Baudrillard, Dubord and Foucault - SB

Baudrillard - Simulacra and Hyper Reality

Baudrillard was a controversial Philosopher whose main ideas and concepts have been used to understand the effect of living post modern environment of our perceptions of reality. He had a book called 'Simulacra and simulations', which became of basis for the Matrix films.

 Foucault:
The representation of reality is meditated through the media.
Manufactured Consent
Reality TV reflects a voyeuristic pos modern society.
social network give us control of voyeurism
The Panoption - the perfect prison, constantly under surveillance - Big Brother. Your phone allows the government to know everything!

Dubord:
Style over Substance, superficial and Super Fat v Super skinny, the appearance, so obsessed about appearance we don't care about whats inside, the brand of an artists rather than their songwriting.

Pre Reading - SB

Tron(man is transported into hyper real simulation game) - 1982 compared to Tron 2012 - hyper reality and simulcra strengthens.

We have become used to hyper reality etc. that there is a computer character in WIR who has become humanised. 

Both Tron and WIR are similar because they are both Disney films, so have grand narratives such as happy endings and good v evil.

Tron:
Grand narratives - Religion - lazer beams going up to god. WIR sacrifice to the volcano and the out of order sign. 
Collapse of boundaries between two worlds.

Human and technology
Simulation 
Audience sense of familiarity and nostalgia

Q. How is WIR post modern?

Intertextual references in WIR:

Mario cart

Halo/Call of Duty

Pac Man

Fix it Felix

Q*bert

300 word micro essay

Wreck it Ralph breaks down structure, uses a lack of traditional ideas and has a lack of belief in human progress. WIR includes many intertextual references, such as Mario Cart, Halo, Call of Duty, Pac man, Fix it Felix and Q*bert, showing it is post modern. This is post modern, because in the post modernity age we have a lack of belief that we can create original ideas, so a bricolage or cultural recycling has to be built to create a new idea. The audience includes the mainstream young target audience because it is a Disney pixar film and their target audience is children, but also adults who lived through the 90's, because of the nostalgia of the familiar games they played as children, teens and adults. To the older audience the film is richer, because of these memories of these games, other members of the audience may see it as style over substance because of the way it looks 'retro'. WIR also uses some of Jameson's theory's, the text shows pastiche and parody, it pays homage to some of the games such as Fix it Felix, but parody to Q*bert in the way it shows the characters from that game comically.

Having all of these intertexual references means structure which were widely used in modernity are collapsing which is also making this text post modern. The genres of each reference are different, Halo is an action/shooter game whereas Wreck it Ralph is an arcade genre, as Ralph from Wreck it Ralph enters the Heros Duty these boundaries are literally blurring together to create a bricolage and a new idea. Disney usually create very modern texts, this one has to be post modern in order to relate to a wider audience, it also has added more context to the characters to relate and create more meaning this this older audience. Cowhorn has emotion and too is masculine(a post modern representation of gender), as do the rest of the characters, she looks back to her wedding day, characters of video games can't hold emotion but these can, making the film hyper real and a simulacra, following Baudrillard's post modern theories.

The film changes the way you see the text, it targets an older audience to a children cartoon film, by using intertextual references and creating a bricolage and giving the characters emotion so they become realistic. The lack of belief and collapsing of structures, makes this text post modern, yet there are still some ideas which are modern such as the nuclear family and patriotism. WIR also is traditional in the way it has a belief in religion, with the high angle and god like power, as the out of order sign is placed on the arcade machine. This goes against Lyotard's theory of their being a lack of belief in post modernity. Other scenes, such as when Cowhourne and Felix get married shows they have a belief in the nuclear family, again against Lyotard's theory. WIR is post modern in how it represents good vs evil, traditionally Ralph is evil because he is disruptive and he is also shown to be 'grouped' with other villains from other games. Shown in a counseling group, much like an alcoholics anonymous group. But this gets complicated, as this modern structure collapse, as Ralph helps Venvelope build her car and saves Felix. So this grand narrative is blurred in turns of the binary opposites of Good vs Evil.

Although there are a lot of modernist structures still, there are also a lot of post modernist points, but has Disney done this on purpose? I think they have in order to reach the larger audience. So yes WIR is a post modern text, because it wants to gain a larger and older target audience.

How is WIR a post modern text?

