The 1980s

For some, the 80’s were a great time. The creation of MTV revolutionised fashion, the music industry and even how we watched TV. For others, it was nothing but bad hair, worse clothing and music that often had more to do with machines than talent.  We take the former approach and relish the excess and outrageous fashions that the 80s managed to make mainstream.  We didn't accessorize - we "excessorized".

The clothes worn in the 80s depicted people who were trying to find themselves. Men wore thick make-up and women wore short hair. Both sexes were looking for an identity. 1980s clothing styles are back on the shelves now.

Coca-Cola rugby shirts were 'cool' in the mid-eighties in America. With bold primary (or sometimes pastel) wide stripes and that famous cursive logo:

Underoos for kids in the 1980s:

Hair from the 1980s: The basic principle of this new wave haircut involves asymmetry—specifically having hair on one side noticeably longer than the other side:

Cyndi Lauper

and the 'Flock Of Seagulls' Styling:

Mike Score

and even 'New Wave' spikes:

David Gahan

Films were released such as Karate Kid:

which showed typical fashions of the time - vest tops, grown hair and jeans pulled up high.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was also a huge hit in the 80s with films such as 'Commando':

More 1980s Fashion:

 The Mullet  hair do is such a strong look visually and is the most iconic hairstyle of this era. Mullets were generally a look that men sported, but women also had their hair styled into longer versions of a mullet. Celebrities such as Dirty Dancing actor Patrick Swayze, tennis player Andre Agassi and the infamous Michael Jackson were known for their mullet hairstyles.

In the 1980s, two women who were admired for their sense of style were Madonna and Princess Diana. Renowned for her constant fashion reinvention, Madonna's look changed from album cover to album cover. Her cone shaped bras, her punky grunger look and her peroxide blonde hair were the most iconic looks she wore. Princess Diana was adored for her smart, elegant fashion sense, and a number of high street shops imitated her designer fashion wear. This then enabled women to dress like Princess Diana.

The 1980s is known for being an experimental decade in the fashion world. Many stars started trends, which were then copied by fans. Trends from vibrant colours to mullet hairstyles will not be forgotten, as the 1980s introduced some memorable fashion trends. In the same way that many of the fashion trends are remembered and celebrated, the 1980s is a popular theme for parties.

Fame the musical made a mark on the 1980s fashion trends. Florescent colours were seen everywhere and anywhere, with clothing such as brightly coloured tights, neon coloured head bands and various items of dancewear becoming increasingly popular. This striking dance wear was even worn by people who were not sporty. One look at continues to be popular today is leggings, which initially were popular as a result of the film, Fame.

Applying Jonathan Kramer's Theory To @Summercampband

1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension - I think that Kramer means that the band uses the past in their work, but with a modern take. I think that this is correct with Summer Camp as in their videos they attempt to recreate the past, but in doing so, they are conforming to a modern-day 'indie' genre, as people like Vampire Weekend do the same thing with their Album cover 'Contra', for example. They also film themselves in their flat in typical 80s clothing, which makes the video look both old and new.
2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic - Irony is the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. I think that Summer Camp are unintentionally ironic as by trying to recreate a figment of the 80s and attempting a sense of originality, they're conforming to elements of the 'indie' genre.
3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present - This is where any sense of hierarchy and procedures in the past are ignored. I do not think that this is the case as they try to recreate the past and pay homage to bands from the 80s.
4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles - this is the challenging of styles varying from music producers, writers and performers to just performers who do not veen write their own music. They do challenge the barriers as they use other people's videos and attempt to recreate the 'high' styles, whilst only being quite a 'low' style themselves as they are simply remixing the past.
5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity - I'm not sure, but i think this means they dislike the unquestioned socialisation that all music and their style must remain the same - I think that they do this as if you visit their website, you see cuts and samples which displays no unity whatsoever. Their music does not sound similar in many of their tracks.
6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values - I think that this means they use elitist and clever ideas in order to be popular - I do not think that Summer Camp do this as they are not massively popular, but they are quite clever with their ideas.
7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold) - This is where they avoid using similar sounding/looking material in order to achieve a sense of branding in most cases - Musically they do not avoid totalising forms, but their website does.
8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts - I think that this is where the band create their music with influences from culture etc. instead of ignoring the past and attempting to create something new - I think that summer Camp do this as they pay homage and respect to culture from decades ago.
9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures - self explanatory - Summer Camp's main focus is to reference cultures from America, as you can see from their website and music videos.
10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music - I think this is the idea that technology is used in the creating process of music, rather than just the storage and playing of old music - Summer camp use snippets from many areas on their websites, such as Radio, old TV programmes etc. which must use technology not just for the preservation of music.
11. embraces contradictions - self explanatory - Summer Camp does not appear to embrace contradictions as they have a set style which they stick to.
12. distrusts binary oppositions - self explanatory - Summer Camp does not seem to use binary opposites, only in that they are a boy and a girl. (But that is by nature)
13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities - Rather than using whole sources, only using demos, snippets and parts of texts in order to create a style you wish - Yes, all over their website they use clips which repeat themselves which are snippets and pulls from their songs and albums - which is quite fragmented.
14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism - self explanatory - You could argue that Summer Camp uses Pluralism as they embrace the past, implying that it is just as good as the present, which is why they choose to base their videos and style on it. However, I'd say they encompass eclecticism more as they must make decisions for their music videos and website which they like, rather than to follow a particular doctrine or style.
15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities - using polysemic ideas - I'd say that Summer Camp unintentionally presents us with multiple meanings as some people could perceive their style as conforming to the indie genre, whereas they seem to think they are simply paying homage to the past.
16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers - I think that this is giving idea of giving the audience an active part in supporting you, which is unlike scores, performances and composers -Summer Camp do this in their website as the audience become active and take part in looking around the band.

