Analytical Essay on Postmodernism: Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Pinedo, I., (1996) Recreational Terror: Postmodern Elements of The Contemporary Horror Film. Journal of Film and Video [online]. 48 (1/2), 17-31. [Viewed on 5 October 2020]. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20688091

Pinedo’s article examines the way in which postmodernism relates to the horror film, she draws from many other sources to determine the definition of what postmodern means when referring to horror. She is critical in her approach, especially when referencing Modleski (1986), Pinedo takes her work into fierce consideration but explains that Modleski is no fan of the horror genre so her work on postmodernism should be re-evaluated by a postmodernist aligned with the genre. Pinedo further goes onto question Modleski’s identifying features of the postmodern. Which Pinedo challenges and even rewrites what she herself has found postmodern to mean.

Pinedo refers to genre theory when defining postmodern horror. By doing this she looks at the impact genre theory has had on classical genres and how the rules provide a degree of unity and coherence in a group of films. Pinedo explains the contrast between genre theory and postmodern, how a film of the latter’s nature breaks boundaries, transgresses genre and characterized by incoherence. Pinedo does relent that though postmodern horror redefined the genre, it also retains features of classical horror.

To first define what postmodernism is in relation to the horror genre, Pinedo links the concept to the development of the horror genre over the decades – so to pin-point exactly when and how horror evolved. Texts she looks at include ‘classic’ horror such as: Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931). She explores the way in which the overall narrative of horror has adapted to postmodernism by further stating such films as exemplifying postmodernism well The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Halloween (1978) and many more.

Pinedo further discusses her own five defining characteristics of postmodernism within the horror genre, though different from the likes of Modleski, Pinedo’s findings create a coherent response to her final definition. Characteristics she finds are as such: (Violence, violation of boundaries, validity of rationality, no narrative closure and producing a bounded experience of fear) though instead of listing the characteristics she gives heavy detail and examples of each.

Rust, S. (2014) Comfortably Numb: Material Ecocriticism and the Postmodern Horror Film. Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment [online].21 (3), 550-561. [Viewed on 5 October 2020]. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/26430362

Rust explores postmodernism from an unusual stance – instead of looking at horror as whole genre and looking at what postmodern horror means, he actively looks for ecological concerns. Rust is very thorough in detailing the affects that the rise of democratic capitalism had on the horror genre. Rust’s concern is with the first wave of postmodern horror, steering away from more recent franchises such as Scream and Paranormal Activity. Rust chooses to do this so not to focus on the ‘body horror’ craze of the postmodern horror which violates bodies and transgresses moral boundaries; he chooses to focus on films such as Jaws (1975) which stays true to the original horror format of having a nature revenge cycle.

Rust gives the explanation of postmodernism turning the genre around, instead of having ‘natural’ enemies the genre in turn focuses on humanity as the enemy. A common theme that can be noticed after the shift in the horror genre – excluding the likes of possession/paranormal films, which is argued that is still humanity’s wrongdoing as someone calls on these forces.

Rust uses many sources to back his idea of postmodern horror being a product of capitalism. Rust references journalist John Taylor’s book Body Horrors: Photojournalism, Catastrophe and War (1998) to reinforce the idea that witnessing something horrific from a postmodern era film overwhelms an audience’s cognitive ability to imagine other possibilities for living.

Overall, Rust’s journal entry is different to others in the idea that he views postmodernism as a direct product of the worlds ecological sense – and not a spontaneous change in the horror genre.

Hutchings, P. (2014) International Horror in the 1970s. In: Benshoff, H.M, ed. A Companion to the Horror Film. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. pp. 292-309

In this chapter, Hutchings is extensively looking at the international horror that stormed the 1970’s. Hutchings also has an extensive list of books written on different types of film within the horror genre. Reading his chapter in A Companion to the Horror Film gives a wider perspective on what it means when talking about postmodernism.

Hutchings speaks highly of Isabel C. Pinedo (1997) and Mark Jancovich (1992). Hutchings uses this chapter to speak on how both pieces of work are important, not only to 1970s international horror but also when mentioning postmodernism. Hutchings goes on to explore how Pinedo heavily references the main shift in horror in the 1960’s as postmodern, where as Jancovich offered another term: ‘Fordist/post-fordist’.

Hutchings leads into questioning Pinedo’s work on the 1960’s horror film, where he questions if horror produced in the 1960’s is as ‘closed, safe and reassuring’ as Pinedo and others have tried to make them seem. He is pedantic in the way he questions this as he compares postmodernism to texts created in the 1930s – which he points as controversial at the time of their release, however not now. What we take from this is that postmodernism exists, he doesn’t deny that fact. He questions it in a way that postmodernism is a reoccurring theme – as postmodernism is often seemed to only occur roughly in the 70/80s.

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Hutchings deeply refers to these works because his main focus is international horror, he explains in his chapter that postmodernism only ever refers to the horror produced in Britain or America, so postmodernism mainly includes the western cinema.

