Post Modern Music

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus is an American singer song writer who has been in the public eye since a young age.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of a famous country musician, Miley incorporates music from her roots with a combination of Pop on many of her albums, two genres of music which do not conventionally fit.  

Cyrus became an icon for young girls around the globe after the success of her well known teen sitcom, however many were surprised to see a drastic change in her appearance and persona, starting with the release of her 2010 album 'can't be tamed'. From here on out, Cyrus created increasing controversy in the public eye surrounding her appearance and edgy behaviour. 

The public were surprised by Miley's drastic change from the 'good girl' image to a 'rebellious teen'. 

Miley goes from writing innocent and relatable songs in her first albums, to ones focusing on the subject of recreational drug use, extremely controversial considering many of her fans consist of young, teenage girls.

Inter textual References

• La di da di- Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh. Cyrus' track 'we can't stop' features a sample from Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh's New School Hip Hop & Beat boxing track La di da di. This is incorporated into Cyrus' pop single. This is an example of bricolage, as Cyrus is using sample's from different genres and incorporating them into her tracks. 

• Dirty- Christina Aguilera: Christina Aguilera was cited as possible inspiration for the sexualization of Cyrus' 'We can't stop' music video. The infamous 'slut drop' has been seen in many contemporary artists work, such as Beyonce and Cyrus and is said to have gained popularity from Aguilera's 2002 single. 

• Lady GaGa- Just Dance. Cyrus' video was also cited to have similarities to Lady Gaga's 2008 single, Just Dance which follows a similar story line and also includes references to sex and recreational drug use.

• SMS- 1980's hip-hop inspired track - Inspired by female rap trip salt-n-pepa. 

Simulacrum

Miley cyrus' music hasn't just been released under one name. However, she has a variety of records branching from her TV programme Hannah Montanna. She has released albums under the names of Hannah Montana, Miley Stewart and Miley Cyrus. All three characters represent a pop artist, so who is the real Miley Cyrus? Furthermore, in recent years, Cyrus has changed her public image from that of 'disney sweetheart' to a 'teenage breakaway', we do not know if this is her real personality or whether she is simply building up a controversial character to sell her music and gain public attention.

Is this image real or is it simply a put-on performance to help her sell her albums? 

In Hannah Montanna, Cyrus plays two characters, Miley Stewart and Hannah Montanna. We do not know if Miley Stewart is a representation of the real Miley or whether Miley Stewart is actually merely a fictional character who has no resemblance to the real Miley. This is made increasingly difficult to distinguish as her real-life father, Billy Ray Cyrus also plays himself in the TV programme. We do not know whether this reflects that Miley is actually playing herself or whether Billy Ray is also playing a fictional character simply acting as his character under his real name. 

Pastiche 

Miley's Instagram account consists of a variety of strangely edited and photo shopped images which to the majority of people make no sense. However, Cyrus may actually be using this media platform to make a mockery of other artists (pastiche) or to pay reference to other artists. She also pays homage to inanimate objects such as pizza on her page as is seen in some of the images below. Most noticeably, Kanye West seems to appear in many of her photo shopped images. Kanye, a renowned Hip Hop and RnB artist may be prolific to Cyrus, seen as her latest album, Bangerz is meant to feature samples from the Hip Hop genre and is a mash up of Hip Hop, Country and Pop. Cyrus is also thought to have created a remix of Yeezus track, 'Black Skinhead' with Kanye West in recent years. This is quite a drastic change, with Miley starting her career writing and performing Pop music based on a fictional TV programme for a young, teenage audience to recording explicit Hip Hop tracks with the likes of Jay Z. It seems by the looks of these photos that she is making a mockery of the artist and Hip Hop, by the way she is combining a bricolage of Country, Hip Hop and Pop on her album. 

