is a heavy use of high art principles to create eye catching and appealing designs to help sell a product or brand. In both the real and online worlds we are bombarded with images and the distinction between what is art and what is popular culture is often difficult to pin point.

Due to “24 Hour Party People” having a great nostalgic tone running throughout the film, it is clear that it is made up of a lot of the UK’s popular culture from the late 70’s until as late as 1992.

The signs within the film are low culture, therefore they can be recognised world wide, it is important for the viewer to bring their interpretation to the film to have their own understanding of the film. The music scene which the film is based around can be recognised as popular culture within the UK with the many references to the British bands through music videos and old footage, we are also connected to brit pop culture mainly through the presenter ‘Tony Wilson’ as we are informed and introduced to particular pop culture moments throughout the 2 decades of music.

The title music to Pulp Fiction is in many ways now known more than just a song in Tarantino's film, it takes on a new meaning when heard by conjuring up the images and feel of the film whenever it is heard. Similarly the 'showdown' piece of music from Kill Bill was suddenly found being used in everything from television shows to commercials for any 'scene' of confrontation or introduction of certain guests on a chat show for example. This music as a piece of art had filtered down from the film world to hold meaning to casual television viewers as well.

The narrative of "24 Hour Party People" is very much based on the music scene, the audience are carried by the narrator who relates to the time in which the film is set, through the use of nostalgic iconic events throughout, the audience can interpret the feelings and sense of time through viewing the film.

24 Hour Party People is a form of popular culture; throughout the viewer is given a sense of the music scene within the UK by showing popular music and iconic images in a mockumentary film style which overall is seen as a piece of popular culture.

Confusions over time and space.

“the growing immediacy of global space and time resulting from the dominance of the mass media means that our previously unified and coherent ideas about space and time begin to be undetermined.”

Within 24 Hour Party People it is difficult for the audience to understand the time or place of certain sequences, this is due to the reconstructions and recycled footage, because the film is very much an imagination, it makes it difficult for the viewer to identify the time or place however this is not vital to the script.

The film itself is based between 1976 – 1992, although it is quite linear it is difficult to determine what year(s) each scene is set. This is mainly down to the film being reconstructed with parody and recycled concert footage throughout the narrative of the film.

This clip shows a number of examples of scenes within the film “24 Hour Party People” where the 4^th wall has been broken.

As ‘Tony Wilson’ exclaims himself at the top of the film, it is constructed with rumors, urban legends and imagination, which add to the viewers difficulty to read and interpret timeframes due to all of these themes and plot lines being amalgamated into one film.

We are reminded of this confusion by the 4^th wall coming down a number of times throughout the film, this disengages the audience with the action within the film, creating a sense on unreality. With the use of the fourth wall, the narrator becomes part of the time in which we are watching, the sequence becomes disturbed which makes it difficult to interpret the space in which the action is in.

Post modern texts often feature elements outside of the real film world being portrayed, for example when in Pulp Fiction the character of Mia Wallace talks about someone being square and draws an imaginary box in mid-air only for it to actually be drawn onto the image. This shows how post modern texts don't feel the need to keep everything in a consistent world and instead can cross the boundaries of space and time.

The confusion over time and space creates a difficulty for the viewer, as they may get lost or puzzled with the movement of the film, this seems apparent within most postmodern cinema, audiences generally find it difficult to process time and space in a way they could in other types of film. For maximum enjoyment of this film the viewer needs to just accept the narrative and not be distracted by their own memory of that period or of iconic moments.

Many postmodern films illustrate confusion over time and space through the use of complex narratives. Many images and plots are recycled, therefore a complicated narrative is created.

The Decline of "Metanarratives"

“… the declining significance of religion. Post modernism has been particularly critical of the metanarrative or Marxism and its claim of absolute truth, as it has been of any theory, which tries to read a pattern of progress into history. The consequence of this is that post modernism rejects the claims of any theory to absolute knowledge, or of any social practice to universal validity.” (Baudrillard, 1991, web)

A metanarrative is simply a story about a story, therefore within the overall plot a number of different stories are told, which makes it difficult to determine what a narrative is trying to tell us, as it is fast changing with no 100% focus on one plot or story.

This type of film making is not seen in mainstream cinema today, due to the problem that audiences either switch off or are not interested with the story. “24 Hour Party People” does have strong metanarratives eg the stories of ‘Tony Wilson’ and the Manchester night club ‘The Hacienda’. Although the strong metanarratives in this film go against Strinati’s suggestion that Post Modern texts do not focus strongly on metanarratives, Strinati’s other 4 points are strongly represented and it is clearly a postmodern film.

