Simulation and Theming in 'Ghost World' (2001)

Jean Baudrillard, in his dissection of the postmodernist concepts of simulation and hyperreality, argues that through this ‘simulacrum’ where everything is merely a copy of a copy of a copy, culture experiences a death of ‘reality’, where reality is replaced by simulation. One of the most ubiquitous forms of this simulation is that of theming; themed restaurants, themed bars, even themed housing. This corporisation often involves an element of nostalgia, exemplified through the rise in popularity of restaurants presented under the guise of a 1950s American Diner.

The film Ghost World (2001) explores the notion of simulation, and in particular, theming. The town in which the narrative is set is fictitious, a representation of small town America set against Baudrillard’s notion of hyperreality. There is a depiction of a 1950s themed diner which blares out a soundtrack of 1990s hip hop; a blues gig where a renowned African American blues guitarist is overshadowed by a white ‘blues’ band who’s grasp of the genre is nothing short of pitiful; and the protagonists themselves are portrayed as caricatures of American society through their lack of belonging in even an imagined reality.

Ghost World parodies the ‘reality’ in which simulation and theming exist, presenting its reality with a mocking, and often cruel, overtone. The film is based on the underground comic, also titled Ghost World, by Daniel Clowes, so is itself an example of ‘simulacrum’; it is a copy of a copy mocking the factions within society which base their reality on this concept. The overall tenor of the film is one of sadness and near hopelessness; the reality, or lack of, that now exists due to the fact that only simulations remain is depicted in Ghost World as creating an existence where happiness and belonging no longer prevails, where everything and everyone is disconnected, and where individuality is desired, gained, and then ultimately destroyed.

Postmodernism-1950s Diner

The two above images are from the inside of Nelson's Diner, situated in Kingsclere. The slogan the diner promotes is Nelsons Diner...A Taste of the USA, this is an example of Fredric Jamesons' theoretical approach to postmodern culture where everything becomes cultural and everything is commodified.

Nelsons Diner is an example of Sign-value, a process by Jean Baudrillard based on the principles of postmodernism, displaying the triumph of an image that is attached to a product. The diner does this by using costume and replication memorabilia from 1950s America through theming and simulation to create the desired, perceived positive atmosphere of an American 1950s diner. The process of simulating the culture of America is appealing to mass population, although it may not be culturally accurate. Baudrillard defines simulation as the death of reality, creating the sense that everything is a copy which is endlessly re-circled, Nelsons Diner being an example of this.

The diner also shows the commodification of everyday life through the branding of a restaurant. The diner has been constructed and manufactured to serve a particular purpose and shows the inability to escape commodification. It also conforms to what Jameson describes as retro/nostalgia where a yearning for the past is experienced. The positive images that came from 1950s America are being placed in the context of modern day culture.

postmodern in relation to firefly the television series DVD

The cultural artefact that was chosen is the television series Firefly DVD. The show is a Science Fiction-Western series which is based around characters on the losing side of a Galactic Civil War who live on frontier of civilisation which is a nostalgic homage to the American Civil War and the culture of Confederate South excluding the problematic history of slavery. The show was created by Josh Whedon famous for writing and directing Buffy The Vampire slayer. The series ran from 2002 to 2003 when it was cancelled, although it the show was short lived it managed to obtain cult status because “The expensive boxed set sold somewhere north of 200,000 copies.” which hastened the development of a fan community around this artefact due to expropriation of this commodity.

The DVD as a commodity has an attributed Sign-value to the product. This suggest that image which is attached to the product adds cultural capital to the artefact. This would increase the economic value to the DVD commodity than other shows due to individual preference. Postmodernism believes that “everything becomes culture” The artefact Firefly is certainly emblematic of this.

Firefly presents the environment of dry terror-formed desert world's which punctuate an alternate solar system, a homage to the Westerns which is a pastiche, a term coined by Fredric Jameson who would describe the Western and Science Fiction Anaesthetics of the show as “‘blank parody’”. The Opening Credits of the show which is posted below supports this by using a country and western song and the imagery of spacecraft in the titles theme. “The postmodern text points to itself as a constructed text in its quotation and use of old texts: it makes no attempt to naturalise itself as a realist text.” The death of originality is another aspect which can be witnessed in this text because it merges two distinct genres Science-Fiction and the Western, which shows the “recycling of the past” rather than creating something which is completely new and this suggests there is no originality.