 Cyrus takes something innocent, E.G: Teddy Bears and turns it into something more mischievous. In several of her videos and performances we see dancing, twerking teddy bears placed around images of drug use and drinking. This is another aspect of her work which makes her ever more controversial. This idea has also been used in other forms of mainstream media, such as in the film Ted, where something that is meant to be innocent is turned into something crude and quite inappropriate. Is Cyrus trying to create a new style by doing this? 

Songs that have sampled tracks from Cyrus' album Bangerz include: 

DJ Earworm- Living the Fantasy-From both We Can't Stop & Wrecking ball

Pokemon-Medley Theme 

Vee Tha Rula, Tidal wave features Samples from Cyrus' Wrecking Ball

Cedric Gervais' remix of Adore You

Creation 

Cyrus has written her own tracks, she has also co-produced several of her songs, as well as several being written for her and herself simply performing them. 

Postmodernism and Music V3

Death Of Uncool

Death Of Uncool


Jamie Lawson-Wasn’t expecting that-Acoustic music


Diplo & Sleepy Tom- Be right there-EDM, Trap, Dance


Calvin Harris- Mansion-EDM, Dance Pop


Paloma Faith- Agony-Pop, Soul, Jazz


Phillip George & Anton Powers- Alone No More-House


Alessia Cara- Here- R&B, Pop


U2-This is where you can reach me-Rock, Alternative Rock


Major Lazer- Light it up-EDM, Reggae Fusion, electro house


Years&Years- Eyes shut-Synthpop, Indie Pop, electronica


Snakehips-All my friends


Sigala-Sweet lovin’-House


The Score- Oh my love-Indie Pop


















How is this playlist postmodern?

This playlist includes songs from very contrasting genres. For example Diplo, is an EDM, Dance artist where as U2 is an alternative rock band. This album would be postmodern as it is not sticking to one genre but instead is a bricolage of different materials.



Fictional Film

This playlist accompanies a film titled '18' which tells the story of a group of young, American fraternity and sorority students. It follows the highs and lows of 21st century teenage life, the parties, relationships, and the struggles of balancing academic and social life as a student. The story focuses more specifically on the love life of one of the teenage couples, Alex and Chelsea. The film spans over a short amount of time during freshers week at uni, with endless partying, experimenting and socializing occurs.



How the songs relate to stages in the film


Wasn't expecting that- Opening titles of film which sees the students bidding fairwell to their loved ones as they start their new lives as students.


Be right there- The first night of partying begins where the fraternity and sorority students meet for their freshers week. Friendships are already blossoming and a spark is ignited between Alex and Chelsea.


Mansion-The realities of Jack's experimental drug use come to life when he incurs a bad 'trip' and ends up in hospital fighting for his life.


Agony-Jacks family and friends realize the severity of his drug taking and Jack has to make a big decision over whether University life is the best thing for him or whether he needs to defeat his demons and battle his problems before he returns.


Alone No More- Alex reveals his feelings to Chelsea.


Here-Jack's final night of partying leaves him with the realization that he can not cope with the temptations that surround him.


U2-The group bid fairwell to Jack as he leaves his fraternity and makes the conscious decision to attend rehab.


Light it up- Alex learns revelations of Chelsea's past. Their relationship is on the rocks, but can Alex learn to live with the mistakes Chelsea has made in her past?


Eyes Shut- Alex and Chelsea decide their relationship isn't going to work out and made the decision to take some time apart.Is Chelsea more upset than she shows?



Snakehips- Alex has his first night out since his split with Chelsea. However after watching his friends wild behaviors he has a sudden change of heart.


Sweet Lovin'- Chelsea and Alex reunite


Oh my Love- The final song of the film. Freshers has finished and the week of madness has changed several of the characters. Relationships have been formed and broken and the students are ready to start their new life at Uni.


Inspiration taken from the films:

Bad Neighbours

and

Project X



Blurb:

A group of young, adventurous teens begin their lives as university students. The group join their fraternity and sorority groups and prepare for Freshers week. However none predict the chaos that unvails. Revelations, heart ache and secrets project Modern student life and the highs and lows of their experimental lifestyles. Romance sparks between young couple Alex and Chelsea but can their relationship endure the madness of the first week of student life?