Jonathan Kramer

A very interesting aspect of postmodern music theory. This will help you with your next essay.

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16 "characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices."
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":

1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension
2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic
3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present
4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles
5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity
6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values
7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)
8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts
9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures
10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music
11. embraces contradictions
12. distrusts binary oppositions
13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities
14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism
15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities
16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Jonathan Donald Kramer (December 7, 1942, Hartford, Connecticut – June 3, 2004, New York City), was a U.S. composer and music theorist.

Active as a music theorist, Kramer published primarily on theories of musical time and postmodernism. At the time of his death he had just completed a book on postmodern music and a cello composition for the American Holocaust Museum.

Another Essay...

Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed over time.

When I joined the AS Media course, I was strongly unaware of how demanding the conventions of media products are and how lie everywhere within the media of today without us even realising (had I not done the research, I would still be unaware). However, my knowledge of the obvious conventions helped me greatly when I was put into the position of being a prosumer.

During my Advanced Subsidiary portfolio, I did much background research and planning into theories for magazines such as Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ and other theories such as ‘The Golden Spiral’ and ‘The Rules of Thirds’. I also looked into colour schemes, mise en scene and the type of shot a music magazine would require (which I discovered to be a mid-shot). However, having progressed into my second year of A-Level, my photoshop skills have increased and my ability to meet the demands of media conventions has come on no end, as you will see in my digipak. Originally, with my magazine, I used a plain wall to place my ‘artist’ against to ensure easier photoshopping, however, during my digipak, this was not necessary as my skills had improved enough for me to do so otherwise.

In AS, I knew that simplicity was a key element to use in my magazine as the theory of using only three colours in your magazine was obvious during my research. I used this by matching the artist’s colour top with the title and then the icon placed on her shirt was featured throughout the magazine and the use of purple was used in other titles (just as NME did in their special edition magazines). The double page spread had a lowered opacity image over the top of the writing to keep the theme of purple running throughout and to give the artist a sense of branding. All of this was easily changed as photoshop allowed me to log on instantly and change whatever I wished, which was advantageous in comparison with film making in A2.

During the A2 project, we were advised to work in groups on the music video we created. Once we had spent weeks creating our draft video, we were given extensive feedback from both teachers and students on how to both improve the quality of the video and the quirkiness, allowing us to fit more directly into the indie genre. We defied Andrew Goodwin’s theory in some parts of our video (linking the visuals to the lyrics) as we featured disjuncture, a key element of the indie genre. However, this disjuncture caused a few problems for the group as during the feedback some parts had to be re-filmed and other parts completely disposed of. Re-creating the film was not a simple process like AS as a whole new project would have to be created – this, then, limited our creativity and ability to use our full potential.

Towards the creation of “The Skeleton Boys”’s video, we researched into many bands videos such as ‘Foals – Cassius’ and ‘Two Door Cinema Club – What You Know’. We then used research outside of music videos such as Benny Hill for the chase scene and Innocent Smoothies’ adverts for the stop-motion. We did this research through the likes of Youtube and Daily Motion. This research came from far wider resources than in my AS, which I think was down to working in the group of 4 that we did. I believe this to be more successful than in my AS level portfolio..