Jeknavorian, M. (2009). The Pessimism of Horror Cinema: A Comparative Study Between Modernist and Postmodernist Horror Cinema. [online] Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3028&context=etd [Accessed 6 Nov. 2020].

Jeknavorian’s thesis explores the difference between what it means for a text to be either modernist or postmodernist. The thesis begins with Jeknavorian actively stating what it means to be either modernist or postmodernist – something many sources take time in stating. Jeknavorian uses sources such as Lawrence E. Cahoone’s 2003 work: From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology Expanded. Jeknavorian actively uses Cahoone’s work in further determining and exemplifying the actions which led to postmodernism.

Jeknavorian is meticulous in his writing, he spends most of the time introduction talking about every detail imaginable when thinking about postmodernism. Though a long source, Jeknavorian takes time in detailing his thesis. Jeknavorian mentions the impact of wars and revolutions and what that did to move modernism to postmodernism. Jeknavorian explains that in visual arts modernism can be seen as a self-consciousness that manifests throughout the era’s work, starting as early as the nineteenth century with George Melies.

Jeknavorian distinguishes the vast differences between modernism and postmodernism, in few words than any other sources. Jeknavorian actively takes little time to make his point. Explaining that the modern era showed all sorts of sensibilities of hope and progress and the postmodern era is a direct contrast: the heavy use of parody and irony. The narrative styles of both eras are very different also; postmodern cinema favours an individualistic approach rather than the grand narrative of the modern.

Jeknavorian’s thesis is very in-depth, even before reaching his view on postmodern horror cinema. Jeknavorian focuses on the twentieth centuries emerging taboo: death. Jeknavorian states that postmodernism horror is the focus of the body as sacred instead of the soul; further explaining that horror filmmakers have taken postmodern society’s elevated sense of the body and transgressed the genre into something surrounding the art of exploiting the body.

Giampietro, R. (n.d.). Lined & Unlined · Spaces and Storytelling in The Shining. [online] linedandunlined.com. Available at: https://linedandunlined.com/archive/spaces-and-storytelling/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2020].

Giampietro focuses solely on Kubric’s 1980 film The Shining. Though this source is different to others, it gives a detailed insight into what actually makes a film a postmodern horror. Giampietro expands his take on postmodernism by continuously comparing the creative differences between Kubrick’s film and Stephen King’s novel.

Giampietro begins his piece by referring to critic Frederic Jameson’s work Signatures of the Visible. Giampietro further explains the ways in which The Shining relates to Jameson’s work and postmodernism. Giampietro uses quotes from Jameson’s work to emphasise points he makes throughout his blogpost. Giampietro extensively uses Jameson’s work and the definitions Jameson provided in his own work. Giampietro refers to ‘historicism’, a term by Jameson in which to further characterise the postmodern. Though the extensive use of Jameson’s work helps to understand a singular viewpoint on postmodernism – it does little to offer other scholarly ideals on the subject. Giampietro does offer some insight of aestheticism being a key role in the text, and possibly postmodernism.

The blogpost doesn’t delve deep into postmodernism, Giampietro only speaks of The Shining and very rarely references anything other said film or Jameson, though the blogpost is efficient in determining why the text is a good example of postmodern horror cinema.

Syder, A. (2002) Knowing the Rules: Postmodernism and the Horror Film. Axes to Grind: Re-Imaging the Horrific in Visual Media and Culture. Special Issue of Spectator 22:2 [online] 78-88. [Viewed on 8 October 2020] Available from: https://cinema.usc.edu/assets/098/15883.pdf

Syder begins his piece with discussing how the term ‘postmodern’ is carelessly thrown at any contemporary cinema, especially horror cinema. Syder discusses how the ‘ailing genre’ was saved in the mid-1990s by the defining horror films that are discussed as postmodern. Though, from other sources, Syder is to be one of the few that uses such late dates when referring to the postmodern era of horror. Syder points out that postmodernism is often slick with negative judgement due to the amount of twisting concept films and attractive actors to attract the MTV generation. He also admits that though many of the postmodern horror films have received such criticism it is in vain as they have also been known to be popular and financially successful.

Syder continues in explaining that the high criticism postmodernism receives is something of human nature, that the past is something to always be reminiscent and missed. Syder refers to Scream (1996) as one of the most influential postmodern horrors, what with its sequels and other imitations. Syder directly refers to Wes Craven’s Scream as it was a film that was self-aware in what it was doing; it’s a slasher film that takes direct influence from previous horror landmarks, with even the characters speaking of such films; which is what made it so appealing to audiences.

Syder moves on from Scream and in turn begins talking about a postmodern theorist Friedrich Nietzsche, who was concerned with postmodernism challenging century-old assumptions and how they are to be perceived. Syder’s work in this entry is interesting as he first speaks of a postmodern phenomenon in horror cinema history before really taking aback and questioning why postmodern theory is important and why it links so well with the horror genre.