How Is Django Unchained Post Modern?

How is Django Unchained Post Modern?

Django Unchained, a Post Modern film brought to us by controversial director Quentin Tarantino raises many debates surrounding its projection of race and violence. However, no critic can deny the post-modernity of this film from its vast use of inter-textual references, bricolage and parody. Even in the title of the film we see examples of intertextuality from the combined use of 1966 Django, Hercules Unchained and Angel Unchained to create the new title for Tarintino's exploitation cinema production. The film parodies that of a conventional Spaghetti Western, using techniques and ideas which would not be expected in that of a 1960's traditional film of the genre. A traditional Western would typically contain slow paced editing, diegetic sound and consist of a brooding & isolated main character. This character would act as the 'good guy' and only kill for good reason and have a strict moral code. Immediately, we can see a deviation from this generic convention, with Dr Schultz being a vibrant and comedic character and Django a vengeful individual who kills without reason. Furthermore, a generic soundtrack of the Western genre would consist of cowboy Country music, soft and gentle, often acoustic. The soundtrack in Django contains a bricolage of material from different genres and time periods which seems mis-matched considering the time period and historical context in which Django is set.

Django and his accomplice Dr Shultz represent features of post modernity in Tarintino's film. For example the mise en scene and their styling and costume choices bear heavy references of pre-existing cinema and art works. Django's blue suit mimics that of The Blue Boy, a 1770 painting by Thomas Gainsborough. This in itself is post modern as the painting is a portrait of a typical young boy and his attire from the 17th century. However, the film is set in the 19th century, thus showing that the stylistic choices of the characters do not match the period of time in which they are set.

This conscious reference to an existing master piece also reinforces the Post Modern idea that nothing is original, everything is a bricolage and copy of existing materials. Furthermore, the characters, their nationalities, race and persona's are not conventional of Spaghetti Western's. The two supposed heroes of the movie include a German Dentist and an African American slave. Firstly, in most Spaghetti Western's, African American's and the topic of slavery are not usually included. The hero would typically be a White American male. This twists the conventions of the genre and allows the production to distance itself from typical narratives. Tarintino places these characters into a film which conventions would not typically expect them. Modernism was an idea that favoured the rich. Especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, rich White American's would exploit African American's, those they viewed as weak and inferior. Post-modernism is an exploration of possibilities, which is reflected in Django's uprise which makes a mockery of Modernist ideas. Furthermore, the extreme close ups of Django are used to increase tension, they also emphasis the seriousness of Django, suggesting that he means business and that he is no longer going to be the victim of slavery.

Moreover, the soundtrack featured in Tarantino’s production reflects the post modernity of the film. The tracklisting consists of a bricolage of music from several time periods and genres. Many are songs taken from pre-existing sitcoms and films which Tarantino has used to make reference to existing media. A prime example of post modernism is the use of the song 100 Black Coffins, a Hip-Hop track by Rick Ross. Hip Hop does not fit the narrative of Django Unchained. This reflects historical deafness, a term introduced by Fredric Jameson. This raises the idea that we are not reflecting the factual historical context of the era in cinematic works. This is a criticism of post modernism. However some identify that historical deafness should not always be used in a derogatory way. For example, it can allow us to re-evaluate our interpretation of history and it allows us to create works of novelty. 

Other songs such as Rito Finale are taken from films of a completely contrasting genre. This track is taken from the 1970 Action, thriller & crime movie 'The Family'. Dies Irae is taken from a Japanese, Action Thriller, therefore not only including music from movies of different genres but also films produced for the audience of different nationalities. These intertextual references pay homage to pre-existing musical and cinematic works.