In A2 media the mise en scene of my video was considered in more detail than in the AS magazine as there was so much more effort and research put into it from all four individuals in the group. In ‘One Night In October, we made many posts about how we wished the appearance of the band to be and even changed this for the final video. We looked into places to go and took location shots and even waited for feedback from the class. Also, as the band are called ‘The Skeleton Boys’ we had to dress Georgia up more as a boy so that she would fit in with the band more and would not stand out – therefore not going against conventions and being unsuccessful. We drew influence for this from ‘The Joy Formidable’ as she dresses up mostly in what would be considered ‘boys clothes’. In AS, I did create a t-shirt that was designed specifically for the artist, but I do not feel that it worked as well as it could of if I had done more background research like we did in A2 with Georgia’s appearance.

In conclusion, I think that my A2 portfolio was more successful as I was more specific in what I used in terms of media conventions. We were also more able to work as a group and so more ideas came together, although we were not always able to put those into practise. In contrast, in AS I was confused for a set style for my artist so she ended up having a more ‘rock’ appearance than indie which was down to me not looking at the wide spectrum, like we did in A2.

150 Word Mini Task

How have you combined the "same but different" (N. Lacey 1999) and the "familiar and the unexpected" (G. Burton 2000)?

I have combined the "same but different" within my magazine as I tried to be creative by the use of simplicity (which was different in my eyes) however, during the evaluation stages, it became obvious that this, in actual fact, was the same as what most other magazines within the rock/indie genre aim to do such NME's special edition magazines and Qs simplisitc approach along with IQ magazine. They use a minimalist approach with the basic theory work of: rules of thirds, male gaze and a tri-colour scheme.

With my digipak I had similar problems, I had to follow the basic conventions of a CD pack (dimensions, number of frames, front and back cover etc.) whilst using quite an arty approach to achieve an indie feel magazine and display my creativity. These conventions were familiar with me, but it was unexpected just how hard they are to achieve when you're creating your own.

Word Count: 153

Summer Camp/Bricolage/Found Footage

The internet meme of Stella and Ella made me wonder what was going to happen next, but nothing did. It made some people freak out a bit, but i did not think it was creepy, just strange and like nothing i'd seen before.

I'd say that this WAS Postmodern because it takes something and puts it into a completely different context (Bricolage).

I tried to create a tube mixer of Stella and Ella wwith the little comets over the top, however, my internet browser would not allow me to connect to it.

Post-Modernism Lesson 6 & 7

Hobo with a shotgun was the main focus of these lessons. We looked at how Hobo was a Pastiche. But also considered that it was so good at being rubbish that it made it good again. Which brought us to the death of uncool.

My views on Hobo with a shot gun are that I did not enjoy it as much as I would other films as the plot did not really take you anywhere. The blood, gore and actions of characters were very unrealistic, even making it poor at being a horror movie (if that's what it was intended to be).

My late (but was completed) essay

Discuss why some people are not convinced by the idea of postmodern media

            Postmodernism is a movement which was created as a rejection to the modernist movement. Modernism involves art, films, songs etc. which have a clear meaning and purpose and clear genre boundaries. It also claims originality for most of its creations, whereas a postmodernist does none of these things.

            Some people may not be convinced by the idea of Postmodern media. There are many reasons for this: firstly, a postmodernist believes that there are no boundaries. In such a case, there would be no genres for songs and so Jay-Z would be just the same as Beethoven.  However, a Modernist would see the distinctive lines between these genres and have quite a linear outlook. Some people who may not be convinced by the idea of postmodern media are unaccepting of nowadays music artists, as they make a pastiche from older styles as Postmodernists believe we should “look to the future and keep one eye on the past” (Beniton). However, a person who is convinced by postmodern media would see a pastiche as a good thing as we are acknowledging our past and poking fun at what may have been serious at the time. A modernist would see the past as worthless and try to move the society forward, but a postmodernist would use the past in order to move forward. Examples of this are people like Elvis in 1960s, he did not look at the past, he just wanted to push the society forward and introduce something new, whereas DJ Dangermouse paid homage to The Beatles “White Album” and created 99 problems with Jay-Z. Similarly, in Avatar, Cameron did not want to pay homage to previous films, he wanted to create something completely new and interesting which had never been achieved before (quite a modernist feature) whereas Kill Bill is the complete opposite, the intention was to use intertextuality throughout so that it paid homage to numerous other films and showed how it had used them with great success. Without Postmodernism, we do not look back at our past like we should do, because the past has happened for a reason, so Postmodernism must have too.

            It is argued by Jameson that Postmodernism is one big self referential joke that nobody knows the real meaning to. With this idea in mind, Dan Black has created the song and video ‘Symphonies’ which is a Pastiche of many existing materials. Dan Black’s sole purpose was to prove that musicians and film makers of today are not ‘original’ at all, but simply continuously remixing each other’s ideas. He then went on to having a rapper rap over the top of his remixed song to form another remix and then allowed virgin media to use his song in a serious manner for a family advert, ironically making his Pastiche become serious. The future for Postmodernism is simple, more remixes will happen as they are so easy to create. Dubstep, for example is mainly artists remixing other artists songs and spinning them off for their own at live concerts and tours.