• Structures are blurring/breaking, lack of belief and rejecting traditional ideas.
• Genres are merged together from the different games.
• Representation of gender, Felix is feminine Calhourn is masculine
• Grand Narrative - good beats evil (Disney) technically - but Ralph is bad to begin with
• Audience vs text - No its a film modern
• Jameson
• Lots of interetexuality - Heros Duty - Halo/COD and Sugar Rush - Mario cart
• Bricolge - lots of games come together to create original ideas
• Parody - Alcoholic meeting - counseling with all the evil characters
• Pastiche - to older games to reach parents and middle aged people 90's games
• Hybridity - in terms on the genres mixed together
• Lyotard
• Empty/meaningless - lack of belief - Religion - out of order sighn, high angle, god like power, nuclear family - Felix and Calhourn marry and patriotism Venvelope - princess - but not stereotypical one
• Style over substance - Retro games?
• Baudrillard
• Hypereality - cartoon, Calhourn has emotion - husband to be is killed by the bug machines
• Simulcra - simulation of reality

Notes post modernity

1. You need to understand modernism to understand post 

2. Breaking the structure of modernism

3. Binary opposite which belongs in modernism 

So you need to understand use modernism to do post modernism, but postmodern wants to throw that away and forget 

Post modernism is a paradox and is ironic 

Wreck it Ralph is modern in terms of prosumerism and interactivity audience vs text

Self for filling idea 

Period of time - rejected modernism when ? 

Stylistic - stronger than 1980's looks like? 

Theoretical - thinks like ? 

Lyotard - truth has to be deconstructed - when, period of time - collapse in structure 

Baudrillard - theoretical thinks like? - hyper reality and simulacra 

Jameson - looks like, stylistic - 1980s strengthens - intertexuality - simulacra 

We live in post modernity now 

Wir is post modern because : 

Baudrillard - simulacra and hyper real 

Breaking representation  of masculinity - collapsing of structure candy saga 

Lack of belief in progress - dystopia - halo rip off 

It was made in a post modern era - uses intertexuality - pac man, halo

traditional theories 

Starts in 1980s - computers audience v text 

1960s 

Post modern is a teenagers all about me 

Modern beliefs - religion belief patriotism nuclear family

Baudrillard - is it using post modern ideas on purpose - a Disney film? 

Linear 

Happy ending 

Good over evil but it's complicated 

More notes 

1. Collapsing of structures 

2. Rejecting of traditional ideas 

3. Emptiness and lack of belief 

The Japan nuclear bomb made humanity lose trust, because any second the world can be gone by a bomb. Technology was too advanced and could end the world. This was the start of post modernism because of this event. 

Technology was advanced during the 80's, leading to a lack of belief, no future. Post modernism was growing stronger, hyper reality becoming more popular. People were rejecting traditional ideas, and developing reality into hyper reality. An example of people starting to become trapped by a game. No emergency services. Lost trust in both emergency services police and government. Being reborn so a post modern representation. 

This film is a Dystopia film and is so popular because of a lack of belief that anything can get any better. The collapsing structure of theories is shown here, through hyper reality, to show the future. 

No progress distopia 

1980 explores simulation and hyper reality 

Must refer to an earlier text tron to wreck it Ralph 

Notes 6/1/15 

What is post modern: 

After modern age - not modernist theory's 

Breaking structures and collapsing 

Not traditional rejects traditional ideas doesn't conform to modernism 

Emptiness and lack of beliefs 

After ww2 nuclear bomb Japan - no trust no belief 

Simulacra - technology be someone else  consumerism - imagine 

No progress

 A theory but it is just a theory .... 

First paragraph - define and explain 

60's traditional ideas were breaking 

Hippies tv women's rights 

Gradual change weakening from 45 to 60's a relationship 

The strengthening what the exam is about 

Shown through media texts 

New media 

Now convergence - combined into 1 

Prosumers - we can make videos youtube 

Sophie Gordon Screenshots

1. Morality (Good beats Evil)

By accident previously in the game Ralph ends up ruining a party to celebarate 30 years of his gaming running, because he was tired of being alone. All of the others that are involved in the game moved out of the game penthouse, allowing Ralph to move in. It shows that good beats evil, still leaving him alone, as they believe that's what he deserves.

2. Democracy 

The rest of the game are grouping together, leaving him alone outside.

