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Postmodernism in Lady Gaga’s 'Telephone' and Tom Tykwer’s 'Run Lola Run'

            Due to the often contradictory, very broad definition of the word, there are many things which allow a text to be described as postmodern. Both Lady Gaga’s music video for the song Telephone (Jonas Åkerlund, 2010) and German crime thriller Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998) exhibit many of the features of a postmodern text.

One way in which Lady Gaga’s Telephone music video could be interpreted as postmodern is through the use of self-referencing. The video continues the narrative from Gaga’s last video for Paparazzi, which shows a sense of self-awareness. Additionally the costume choices, particularly Beyonce’s glasses in the diner scene, and the use of the same director and visual style make a clear link to the Paparazzi video. Gaga also self-references by addressing the then-recent hermaphrodite rumours in the press by conforming in several ways to the stereotypical view of masculinity. Another aspect of the video that could be self-referencing is the repeated product placement of Diet Coke, Chevrolet, Wonderbread, Virgin Mobile, and Gaga’s own HeartBeats. The way in which this placement is done is not intended to be humorous, but rather to connote the theme of consumerism, which is also another important element of postmodernism.

            Run Lola Run can be seen as postmodern due to the style of the film; it looks distinctly like a video game. Critic Roger Ebert said Lola is “like the avatar in a video game – Lara Croft made flesh,” which is shown through her eccentric unmatching outfit and vivid red hair. As well as this, the pressure of the time limit throughout the film is reminiscent of a video game, where the player must complete a certain task in a restricted amount of time – in this case, gaining 100,000 marks in 20 minutes. The narrative is also reflective of a video game, due to the way in which Lola and Manni come back to life, giving Lola a chance to ‘try the level again’ in the second and third run.

            A technique which both Telephone and Run Lola Run employ is intertextual referencing, which is another aspect of postmodernism. Telephone makes references to many things, using Beyonce and Lady Gaga’s ‘Thelma and Louise’ style relationship, Beyonce’s Wonder Woman-esque costume, the American flag outfits in the dance sequence, the imitation of Michael Jackson’s trademark shuffle as Gaga breaks out from prison, and the Madonna-style look she uses at the start of the video. However, the most commonly referenced texts in the video are those of director Quentin Tarantino: the use of the ‘Pussy Wagon’ truck, as loaned by Tarantino, is a direct reference to Kill Bill; by using the nickname ‘Honey Bee’, Gaga connotes the character of ‘Honey Bunny’ in Pulp Fiction; the red and yellow font used for the titles is reminiscent of the titles from Jackie Brown. Alternatively, Run Lola Run uses intertextual referencing through the ‘Spiral’ bar behind Manni when he is in the phonebox, the spiral staircase that Lola runs down three times, and the painting in the background of the casino, as they are all references to Hitchcock’s Vertigo.

            Run Lola Run can be interpreted as postmodern again as it avoids realism and uses the concept of ‘hyperreality’ instead. Overall the film is very surreal, for example: the way in which Lola and Manni come back to life; the fact that her ‘father’ the bank manager admits to not being her birth father and it is revealed that the security guard actually is; the casino scene in the last run where she wins 100,000 marks. Additionally, the frequent switching from live action to cartoon animation and back again create a sense of detachment from reality. Telephone also presents a sense of incredulity towards metanarratives because, although the video does consist of a sequence of events, it is difficult to find an overall message to it, mostly due to the constant pop-culture references and produced placement interspersed in the storyline, which leave little else. This all-surface, no-substance approach to a text is in itself very postmodern, and is something which is also present in Run Lola Run: the storyline for the film is very basic and it does not claim to present a moral message, it is more about the pure fun of it.

