Exploring Themes and Techniques in Postmodern Cinema

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The postmodern genre of cinema is very different from the modern and classical genres of cinema. Postmodern films have characters far more complex than characters in other genres. For example in the film Black Swan we see Nina who seems to have a struggle with a psychological disorder. She also has a very intense yet awkward relationship with her mother. Due to his condition, she sees things that aren’t there and experiences things or incidents that didn’t occur. Another example would be in Memento.

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Leonard also has a psychological problem, being unable to remember anything and can only take pictures to help him get through his day. The plots in a postmodern film appear to be disjointed or fragmented and are often perceived as confusing. Timing as well is often inverted or mystifying. In Memento the audience may get confused with the timing and the confusing plot. The beginning of the film is actually how the film ends. The film takes the audience into a mental state of Leonard showing how memory works in the human brain.

The ethics and moral issues are mostly presented with less clarity than in classical films. Doing what is right or wrong isn’t given that much focus. Memento can be an example of that, Leonard killed a lot of people thinking that someone killed his wife, not remembering all the people he had killed before. Thinking what he is doing is right, the viewers might think that whatever he thinks is right is wrong.

Postmodern films usually prolong multiple stories, extend multiple perspectives, and frequently deal with difficult themes such as problematic identity or existential uncertainty. Memento shows the film from multiple perspectives, which leaves the viewers wondering what, real-life when, and how did all of that happen. Black Swan is a movie that leaves the audience thinking about the ending. As a viewer, there are some parts where it would appear as if the incident happened, but after some time it’s not what it seemed to be. For example, the scenes where Nina stabs Lily with a broken mirror piece. She then hides the body and goes on with her performance. When she returns to her room she sees that a pool of blood escapes out of the crack of the bathroom door. At this point, the audience is convinced that Lily is dead. Just then Lily appears out of nowhere telling Nina how she loved her performance, when Nina looks back into the bathroom where she thought she hid the body, the bathroom is clean with nobody and no blood. This changes the entire understanding of the film and makes the plot a bit more confusing yet clearer. In Memento Leonard is suffering from short-term memory loss. By presenting the film out of order, in other words, the film story was told in reverse. The audience is also left as dazed and confused as the lead character. The audience, too, has no clue what occurred just moments before.

The film cleverly puts the audience inside Leonard’s head by unraveling his story in reverse. As we watch every scene beginning with the climax. Leonard’s final act of satisfaction, we experience the same dislocation and confusion that he does. With each new scene, we step a little further back in time, generating a definite hitch in our ability to exercise information and create honest memories. Every section of the main story begins in mid-action so that the audience doesn’t know what is happening any more than Leonard does, much like

Voiceovers are often used for the narration of a story sometimes a third person who isn’t involved in the story at all, or someone who was a part of the story the whole time. For example, in The Great Gatsby, the film we have Nick, who is narrating the whole story about how he met Gatsby, every detail is given from Nicks's's perspective. He knew the secrets and he knew the truth about almost everything. Another example would be from Slumdog Millionaire, Jamal isn’t quite the narrator but does the voice-over of his story in some parts. The officer is asking him questions about how he knew the answers to all the questions and he would tell the story with flashbacks shown in the film.

Diegetic and nondiegetic sounds are used in almost every movie. Diegetic sounds are the sounds made from inside the movie, sounds made by objects, sounds, or music that can be heard by the character. In The Great Gatsby when Gatsby takes Nick out to ask him for a special request when they enter the speakeasy there's loud music and a large crowd gathered to party, it’s what Nick can hear so the audience gets to hear it too. Although, when Tom enters, Gatsby leaves and Nick is confused about everything so her goes to see Jordan. When she tells him Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy over for tea, that's when the music known as non-diegetic sounds enters. That music cannot be heard by any of the characters, just by the viewers. An example of only non-diegetic sound in The Great Gatsby would be when Daisy started to go to Gatsby hiding away from everybody else, Lana Del Reys Young and Beautiful plays. There was intensified music to express the tension and emotion surrounding the whole scene. For example when Gatsby was trying to tell Tom about him and Daisy. As soon as he was about to tell Tom the music becomes so intensified just when Daisy breaks the intensity by yelling about how hot it was.

