The cinematic directing repertoire of Steven Soderbergh is one that spans multiple decades; from his earlier work becoming a force of change in the late 80s, to more commercial blockbusters of the 2010s. Whilst the genres of his films are varied, his signature style and directing flair is instantly recognisable as his professional fingerprint left on the world of filmmaking. A renowned creative pioneer of his generation, Soderbergh has led the way for innovative, experimental filmmaking; he takes conventions from traditional cinema, and turns them on their head in such a way that results in his films being thought provoking and inspiring for other filmmakers and the general audience alike. It is this act of using themes, ideas and traditions, and rewriting the rulebook on the ways they should be used, that makes Soderbergh stand out in the postmodern filmmaking world. One of his more recent credits, Magic Mike, follows the lives of male strippers. It is a culmination of postmodern techniques, not only filmmaking practices, but also narrative, characterisation, and overall meaning. In this essay I will be discussing what postmodernism means as an umbrella term for today’s society, and how it has influenced Soderbergh’s filmmaking in recent decades, particularly in Magic Mike.
Postmodernism is not a simple term to define; it’s more of a movement as opposed to a tangible thing. The general idea can be identified as having a distrust of reality and of something that was once seen as the only truth (Duignan, B., 2005). It is the culture that succeeds ‘modernism’, which was a period where new things were being created, everything was brand new and nothing like the world was before. Nowadays, human nature is more free and true to itself, but this new reality is a recreation of trends and themes that have previously existed. Because of this recycling of ideas, many have come to view postmodernism as a parody of itself. We are living in a time of mass introspection and meta-analysis; of looking into one’s self and observing from a different perspective, where everything is influenced by something historic. Postmodernism is about looking back at periods in time as inspiration with the intention to bring them into today (Jameson, F., 1991). Fredric Jameson (1991) also used the term “postpreceptual” to define the nature of postmodernism; which breaks down to literally mean ‘already seen before’. That is to say that postmodernism is characterised as the analysis of history and repurposing of trends and theories into the present.
Repurposing something can mean using it again, in the way it was originally intended, tweaking features to suit a new environment, or completely flipping it so that the original form is unrecognisable. This ‘up-ending’ of ideas and conventions is a technique that has become the new form of innovation, particularly in filmmaking. For example, narrative structures of films have been developed in the same conventional ways for decades, and because they have shown successful results, few people think to change anything, so narratives are recycled again and again simply because they are conventional and comfortable for audiences. The mass market of cinema consumers are pleased when a film meets all their expectations for that specific genre. A conventional narrative will follow a linear style, chronologically presenting a story through ups and downs from beginning to end. This is what an audience has grown to accept for any film, and can produce huge commercial success for many filmmakers. The same goes for cinematography; there are specific shot types and editing techniques that are traditional for various genres, and when these are changed, the audience is uncomfortable. This line between discomfort and innovation is where Steven Soderbergh tends to tread. He is said to be a leader in unconventional filmmaking, particularly in narrative structures. Soderbergh favours creativity and innovation over straightforward and conventional storytelling (Dancyger, K., Rush, J., 2007).
Postmodernist film is about breaking traditional conventions such as narrative, editing style and general aesthetic. As a movement, it challenges conventional filmmakers and audiences by changing what is comfortable. This can be done in an ironic way to make fun of traditional cinema, or it can be done in such a way that recognises the worth of conventional cinema whilst still flipping tradition on its head. True postmodern parody can both strengthen and weaken our faith in tradition; postmodernism does not have to be an enemy of modernism, nor does it have to be a mockery of traditional culture (Hutcheon, L., 2002). Postmodernist film challenges historic conventions including age, gender, race and wealth, and does so in thoughtful storytelling and narrative. Soderbergh’s films are dubbed “smart films”, because they break the code and pave the way for new directors in this purely postmodern society (Brereton, P., 2012). For example, Magic Mike predominantly breaks the convention of gender. Traditional cinema usually places women as the sex symbols and objectifies them through the narrative. In fact, in the same year Magic Mike was released, it was estimated that women were over 3 times more likely to be starring in sexy clothing or partially nude in top grossing films than men (Magic Mike was included in this research sample) (Smith, Dr. S., Choueiti, M., Scofield, E., Pieper, Dr. K., 2013). Magic Mike is in the minority here, as it tells the story of male dancers working in a strip club acting as sex objects for the enjoyment of women. This is a change in conventional storytelling that invited a new type of audience whilst possibly fending off another. Based on the earlier life of lead actor Channing Tatum, the film is a conversation piece about gender and sexualisation, and how sex can be a genuine means of success. This also breaks the commercial stereotype of wealth and work ethic, and shows the audience that working in the sex industry is not something that should be looked down upon, as it is sometimes the only option for many people. What is actually the cleverest part of Magic Mike and Soderbergh’s direction, is that by using males as the stars, conventional audiences are encouraged to shift their opinions on sex workers and see them as people, and not as objects to be shamed. Men do not have the same issues with sexualisation and objectification that women have, and by showing that men can also be objectified, Soderbergh is breaking down the taboos surrounding sex work and slut shaming, and opening up conversations about women’s rights not only in the sex industry but in postmodern society as a whole.