The concept of postmodernism is often difficult to define, it cannot be confined to a specific set of characteristics used to delineate it compared to other genres which often follow a set list of conventions, which in itself is indicative of the entire movement. However in saying so, there are certain characteristics (meta-cinema, pastiche, parody hybridity, etc.) often associated with postmodernism, that when used in both art and cinema, can assist in defining a film as postmodernist. Thus, in examining the concept in association with ideas surrounding contemporary film authorship, it is interesting to examine contemporary auteurs who often engage a use of postmodernist elements within their films, and examine whether these conventions contribute in helping to create an author’s own “style” which as a result assists in defining them as postmodern auteurs. In order to examine this idea closer, this essay shall discuss the works of David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino and Baz Luhrmann, all of which are arguably contemporary auteurs who also engage in elements of postmodernism within their films.
The conceptualisation of postmodernism as described by Frederic Jameson links the death of the author with the rise of a postmodern aesthetic, he describes two interrelated elements of postmodernism which signal the impossibility of postmodern authorship – the ‘death of the subject’ and the replacement of parody with pastiche. Jameson expresses the ‘death of the subject’ as the ‘loss of the ideology of the unique self’ that ‘informed stylistic practice of classical modernism’. In examining this idea of the ‘death of the subject’, one can argue that Jameson’s concept of postmodernism rather than informs ideas of contemporary authorship actually rejects the idea of the auteur. Furthermore, we shall examine Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet through the use of pastiche to further express Jameson’s ideas regarding postmodernism and authorship. Lurhmann integrates an array of genres into Romeo + Juliet throughout the course of the film, possibly to allow the original script of the play to become more accessible to a contemporary audience. Luhrmann’s inclusion of pastiche is most prominent in the scene in which the Montague and Capulet boys have a shootout at a garage. Luhrmann’s initial representation of the Montagues is a typical teenage characterisation – they are loud and wear colourful clothes, driving a convertible whilst screaming Shakespearean dialect and thus highlighting the initial engagement with the pop culture style of teenage films. Furthermore, Luhrmann then appeals directly to the “spaghetti western” style of Sergio Leone through the representation of the character Tybalt. In Tybalt’s opening scene the audience are shown his costume of a black outfit with black heeled boots, emphasised through a close-up shot of him stamping out a match whilst also highlighting the Capulet crest embossed onto his heels. Thus, Luhrmann once engages a use of pastiche in his merging of motifs from the original play, whilst presenting it through a conventional ‘spaghetti western’ style of filming.
Furthermore as highlighted in one of the film’s most iconic scene in which Romeo and Juliet first meet, Luhrmann once again engages a use of pastiche in his use of common conventions used in the romance genre in order to emphasise the dreamy, romantic sense of the scene and place his viewers into it. Through the use of an arc shot of Romeo watching the fish tank, Luhrmann slows the pace of the scene down, which is then enhanced through the use of diegetic sound of Des’ree performing ‘Kissing You’. Luhrmann then uses a shot-reverse-shot to highlight the moment in which the two lovers first meet and thus emphasise their immediate attraction, and thus through his use of slow movements and typically romantic elements of the scene Luhrmann’s use of pastiche is an attempt to truly highlight the drama surrounding this moment and highlight its importance to his audience. Jameson explains authors of the present day cannot ‘invent new styles and worlds’ as ‘the most unique ones have been thought of already’ (p, 115) however, whilst one can agree that an attempt to create a new world or style is difficult, it can also be argued that in the instance of Luhrmann’s representation of Romeo and Juliet whilst he makes use of postmodern elements within the film, it is his own unique style of presenting a classic play to a contemporary audience that can assist in giving him an authorship status. Furthermore, Jameson’s rejection of pastiche contradicts the idea of postmodernism, and it can also be argued that every contemporary film has lost uniqueness due to the number of films produced every year it is extremely difficult not to mimic an earlier style of filmmaking.
Lynch’s films often differ from the apparent stylistic norm of mainstream Hollywood cinema, which thus creates a sense of tension between the concept of postmodernism and how this influences the idea of contemporary authorship. There is often a nihilistic conception amongst critics surrounding the idea of postmodernism, and thus any indication of Lynch’s films as postmodernist is deemed tantamount to an understanding of Lynch’s films as unable to be considered art. And thus it is preferable to identify Lynch as a ‘postmodern auteur’ to auteurist critics of Lynch and his style of filmmaking. However, Mactaggart claims that Lynch’s style of filmmaking and the merging of both mass and high culture can arguably equate him to a 17th Century Baroque artist, (MacTaggart, 162). Lynch in his juxtaposition of the characters Betty and Diane both played by Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive conveys this sense of mass culture as opposed to the strange, darkness often presented in his films. During our first introduction to the character of Betty, she is immediately presented as a stereotypical young and naïve actress, as Lynch arguably parodies the stereotype of a small-town girl who dreams of being an actress through Watts’ exaggerated style of acting and conventional use of dialogue, which is further enhanced by her wholesome, neat costume. Furthermore, Lynch makes use of close-up of a “Welcome to Hollywood Sign” followed by a close-up of Betty smiling looking upwards, once again to enhance this parodic effect. However, in his shifting from Watts’ character of Betty to Diane, Lynch engages a use of the postmodern technique of mise-en-abyme, which generally refers to a story within a story.
Brian Mc Hale in his book Postmodern Fiction refers to three criteria that determine the mise-en-abyme construction:
first, it is a nested or embedded representation, occupying a narrative level
inferior to that of the primary, diegetic narrative world; secondly, this nested
representation resembles something at the level of the primary, diegetic world;
and thirdly, this “something” that it resembles must constitute some salient
and continuous aspect of the primary world, salient and continuous enough
that we are willing to say the nested representation reproduces or duplicates
the primary representation as a whole. (2004, p.124)
thus the introduction of the second narrative “reproduces the primary representation” of Los Angeles through a different lens as opposed to the glitzy image often presented in mainstream Hollywood. As Lynch presents the transition of the character from Betty into the character of Diane, the tones of the film shift from red warm tones in Betty’s apartment, contrasting to the dark grey tones of Diane’s home. Watts’ hair is scruffy and her appearance rugged, as opposed to the neat appearance of Betty from previously and she is seen arguing with her neighbours and masturbating alone with a photo of Camilla who is played by Laura Harring and also doubles as Rita throughout the course of the film. Thus in Lynch’s representation of two sides of Los Angeles, he both engages with the typical representation whilst also challenging it using his own auteur style in order to create such an intense juxtaposition. Bret Wood argues that Lynch’s films are distinct from empty postmodernism cinema as they explore ‘eerie convergences of opposite extremes’ (Wood, p257) and thus it can be argued that the concept of postmodernism in regards to the work of David Lynch enhances his auteurist style of filmmaking.
However, there are critics who argue sincerely against Lynch’s postmodernity. Nicolas Rombes for example differentiates Lynch from a postmodernism that he considers incapable of sincerity. Rombes claims the ‘aw-shucks’ sincerity of Lynch’s characters including Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks ‘in the face of unspeakable monstrosities and violence’ could be seen as ‘some kind of Quentin Tarantino-esque hip, postmodern irony’ but continues to note that Lynch’s films are‘never as excessively self-aware as a Tarantino film’ (Rombes, 69). Thus arguably, in order to consider Lynch an auteur, critics often find it necessary to disassociate him from postmodernism, regardless of whether his films can be considered postmodern. It can be argued that these features are what contribute to the unique style of filmmaking associated with Lynch. Thus critics must aim to conceive alternative methods of justifying and revaluing Lynch’s style.