The stories within the story are an important part of 24 Hour Party People narrative.

As we can see in this last clip Michael Winterbottom, used this style of narrative throughout his most recent film ‘9 Songs’, although this film had a much slower pace and less of a story plot, he had a number of stories mashed together within a ‘sex – centric’ narrative.

“24 Hour Party People” uses the character “Tony Wilson” to help carry the viewer through the story. Metanarratives conventionally makes it difficult for the viewer to understand due to the narrative being complicated and layered, with this film being a comedy based on a certain amount of reality it is difficult to follow or interpret the story, however it is important for the viewer to bring their own imagination when viewing postmodern film as it is just as important as the narrative, again the film has been created for each viewer to create their own nostalgia throughout the narrative.

Narrative Techniques.

“Perhaps inevitably, such a strategy (story telling) points to an understanding of much of the contemporary cinema as a postmodern phenomena the fragmentation of linear narrative has a tendency to signal to audiences in the contemporary era that some degree of self-reflectiveness is occurring in the narrative. This is normally a playful engagement with film form in which pastiche, parody homage and self–conscious artifice are foregrounded as a mode of cinematic illusionism and modern day story telling.” (Nelmes. J 2003, pg.88,89)

A postmodern film needs to hold a number of different stories and strands to support the main plot of a film. It is important for the reader to put their understanding and enjoyment into the film to have a concept or view of a particular point in time, in this case the Manchester music scene. Although the film is based around a moment it is difficult for the viewer to determine which time within the era the film documents.

“By conventional narrative standards, 24 Hour Party People is out-and-out confusion, a free-associative blur, but that's what makes it. The spirit hits you from the opening titles, a defiantly illegible wobble of amoeba lettering. Cinematographer Robby Müller, shooting digitally, creates a freestyle mix of looks, from desaturated Seventies beige to polarised purples and golds for Happy Mondays' E-fuelled prime. True to the title, the film really does have a party feel, something you wouldn't expect from the hitherto dour and pragmatic Winterbottom.” (Romney.J, 2002) The Independent

Films such as ‘The Matrix’, ‘Memento’, ‘Pulp Fiction’ and of course ‘24 Hour Party People’ are about how society and culture operates and how we perceive ourselves and the world around us, the theme and plot lines generally represent reality as unreality. These films all experiment, creating many stories within one story to convey the ever changing world around us, the originality created can be seen as an artistic way of film making, showing the use of images, music and imagination to create a narrative which needs audience participation, without telling them what they should think.

Post Modernism is about the change in how society and culture operates and how we perceive ourselves and the world around us

Quentin Tarantino is one of a new wave of modern film makers who strive to do more than simply adapt a story into film form but who wish to experiment and adapt what they do to the ever changing world we live in. In this world such people not only take what is in the world around them as inspiration but also inspire other media forms with the original works that they create.

Artifacts such as ’24 Hour Party People’ and ‘Tarintino’ films are often disregarded as an art form, due to the alternative take the directors have. They create a sense of confusion, many postmodern films are not seen in main stream cinema due to this.

I believe ’24 Hour Party People”, is an iconic film which we can connect to the definition of Postmodernism, by using Strinati’s structure as an outline, it has helped me understand how postmodernism is used within film, and also the reason for producers to use this style when relaying their stories to the viewer.

Many audiences relate to post-modernism films such as ‘The Matrix’, ‘Kill Bill’ and ‘Mullholland Drive’. It is important for the reader to deconstruct the film to recognise its use of postmodernism within film. Some proponents of Post Modern film would suggest that Post Modernist films should include themes of future and violence and would therefore reject “24 Hour Party People” as being Post Modern, however this view would not be universal.

Many audiences may not choose to watch this type of film because of the somewhat difficult to understand plot or story it holds. Although films such as “24 Hour party People” seem difficult to grasp in the beginning due to the lack of story or information it is the tone, style and reflection of the culture of the time that are key to how the narrative is delivered and read by the audience.

Many post modern films appear to hold little logic and it is often difficult for producers to generate funding to make these types of films.

Strinati’s 5 principles can be applied to a greater or lesser extent to most Post Modern films, however as Post Modern film includes great diversity of subject and narrative it would be foolish to define a film as not Post Modern if it did not match Strinati’s 5 principles exactly. Many people would generally accept that 24 Hour Party People is a Post Modern film and whether or not they have heard of Strinati’s 5 principles.