Explain why the idea of postmodern media might be considered controversial?

Explain why the idea of postmodern media might be considered controversial?
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Tv: Extras, Skins
Games: GTA, Call of duty.
Advert – Cadbury advert.

GTA – Values – The role of women, violence, doing crime to progress in the game. Against the police. Hot coffee mod.

Skins – promotion of drugs.

Call of duty – Shooting innocent women and children in the airport. Shooting the president

Extras can be seen as postmodern in the way that it deconstructs itself - a situation comedy writer deliberately confuses, for comic and satirical effects, the line between Ricky Gervais as a sitcom writer, a standup comedian and his on screen character.
Gervais persuaded real celebrities to appear as themselves within the show was radical. The audience is forced to respond to deliberate decontextualisation - are they acting or are they being themselves.. The celebs themselves are media texts, we see herea really direct, visable and unusual example of intertextuality; is their character real, or are they just playing a role.
Cadburys Gorilla advert

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Postmodernism is a concept applied in media texts which suggest that artists and audiences are now prepared to accept a media text may not be true to reality. That creators are deliberately making the products to reflect media reality. Distinction between the media and reality becomes blurred so no longer have any sense of the difference between real things and images of them or real experiences and simulations. Postmodern media rejects the idea that that any media product or text is of any greater value than another. All judgements of value are merely personal taste. Anything can be art, deserve to reach an audience. There is no longer anything new to create.

The office (2001-2003) is a situation comedy using and subverting docusoap conventions ( A mockumentry). Without our understanding and knowledge of this genre, in how people normally behave in the office, the humour would not work. The office takes a mocking approach to work life of an office. Suggesting that managers, lack skill and brains to be running an office. In one scene we see Gervais having a serious one on one meeting in making someone redundant. The conversation doesn’t represent that as a realistic situation, the situation itself may of course by very normal, but they way it was portrayed was unrealistic, with a handy man being in the room, under the desk and popping his head up by Gervais and the wayward conversation of talking about what defines being a midget. Similar techniques were used in a similar program Lunch Monkeys (BBC 3 2010) which portrayed the life of the business post room. Controversially showing the divide between the job roles in a comical way. That those in the post room were looked down on by the other workers in the office, the show also decided to show Asif as very little brains, getting excited at the little things, such as boasting about knowing the first name of the queen.

In a more recent role for Gervais from the office. Postmodernism was taken to a next step in the situation comedy ‘Extras (2007 -2009)’ Extras can be seen as postmodern in the way that it deconstructs itself - a situation comedy writer deliberately confuses, for comic and satirical effects, the line between Ricky Gervais as a sitcom writer, a standup comedian and his on screen character. Gervais persuaded real celebrities to appear as themselves within the show was radical. The audience is forced to respond to deliberate decontextualisation - are they acting or are they being themselves.. The celebs themselves are media texts, we see herea really direct, visable and unusual example of intertextuality; is their character real, or are they just playing a role.

One of the most controversial media texts at the moment is videogames. With games and gaming consoles becoming much more advanced, the graphics becoming better and more detailed. The art work becoming more realistic. To the real world.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, its not the Not the content in the game which is considered postmodern, but the playing experience what is postmodern whether the player/reader of the text/game is immersed in a set of practices. It immerses the player in a convincing, intricate and believable world, but the reality it represents is the stuff of films and other media. Taking on the character of the individual and live in a real city, is a profoundly hyper real experience. The Grandtheft


It was in the gameplay itself where Grand Theft Auto managed to break the mould in many ways. Grand Theft Auto contained free- from 'go anywhere you please' gameplay that saw you tied to a over-arching plot that contained various missions to complete but also left you free to explore the huge world in your own time, finding hidden packages and rampage icons, exploring the world and doing what you wanted. Decisions moral or not to wander around enacting acts of violence on pedestrians for no strategic purpose is made on the basis of prior experience (being a GTA game) learning and practising the skills you will need to progress in the game. But also this demonstrates a metalanguage about ways of being in the game. The mere fact that the game apparently gives you moral decisions to decide what you do in the game is criticised that the only way to progress in the game, to complete levels is to kill, do criminal activity and to take on the police. Thus these moral decision are taken away, and it is infact the game what is leading the gamer in what to do in levels.

The value of women in the game, have also been of hot topic. That it promotes sexism and degrades women in real society, that they are sex objects and that men are hierarchy. Those gamers may take these values and use them in reality, and treat girls the same way.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (Activision 2009) has also hit media headlines for some of the missions in single player mode. Where in one level, in a Russian airport, which was designed exactly how the real Moscow airport is, even going down to the detail, of the books on the shelf in the book shop. The mission states to kill as many unarmed civilians in the airport, including women and children, although not doing so won’t fail the level, but the fact writing it up on screen to do so, makes the player feel like they have to, whether they know its morally wrong.

Cadburys in 2007 created a unique advertising campaign, but which some viewed as controversial as there is no real visable connection to chocolate. Just a gorilla playing on some drums to a song by Phil Collins. Although it has been argued that it does in fact, but it does it in its own unique way it strips back the unspoken pleasure of chocolate, so actually offers a direct connection to the appeal of the chocolate as a secret guilty pleasure. It has managed to get the audience to associate the royal purple to be part of their brand, that whenever audience will see a gorilla, drums or purple that it would make the audience think about dairy milk, to want some. Also many replications of this advert have been made which increases its audience range.