            In conclusion, some people may not be convinced by the idea of Postmodern media as it is contradictory of itself in many ways uses the past to shape the present in what could be considered to a negative way. The internet has had a huge impact on postmodernism with the likes of Youtube and facebook as it has allowed millions of people to create spoofs and pastiches of other people’s works and in doing so are being recognised for their ‘talents’ such as ‘The Midnight Beast’. The real question that may make people unconvinced of the postmodernist media is: Is there any point in this one big in joke? And if there is one, what is it, and why are we doing it?

Creativity 30 Minute Essay

“Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.” In your own experience how has your creativity developed using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

                It could be argued that digital technology turns media consumers into media producers; however, I think that digital technology turns media consumers into media prosumers as people are not professional in their field just because they are able to create similar products or replicate others that already exist on the market. In order to show my view point, I will use my foundation portfolio magazine and my advanced portfolio music video.

                In my experience of creating media products with this media course I had the skill to research into products, but not how to analyse them in such a way I was able to copy their successful convention.  I have developed this skill by using the digital technologies of the internet which has enabled me to progress from a media consumer to a media prosumer. An example of this is the magazine I created in my foundation portfolio. I used the internet to research the typical conventions of music magazines and used their ideas to spark a creation for my own magazine. The conventions I researched enabled me to create a magazine with a more professional look than my preliminary magazine and developed my skills as a producer. Similarly, in my advanced portfolio, I used the internet to research into music videos which fitted in with the genre I was aiming for and used the common conventions within those music videos to make my own video more successful in being professional. This case of using digital technologies has developed my understanding of the media products concerning my course and also has given me confidence in being creative but at the same time has developed my capability to use conventions of other existing products.

                This skill of using digital technologies to research conventions of existing media products has developed in my two year course of media studies. In my foundation portfolio magazine, my skill of internet researching improved vastly. Before this course, I would research into a product and perhaps make a few notes at a push. However, during the course of AS, I used the internet to research into magazines from the Rock/Alternative genre such as NME, Q, Kerrang! and many more. After finding magazines, I would develop my ideas on a Microsoft powerpoint and micro-analyse the products to search for things such as: tri-colour schemes, rules of thirds, conventional mid-shot of subject on the front cover etc. I then applied this to my work. As I say, before this course, I would never have considered using this depth of analysis by using the internet. Again, this was the case with my advanced portfolio music video. I used the internet extensively to provide myself with the correct information in my research and planning to follow conventions where it was appropriate in order to make our music video more professional and more consumer friendly. This time, instead of conveying my knowledge into a Microsoft powerpoint, I created a blogger post and used Tubechop in order to cut snippets of the videos I was researching and analyse them more deeply than if I was just creating one long essay. I’d say that the use of internet in my advanced portfolio has made my life a lot easier as a consumer and also a prosumer as it enabled me to copy creditable conventions of videos into my own.

                In conclusion, I think that digital technology has enabled both me and my group to be creative and design things that we would never have been able to twenty years ago without the help of professionals. In today’s society, the internet is used for millions of different reasons by millions of different people. In our case, the internet has enabled us to be creative whilst still following conventions of existing media products. The internet has become far more ergonomic in the past decade and has allowed creativity, like ours, to be easily developed with the use of file sharing sites such as Youtube, Dailymotion etc. And then you can easily receive feedback from family and friends with the click of a mouse on social networking sites such as facebook and twitter. Therefore, it has now been made easy to become a prosumer, instead of just a consumer with the likes of photoshop and sony vegas; but I would argue that digital technologies do not make us producers (as that is a professional field in which you must be highly qualified) and therefore we more easily become prosumers.

My Uncool Playlist:

1. Pendulum - Girl In The Fire
2. DJ Fresh - Louder
3. Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
4. Example - Midnight Run (Flux Pavilion Remix)
5. Florence & The Machine - Seven Devils
6. The Doors - Touch Me
7. Ky-Mani Marley - Hustler
8. Nero - Promises (Nero & Skrillex Remix)
9. Paolo Nutini - Last Request
10. Benny Benassi - Cinema (Skrillex Remix) Feat. Gary Go
11. Magnetic Man - I Need Air Feat. Angela Hunte
12. Florence & The Machine - Never Let Me Go
13. Two Door Cinema Club - Eat That up, It's Good For You
14. Example - Dirty Face
15. Wretch 32 - Traktor (Brookes Brothers Remix)