3. Positive Resolution 

Ralph is at an AA meeting for being bad within his game. This shows a positive resolution as he's decided to turn up to change his life and make himself good. Shows it's a positive resolution, as something good is happening.

4. Intertexual Reference 

Audience are shown a selection of different games. Shows a screen of the game Dance Mat. Shows a game that many people would of played when they was younger. It also would show nostalgia.

5. Dystopia 

Hero's Duty - Showing how bad can happen and take over something good. Shown when the bugs are let lose in Sugar Rush. Could be expressing war, when one country goes to another to fight.

Sophie Bishop Screen shots

Human and Technology 

The structure between human and technology has collapsed in WIR, because the 'human' characters (but cartoon), are controlling the 'games' and the simulacra at the start of the film, but the technology control themselves within the arcade cases. There is no human, because it a simulation of the real world.

Real and Artificial 

WIR is not real, in it's style, because it is cartoon, simulacra. It is artificial because of the hyper reality and simulacra, Baudrillard and Jameson. It is a Disney film so will not be true to the real world, because it is targeted at children.

Good vs Evil 

Ralph starts of as the evil character type, but he was never shown as  evil, like the king of the candy game is. But out of Ralph and Felix, Ralph was evil. But Ralph was good, as he helped the girl in the candy game.

Male and female

The representation of gender has blurred together. Felix is feminine in his high pitch voice, and his behaviour, whereas the woman from Heros Duty is very masculine, action chick.

Genres

The genre boundaries blur together, for example Heros Duty blurs with Wreck it Ralph, as Ralph enters Heros Duty. Also The woman from Heros Duty goes into Sugar Rush, blurring those genres together, action/sci fi and fantasy.

Sophie Bishop

Wreck it Ralph:

It looks postmodern, because it is a modern technology, animated, so the style is very colourful and hyper real. Jamerson's theory of nostalgia, is used, the many video game characters shown in the film, create the sense of nostalgia. Hyper reality is a huge theme within Wreck it Ralph, Baudrillards hyper reality. The cartoon/animated style is post modern and hyper real. The film does not follow modernist theory's and theorist, but post modern. The 'grand narratives' such as bad v good, and the hero always wins, is deconstructed in the film. As Ralph is sympathized, and becomes a hero figure. Following Lyotards's beliefs, that truth needs to be deconstructed.

Bricolage - The process of adaptation or improvisation, aspects of one style are given different meanings. Post modern because they are taking a modern theory, and creating a new one.

A car made out of different sweets, theme of the game.

Parody - Referring to existing texts, making out of them, or the creator. Post modern because they are referring to sometimes modernist texts, and making fun our of them.

Ralph is at a group meeting with all villains from different games, alcoholic anonymous parody.

Pastiche - Homage to existing texts. Post modern because they are using existing texts, and sometimes use them as interetexuality.

Homage to Wreck it Ralph

Hybridity - Combining of two genres, thriller + horror. Recycling old. Post modern because they are taking a modernist theory, and creating a new genre.

Sci Fi + Action

Hyper-reality - Unrealistic, Photoshop an image. Post modern because of the post modern style, allowing you to alter real texts into an enhanced reality.

The 'real life' the arcade is cartoon/animated as well as inside the machines.

Intertextuality - A reference/apart of an existing text in a new text. Post modern because it is reusing previous texts to create new ones, and to have a sense of familiarity/nostalga.

Pac Man

Style over Substance - the look over the content, music video. Post modern because now with bands such as One Direction, the style the way they look is seen over the actual substance/music.

Retro

Self-reflexivity - constructed simulation or reproduction. Using hyper reality and using it to make reference. Post modern because it includes hyper reality and simulation.

Prosumers - An amateur/audience who creates their own music or other media texts. Post modern because a production company and music labels are not needed (professionals, with technology now an amateur can do it themselves.

Nostalga -  sense of familiarity in a text, a past text relived, warm feeling happy. Post modern because it is using intertexuality.

Wreck it Ralph

Grand- Narrative/Meta-narrative - History, science, politics and religion theories combines, allows us to come closer to the absolute/perfect world. - Lyotard distrusts this, and wants us to deconstruct the truth. Post modern because Lyotard want to dismantle this modernist theory.

Popular (low) culture - mass appeal

Simulacra - realist forms of media, part of hyper-reality. Reality it's self is saturated. Post modern because it includes hyper reality.