            Another postmodern aspect of Telephone is appropriation of an identity-based struggle or feminism. In some ways, the video could be criticised for objectifying women, because of the revealing outfits worn by many of the female dancers and both Gaga and Beyonce throughout, the use of a close-up solely of Beyonce’s cleavage, and the representation of women as needing to be beautiful and image-conscious due to Gaga’s many costume changes and extravagant make-up. On the other hand, by placing herself in an entirely female world, it could be argued that she is empowering women and turning the ‘male gaze’ back on the men, opposing the idea of women as objects.

            Run Lola Run can also be seen as an example of a postmodern text because it uses The Chaos Theory or The Butterfly Effect, as well as the scepticism towards metanarratives. This can be seen when minor characters are given their own small sped-up narratives, which change when Lola does something different in the different runs (an example of The Butterfly Effect), for example the man on the stolen bike can become happily married or a homeless man. Additionally the narrative itself is an example of this as it has three different endings, due to the three different runs and sequences of events.

            To conclude, although it could be argued that almost any text can be described as postmodern because the definition of the theory itself is so vague, both Telephone and Run Lola Run are excellent examples of postmodern texts as they present many of the core concepts and ideas behind postmodernism.

What are the arguments for saying that a text is postmodern or not?

             Postmodernism is a way of grouping styles of thought – and texts that present these styles – by offering a method of both constructing and deconstructing ideas, obscuring the sense of reality and playing with modernist conventions. Due to the somewhat vague and often contradictory nature of the definition of the word ‘postmodern’, one could argue that almost any text can be described as postmodern if viewed in the right way. However, there are certain characteristics that are vital in making a text postmodern, and there are also many things that mean a text cannot be described in that way.

            One argument for describing a text as postmodern is if it is self-referential or self-conscious. Postmodern texts often deliberately almost ‘make fun’ of themselves by exhibiting the fact that it is aware that it is a text, whilst modernist texts, or simply those that are not postmodern, tend to take themselves more seriously and not make references or self-parodies. For example, Lady Gaga’s music video for ‘Telephone’ can be described as postmodern as it is often self-referential: it makes references to her previous video for ‘Paparazzi’ by using similar costume choices, especially Beyonce’s glasses in the diner scene, and continuing the narrative; it makes blatant use of product placement, especially of Gaga’s own product HeartBeats; it addresses the haemaphrodite rumours about Gaga in the press. Another way that a text can be self-referential is by having the characters break the fourth wall and show that they are aware that they are in a text and that there is a world outside of it. For example, the characters Peter and Paul in the film Funny Games US often do this, such as when Paul turns to the camera and says, “You want a real ending, right, with plausible plot development, don’t you?”

Another argument for saying that a text is postmodern is through the use of pastiche and intertextual references, and the recycling of genres and styles. This means that unlike modernist ones, postmodern texts play with conventions and reverse the audience’s expectations. For example, Quentin Tarantino often uses pastiche in his films, e.g. in 1994’s Pulp Fiction, which makes constant homage to various different films and TV programmes and creates a heavy sense of nostalgia. As scholar Estella Tincknell says, the “diner setting seems to be a simulacrum of a 'fifties' restaurant...the twist contest is a musical sequence which evokes 'the sixties,' while Travolta's dance performance inevitably references 'the seventies' and his appearance in Saturday Night Fever.... The 'past' thus becomes a more general 'pastness' in which the stylistic signifiers of various decades are loaded in to a single moment." The postmodern theorist Fredric Jameson said that postmodern texts are “concerned with all surface, no substance,” which can certainly be applied to Pulp Fiction as it has been so heavily stylised and is very retro in its style.

Pulp Fiction in particular can also be described as a postmodernist text due to its incredulity towards metanarratives and the way in which the storyline of the film is made up of many smaller ones. Whilst conventional modernist texts tend to conform to the idea of metanarratives, meaning that the world is going somewhere and these stories do mean something, postmodernist texts oppose this, stating that there can be no great theories or ideas. Hence, rather than having one main simple storyline, Pulp Fiction makes use of different characters and creates many, seemingly unrelated, storylines until eventually they become intertwined. Whilst modernist films may traditionally follow an episodic narrative, postmodern ones such as Pulp Fiction often have a non-linear narrative, meaning plot events may not appear in chronological order, with the end at the beginning and the beginning at the end.