Flashbacks happen a lot in The Great Gatsby, and Slumdog Millionaire because they are narrating a story about what had already happened. Showing the audience and making a clearer image. Flashbacks can show how things looked likestorytellerwhat from the story tellers perspective. Slumdog Millionaire showed constant flashbacks whenever Jamal was asked a question. The flashbacks were in order of how he grew up from a child till where he was in the world at that moment. It was like watching how he grew up through flashbacks. In the Great Gatsby Nick had flashbacks of how he met Gatsby and how he met the new people and kept their secrets. This was just about how Nick moved to New York to work in bonds, and see the biggest parties of his life.

In the film The Great Gatsby there is an omniscient point of view. The point of view from the narrator, Nick. The entire film was based on his point of view and how he saw the incidents that happened, by writing about them and talking about them to this doctor. As an audience, it is all from Nick’s perspective. A single character point of view would be an example of Slumdog Millionaire. The audience sees the story from Jamal's point of view. How he knew all the answers to all the questions asked to him. Even after the interrogation was over, the present time when he goes to look for Latika is also shown from Jamal's point of view. The plot would have been different if the film was shown from Latika’s point of view or any other character's perspective.

Issues surrounding relationships and love could almost be applied to real life compared to movies. One good example could be The Great Gatsby, in the film we see Gatsby fall, fall head over heels for Daisy, go to war, and tell, Daisy he could be with her until he made something of himself. Daisy couldn’t wait any longer and married Tom, another legible rich Bachelor at the time. Gatsby was heartbroken yet still gets a house right across from where Daisy lived. The whole tension between Gatsby and Daisy is so fierce in the film, that it makes the audience want them to be together. The love Gatsby had for Daisy was real, Tom may have loved Daisy but I believe once he had an affair with Myrtle, that is when he stopped loving her. If a person loves someone, they would never cheat on their significant other. It was different with Daisy and Gatsby because they were already in love, or so I thought until Daisy left and didn’t go to the funeral. That was the moment as a viewer felt extremely bad for Gatsby and felt a feeling of hatred towards Daisy. Love and relationships are also a part of Men Women and Children. Both parents were involved in affairs and both thought they were the only ones doing it. They got tired of one another and wanted something new, so they went out on the internet and started seeking something new. As for the children, I feel like the only then stable relationship was between Brandy and Tim. Even the relationship between parents and their kids was so awkward. Brandy and her mom loved each other but the overprotectiveness went too far, and that provoked Brandy to become a sneaky child. Hannah and her mother were all about the fame and acting, not concerned about how Hannahs'Tims'sand photos might be used. Tim and his dad also had a tension between them because Tims mom left, they didn’t talk much bout it. Tim and Brandy understood each other and they had this calm vibe between them. They shared their problems and they seemed to get around whatever they are facing back home. Brandy had an overprotective mom, and Tim’s mom left him and his dad for someone else. The whole film is based on how people don’t know what's going on and it can create damage to what is around them, without even knowing it.

The issues of technology can be included as well relating to Men Women and Children. The technology in that movie shows what advantages and disadvantages it has for almost all ages. The film is a cautionary narrative about kids and the dangers of technology. People's lives are being lived out on screen and online, with both older and younger generations now dependent on the web. Teens get attacked with adult material unimaginable to their parents at the same age; grownups are immature, tempted into digital arenas of fantasy and irresponsibility. Technology dominated almost everybody in the film. Tim had his violent video games, Don and Helen were having an affair being each other's backs through online arrangements, and Brandy wanted to be herself but with her mother around she couldn’t so she sneakily made an account where she posted about how she feels and how she wants to be looked at. Then there was Hannah and her mom who posted photos online not completely knowing how they could be used, we have Allison a girl coping with an eating disorder getting advice online on how to avoid eating her food from others who suffer from the same disorder. Lastly, we have Chris who has a sexual disfunction from spending a little too much time on the internet and experimenting. The entire film revolved around technology and the different types of things people do online to either gain attention, just be themselves, or just seek some help.