The fine attention to detail of Tarantino's work can be seen in the use of the intertextual reference of Mr Ed in Dr Schultz's horse. Mr Ed was an American Sitcom produced in the 1960's and features a talking, human-like horse. Mr Shultz's horse portrays characteristics similar to Mister Ed, from his amusing movements which mirror human behaviours. This pays homage to a pre-existing Television sitcom. In this scene, there is also significance to the camera shots. The white, ranch owner stands on the decking, with a low angle shot looking up towards him. Dr Shlutz and Django on the other hand are shown with a high angle shot, looking down on them and suggesting that they are the inferior. This reflects some of the historical context of 1800’s America. However, it almost becomes paradoxical as Dr Shlutz makes clear that Django is a ‘free man’ who ‘does not walk’ but instead rides proud on his horse. This seems to contradict the camera angling in this scene.

Furthermore, the incorporation of wintery backdrop scenery is mimicked from the 1968 Corbucci film, The Big Silence, as is Dr Schultz's sliding gun contraption taken from Bickle in the 1977 film Taxi Driver. This wide variety of intertextual references pays homage and respect to these existing works. However, again here, Tarantino is using a non-generic convention. In Westerns, the scenery is usually in the Old West from the inset and throughout. A wintery background is not something we expect to see, again challenging the conventions of the Western genre.

All these examples provide an insight into the fine detail that Tarintino has used to refer to pre existing media in his production. Not only does Tarintino use this material, but significantly much of this material bears no relevance to the Spaghetti Western genre and is a bricolage of materials taken to create something that differs from the expected narrative of the genre, reflecting the post modernity of the film. Buckingham suggests that genres are ‘in a constant process of negotiation and change’ & O’sullivan that the same text can belong to different genres, which is what Tarantino’s production seems to work on the principle of. Django is undoubtedly postmodern and is expertly created to pay homage to existing works through its vast use of intertextual references; use of bricolage through its combination of different music genres and eras; and the creation of novelty and a questionable view on social principles and history.

Django Unchained Research

Django Unchained :

Is Postmodern because:

*Costume- The blue suit (The Blue Boy by Gainsborough)

*Django's green jacket and cowboy hat (Little Joe from Bonanza)


African American-Hero-Unusual-Yet the hero is not actually a typical hero.

German Hero- Unusual- Usually White American


The whole film is a mash-up:

Western, Southern Melodrama, Revenge movie, love story, revenge movie, references other QT films.

Settings- No cowboys, Revisionist Western-The hero's.

Django Unchained is often seen as controversial due to the frequent use of the N-Word which viewers find offensive. Tarintino uses this to create effect and holds nothing back in his brutal exposistion of the wild west.


Hybrization: Comedy with Western.



The plight and burden of the black man is not one well covered in the Western genre.


Spaghetti Western- Italian Cast

Spaghetti Western, also known as ItalianWestern or Macaroni Western (primarily in Japan), is a broad subgenre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success.


Ennio Morricone- Legendary Italian composer.- Spaghetti Western


The soundtrack.


An exploitation film is any film which tries to succeed financially byexploiting a current trend, a niche genre, or a lurid subject matter. Subjects which these films exploit include, but are not limited to, sex, violence, and romance.

The reproduction of exactly the same font style as the original Django film. The same as Corbucci's Italian Western.
Examples of Intertextual references:
The reproduction of exactly the same font style as the original Django film. The same as Corbucci's Italian Western.

In The Heat of The Night- 1967- Jewison- Mr. Tibbs drives up to see Endicott, a wealthy plantation owner...Mirrowed in the sequence which sees Django in his newly transformed personna of the Bounty Hunter rides past the field slaves of a plantation owned by Big Daddy.

Once Upon a Time In The West-1968, Leone

The Big Silence-1968, Corbucci -The wintery backdrop is replicated in Django.

Taxi Driver, 1977, Scorsese- Bickle's sliding gun contraption which he makes for the final blood bath is used by Dr Schultz in the slaying of Candie.


Mise En Scene Intertextual references:


Rhett Butler- Gone With The Wind- 1939- Candies Costuming.


