Movies nowadays feel so different than movies that they used to make. There is very little straightforward storytelling and film anymore. Movies are either part of a multidimensional franchise or a satirical, surreal or absurd. They might contain a multiverse, break storytelling or a combination of those. There always have been movies like this but these things have gone from the occasional novelty to the norm.
Modernism
In modernism the medium film can been seen in a way as the default state of cinema. A movies sincerity and traditional story telling is what makes a movie modernist. Modernism looks at the traditional governments, art, religions and saying a lot of this seems flawed. And if we apply science, reason and rationalism we become more enlightened and have a more objective understanding of the truth and that would make the world a better place.
The movies are not just modernist in their values, it’s also modernist in its storytelling structure. What makes films surprising watching them 70 years later is that there are pretty much no twists. Which could feel very straight forward for audiences who have grown up postmodern and middle modern media.
Postmodernism
When questioning modernist values in film became more than norm in broader culture postmodernism began to form. People start to question if modernist values where actually good and really making things better for everybody. Instead of returning to traditional narratives, Postmodernism starts to question the value of narrative itself. And if you start questioning the narrative itself thing understandably start to get a little weird. In postmodernism we see movies that start to deconstruct the way stories are told in film. Time became fragmented, forth walls are getting broken, stories become more self-aware. They try to remind the viewer that they were a viewer.
Meta Modernism
unlike postmodernism, meta modernism has a depiction of sentiment that most postmodern movies never have. It also harnesses optimism and emotional sincerity. Meta Modernism in general can be seen as a response to postmodernism. It builds on post modernism. It swings back and forth to modernist straightforwardness and post modernism deconstruction.
In post modernism self-reflex is used to draw attention to limitation, structure and boundaries. People are too self-aware of passive entertainment and there is a lot to concern about things that are happening in the world and there might be a feeling we should do something about it. Making just an entertaining movie is maybe better to questioning these things.
Meta modernism is a form of post modernism but more optimistic and less cynical. It still deconstructs the narrative but keenly balanced with comedy, heartfelt, dramatic sentiment.
Cause of the internet and social media we are constantly overflown with traditional modernist and post-modernist narratives all at once. We have a perspective of the world that was never before possible. Meta modernism is an attempt to make sense of this new perspective. To pick and choose positive elements from each of philosophy and to recognize the multiverse that exists around us, while still trying to stay grounded.
Thomas Flight. (2023, 23. Mai). Why do movies feel so different now? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xEi8qg266g