Arguably one of the simplest ways to say that a text is postmodern or not is through its humour. Postmodern texts are darkly funny, using black humour and irony extensively. An example of a black comedy film is Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which satirised a nuclear scare. Rather than treating the subject of nuclear warfare with typical sensitivity, this film twists it into something funny. This links to a perverse sense of morality, something which is also commonly found in postmodern texts. Rather than conforming to the audience’s expectations and moral beliefs about nuclear warfare being wrong, the film toys with the idea of morality. Moreover, whilst modernist texts tend to show a very absolutist view of morality, meeting the audience’s expectations of what is right and wrong, postmodern texts often promote the idea of moral relativism, which suggests that morals can vary immensely, and that there is no objective truth as to what is right and wrong. Hence, postmodern texts show different viewpoints and perspectives rather than having a strong bias.

            Due to this warped sense of morality, often the heroes of postmodern texts are very different to the conventional heroes of modernist texts. Rather than presenting qualities that the audience considers as typically heroic or noble, postmodern characters are often anti-heroes. This means that they are flawed or unconventional, and sometimes not even likeable at all. A perfect example of an anti-hero is Alex DeLarge from Kubrick’s 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, based on the book of the same name by Anthony Burgess. In both book and film, Alex is a perverted young man that performs horrific acts of rape, murder, and “ultraviolence”, showing no remorse. Despite this, he is still the main focus of the narrative and often the audience are at times even encouraged to sympathise with him. These kinds of protagonists are yet another example of the postmodernist sense of humour and irony.

            In conclusion, there are several ways that one could argue that a text is postmodern or not, as there are many aspects of postmodernism that set it apart from the conventions of modernism. What underpins the entire postmodernist theory is the ability to recycle old ideas and make fun of not only others, but also itself. Without this sense of irony and satire, a text can hardly be described as postmodern.

Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' Video: A Postmodern Reading

There are several ways that the video for Lady Gaga's 2010 song 'Telephone' feat. Beyonce could be interpreted as postmodern...

Pastiche and intertextual references: References to Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill' franchise by using the very same truck, the 'Pussy Wagon'; 'Pulp Fiction' through the use of the nickname 'Honey Bee', like 'Honey Bunny' is used in the film; the red and yellow font used is similar to that of 'Jackie Brown'; Gaga and Beyonce's 'Thelma and Louise' style relationship; Beyonce's Wonder Woman-esque outfit; the American flag outfits in the dance routine; imitation of Michael Jackson's shuffle as Gaga breaks out from jail; the Madonna-style look in the beginning of the video.

Consumerism: There is obvious product placement throughout, though it is not done in a humorous way. These include Virgin Mobile, HeartBeats, Chevrolet, Wonderbread, and Diet Coke.

Self-reference: Gaga shows self-awareness through not only the above product placement, but also by addressing the then-recent hermaphrodite rumours in the media, and by referring to her previous video for Paparazzi through the continuing narrative and similar costume choices, especially Beyonce's glasses in the diner scene.

Appropriation of identity-based struggle/Feminism: One the one hand, this video could be criticised as objectifying women, because of the revealing outfits worn by many of the females throughout, the use of close-ups solely on Beyonce's cleavage, the representation of women as needing to be beautiful and image-conscious due to Gaga's many costume changes and extravagant make-up, etc. However, by placing herself in an entirely female world, it could be argued that Gaga is empowering women and opposing the idea of the 'male gaze': "Lady Gaga is interesting for turning the male gaze back on men, and for portraying women as subjects rather than objects in her videos (albeit still scantily-clad subjects)."

Incredulity towards metanarratives: Although the video does consist of a sequence of events, it is difficult to find an overall message to it, mostly due to the many pop culture references and product placement interspersed with the storyline, which leaves little else.