Key Terms To Use

• intertextuality – one media text referring to another

• parody – mocking something in an original way

• pastiche – a stylistic mask, a form of self-conscious imitation

• homage – imitation from a respectful standpoint

• bricolage – mixing up and using different genres and styles- Seen in Django Unchained's soundtrack.

• simulacra – simulations or copies that are replacing ‘real’ artefacts

• hyperreality – a situation where images cease to be rooted in reality

• fragmentation – used frequently to describe most aspects of society, often in relation to identity

Django Soundtrack

BRICOLAGE - Create a TIMELINE for the film's soundtrack. Research the music used in Django and group them by decade, then group them by genre and finally group them (if applicable) by film score.


Django-Rocky Roberts & Luis Bacalov


Rito Finale- From the family- 1970- Action, crime, thriller film


The Braying Mule- From Two mules for sister Sara 1970- Adventure, comedy, war & Western


Dies Irae-From Battle Royale 2000-Japanese Action Thriller


I giorni dell'ira- From Day of Anger-1967-1967 spaghetti western film directed by Tonino Valeri


100 Black coffins- Rick Ross- Hip Hop


OVERVIEW: Many of the songs in Django Unchained's soundtrack are taken from the 1970's and a range of films and television programmes. This is Post- Modern as Spaghetti Westerns are films typically produced in the 60's. Therefore these tracks are being played ahead of their time. Tarintino is also using intertextual references to films already create, showing that nothing is orginal, everything is a remix. Furthermore, many of the films come from completely contrasting genres such as Adventure and Thriller films and therefore do not fit the genres of the Spaghetti Western genre.

Django Unchained

What is a western?
Western Film is a genre that revolves around stories primarily set in the late 19th century in the American Old West. Most Westerns are set between the American Civil War (1865) and the early 1900s.

What is a spaghetti western?
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italian Western or Macaroni Western (primarily in Japan), is a broad sub genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. Most of these Westerns were produced and directed by Italians

What is a blaxploitation film?
Blaxploitation is a term coined in the early 1970s to refer to black action films that were aimed at black audiences. Featuring African-American actors in lead roles and often having anti-establishment plots, the films were frequently condemned for stereotypical characterization and glorification of violence.

Which THREE films does Django Unchained take its name from?
-1966 Django
- 1959 Hercules Unchained
- 1970 Angel Unchained

Why does Franco Nero appear in the film and what is the significance of his dialogue with Jamie Foxx?

In 2012, Nero made a cameo appearance in the film Django Unchained in one scene alongside Jamie Foxx, who plays Django in the film. In the scene Nero plays an Italian Mandingo Fighter manager. Nero then questions Foxx about his character's name and asks him to spell it. This references Nero's role as Django in the original Django film.

What song plays over the final credits and how does this film connect to the original film Django?
Trinity Titoli

Which other song from Django features in Django Unchained?
Django – Rocky Robert

Who or what is Mr Ed?
Dr Schultz horse is a reference to Mr Ed. Mister Ed originates from an American TV sitcom about a talking horse. The programme was produced in the 1960's and therefore the genre of film is using something created after the time that it is set in. In Django Unchained Mr Schultz horse

What is the significance of the red mask worn by Zoe Bell as Django murders the killers of d’Artagnan?


The name of the saloon in which Schultz and Django drink is called Minnesota Clay, why?
Minnesota Clay
1964 film

Who is Ennio Morricone?
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI is an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and former trumpet player, born in Rome.

What connects him to both Django Unchained and director Sergio Corbucci?
Wrote the soundtrack for Django Unchained, and worked with Corbucci in the original Django

What sequence has made the 1903 film "The Great Train Robbery" so iconic?
One of the wanted posters calls for the apprehension of Edwin porter the train robbery, Edwin porter was the filmmaker of the great train robbery


What is the significance of the name Von Shaft?


What TV western does Django's western style outfit pay homage to?
Bonanza- The character Little Joe. A 1950-1970 NBC Western series.