Modernism and Postmodernism in Films

From what I have learned before, modernism in the arts is a movement that breaks classic and traditional forms. It was known as avant-garde until later on was finally named as modernism movement. And postmodernism is the era that came after modernism. It often has sceptical interpretation of the current society. In actuality, postmodernism itself is more complex than that. In order to understand what postmodernism truly means, we must understand what modernism is about. Just like modernism, postmodernism also reflects the avant-garde idea which is futuristic and unconventional. One distinctive difference between them is postmodernism seems easier for the people to relate with. It breaks boundaries between cultures, classes, genres, and even time and place as it creates a space where past, present and future are tangled. Creating an illusion which people may perceive as reality.

In films, this aspect can be seen clearly in The Matrix which tells us that the world that we are living is actually a simulated space created by machines. It has generated some thoughts, ideas, and even conspiracies around the movie. And I think this is how a postmodernism movie should be like. It's not just narratively mind-blowing, but also creates and promotes the audiences to think and see the world from a different perspective.


Image source:http://edc13.education.ed.ac.uk/phild/files/2013/01/margritti-this-is-not-a-pipe.jpeg
Reading materials:http://idea.ro/revista/?q=en/node/41&articol=213
                          :http://voices.yahoo.com/reality-within-mask-scorsese-postmodernism-205620.html