PASTICHE & PARODY- Family Guy Blue Harvest

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I have chosen to look at the post modern term
parody and pastiche. The example i have chosen is the series Family Guy, with the example shown from
the feature length presentation of Family Guy's Blue Harvest which is a parody of Star Wars a New Hope. The difference between parody and
pastiche is that pastiche is principally imitation or homage to a particular
genre of film whereas parody often entails an element of criticism of the text
it imitates. As described on the glossary sheet parody usually quotes from one text whereas pastiche quotes from a range of usually unrelated texts.
I believe that the series Family Guy is a combination of parody and pastiche, but more pastiche as episodes often refer to various unrelated films or genres in one episode whereas Blue Harvest is moreparody than pastiche as it focuses on re-enacting A New Hope in a comical fashion. Fredric Jameson links pastiche to ‘deathof originality’ as nothing is new and simply a combination of old styles which Family Guy aptly embodies and as
suggested Family Guy ‘points to itself as a constructed text making no attempts
to naturalise itself as a realist text…knowingly presents itself as a constructed artefact’. I believe that Family Guy clearly demonstrates the complex similarities of
pastiche and parody and does so is in an intelligent way rather than many
contemporary parodies such as Meet the
Spartans which often use toilet humour and do not bring anything new to parody
texts.  

Butter? Really?

The aspect of post modernity I have chosen is that of the apparent commodification of society. The clip I have chosen deals specifically with the concern regarding the image and not the product itself. In their prime, the Sex Pistols and John Lydon symbolised the complete opposite of society in the form of rebellion, with their appearances and music clearly seen to be sending a message of discontent with the English government, perhaps never better personified than in the single ‘Anarchy in the UK’. So how is it that a man who was the figurehead for everything people opposed about society, is now reduced to appearing in butter commercials? The very image of the Sex Pistols and Johnny Rotten appear to have been commoditised.

This shows the shift from a society of production to one of commodification. The rebellious image that John Lydon once possessed is now reversed to be used to sell a product, effectively being classed, in modern society, as a ‘sell-out’. The shift shown here shows not only the power of money but also the power of image. The very image of the front man of the Sex Pistols; one of the founders of a genre of music that sought to inspire individuality once again, marketing a food product for the cause of everything that inspired him musically and personally, shows how far society has shifted and how it is now about selling the image, not necessarily the story behind the image.

Sign Value

Jean Baudillard had the theory that through advertising, packaging, , display, fashion, emancipated sexuality, mass media and culture, and the proliferation of commodities multiplied the quantity of signs and spectacles, and produced a proliferation of sign-value. Baudrillard claims that are bought and displayed as much for their sign-value as their use-value. Baudrillard believes society is organised around consumption and display of commodities through which individuals gain prestige, identity, and standing. Therefore in order to reflect this notion my artifact is brnaded and non branded clothing. For example when buying a red polo shirt if sign-value did not exist then there would only be one choice of top on the high street. This would be a plain red polo top with no brand logo's or sayings on. However when buing a red polo shirt people do opt to purchase polo shirts with these logos and slogans on, whether it be a Lacoste crocodile or an FCUK slogan. This is due to their sign-value being considered above their use-value. A red polo shirt is a red polo shirt regardless of whether it has a crocodile on the left breast. However it has become accepted that the polo shirt with the crocodile on is 'cool' and shows expensive taste, and therefore the individual wearing this can gain the prestige, identity and they wish to have, as described in Baudrillard's theory on sign value.

A Postmodern Example

Postmodernism subsists on a formation of constructs which dichotomise its own existence, with its notions producing both a lack of reality and authenticity through the constant denial of originality and its basis on reproduction. Therefore, in correlation with this notion, my chosen artefact is that of retrospective t-shirts which depict band names and band images to portray the ideal of individuality. However, as commented in the Glossary of Postmodern Terms, ‘…postmodern culture is characterized by a loss of the ability to act as an individual’. Thus, to display an image of a band on a t-shirt in order to express self-autonomy instead becomes a self-reflection on the loss of identity. Therefore, the above image of Paris Hilton wearing a commodified band t-shirt only heightens the concept of a loss of identity, as by her wearing the shirt, she is using fashion as a signal for copitalist gain. This concept was also addressed in the Glossary in relation to postmodernism’s creation of a loss of critical distance. It was noted that ‘…the wearing of one’s politics [on a T-shirt] becomes a fashion statement that involves both the purchasing of a commodity and the participation in an image-culture’. Therefore it can be said that postmodernism has rendered the literal physical portrayal of identity to become smothered in the corporate selling of commodities, with the t-shirt morphing into a sign of consumerism rather than selfhood. As stated by academic Andy Brown in his text Rethinking the Subcultural Commodity; the Case of the Heavy Metal T-shirt Culture(s), ‘the…t-shirt is a commercially manufactured and distributed item…that is also high in subcultural value’ (p.63). Thus, t-shirts have become a form of Jean Baudrillard’s sign-value, with the image, not the identity, being sold as a commodity which in turn destroys the icon’s authenticity.

SIS BLOG FOR FRAN

This blog is for Fran Mason's SIS group semester 2, 2009