/// THEORY2 Postmodernism deconstructionism intertextuality and simulacra

POSTMODERNISM

There is no ultimate reality. Argues that all the 'isms', eg capitalism, communism, are now meaningless - the meta-narratives no longer have the power to explain the world or reality. It is of course self-contradictory: postmodernism is an ism!
Strinati argues there is a collapse in the high/popular culture divide - all are now equally valid.

DECONSTRUCTIONISM

The ironic use of existing conventions in a knowing way; the audience is assumed to be in on the irony. E.G: in Scream the Matthew Lillard Character cries out dramatically "I'll be right back", an old horror trope being that this denotes a character will be killed. The other teens at the party respond with that in mind, in a scene where they're sat watching Halloween. Craven is poking fun at the very genre he helped to create with 1972's The Last House on the Left.
This occurs across all media - this Depeche Mode video is a classic example, deconstructing the band's poor tawdry image and the male gaze.

via GIPHY

INTERTEXTUALITY

A simple but profound concept originating with Kristen - the preferred reading (Stuart Hall) of two texts are linked; the viewer needs knowledge of the earlier text to be able to follow the preferred reading of the newer text. TV shows like The Simpsons are built on this, and there is a strong vein on this running through the slasher genre.
John Carpenter cast the daughter of the 1960 scream queen as his final girl, used to help get publicity.

SIMULACRA

There is no ultimate reality, we live in an endless chain of signifiers. Everything is a signifier of a signifier of a signifier. An example of a simulacra would be 'Scary Movie', it exemplifies the ideas above, taking intertextuality to a new level. 'Scream', had the working title of 'Scary Movie', and this film is a satirical remake, quite literally signposting the conventions (eg Carmen Electra scream queen sees a sign giving the options for either death or safety... and runs up the stairs where the death sign points to, as the dumb scream queens tend to).

These movies have been much analysed, not least for gender representations. Baudrillard might argue that this leads nowhere as there is no ultimate meaning behind an endless sea of signifiers: Scary Movie is an expression of many exisiting ideas or signifiers, which cannot be tracked back to any concrete 'true reality' or meaning.