Postmodern style often addresses its viewers as sophisticated media readers and consumers. Referring to Sturken and Cartwright's chapter "Postmodernism, Indie Media and Popular Culture," and the Onion News Network clip posted above, describe how the text operates on the level of satire. In particular, how does the clip make use of parody and irony?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Blog #3
Postmodern style often addresses its viewers as sophisticated media readers and consumers. Referring to Sturken and Cartwright's chapter "Postmodernism, Indie Media and Popular Culture," and the Onion News Network clip posted above, describe how the text operates on the level of satire. In particular, how does the clip make use of parody and irony?
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ReplyDeleteWithin post-modernism, art makes reference to other forms of art or cultural icons and uses the connection to create a dialogue between to two forms so that the audience can be entertained by the nostalgia that the new work generates. In the clip by the Onion News Network, the Onion uses post-modernism in way in which it expects its viewer to understand the satire due to their knowledge of Time Magazine and it’s annual culturally referenced article on the 100 most influential people.
ReplyDeleteThe Onions article glorifies the 299 million least influential people of the year. They use irony in this by the way in which they celebrate a title that has a negative connotation. In the article, a man’s wife talks about how proud she is that the man has made the list. This is ironic because the list is not something that one would be proud of. The list is in fact insulting. The Onion, however, makes it seem like an accomplishment using the style and imitating Time Magazine and other various news media sources that reference Time magazines article in their programs.
The Onion is an example of post-modernism in the way in which Sturken and Cartwright describe post-modernism. The Onion “uses the old text to create a layered intertext between the two works” (pg. 330-331). The Onion is a clear example of post-modernism by making a parody that imitates and takes out of context a culturally known source. It imitates the style of news programs to make it’s own form of entertainment. Within the news programs it makes allusions to other culturally iconic entities (in this case being Time Magazine) that forces the viewer to be understanding of the cultural, ideological and epistemological references.
Samantha Smith
ReplyDeletesection 808
According to Sturken and Cartwright post-modernism is used to describe “styles of art,literature, architecture, and popular culture that engage in parody, bricolage, appropriation, and ironic reflexivity as if there is nothing new to say, no new knowledeg to learn” (page 454). The idea of Parody and Irony is very obvious in The Onion News clips according to Sturken and Cartwright. You can see the parody, the imitation and exaggeration of a subject, very clearly in the clip. In the Onion News Network clip a man is rewarded for being the least influencial person. Meaning he does nothing and means nothing. You see his wife make the comment that she is so proud of her husband. This is something that you should not be proud of. This is the irony in the situation. This is actually and insult not something to be proud of. This clip creates a parody out of Time Magazine’s acrticle about top 100 influencial people. It switches it around and focuses on the rest of the world and how we’re recognized for doing nothing. This clip follows the idea of S and C’s deffinition of post-modernism. It takes and changes and older clip making it a parody in a way where it is still socially, economically, and politically understandable.
Time Magazine has a long standing history of publishing a list of the Top 100 Most Influential people. The Onion parodies a news program to display their satire behind the idea that instead of honoring a person for their great deeds they honor Jim Stutts, just an everyday man, for having little to no influence at all.
ReplyDeleteThe irony behind this clip lies in the idea that while the modern society looks to these lists to put "celebrities" on pedestals and this clip takes the time to not only remind the viewer that these lists have very little influence on the world but also give the "average joe" a shot at the spot light. It makes the viewer think about the importance of these lists, and if we should let them influence who we see as being influential and why. While the Onion takes a shot at Jim Stutts for having no influence on the outside world, ask his two kids who is more influential their dad, or Oprah?
Along side the clip, the Onion uses a running caption to display their version of "late breaking news stories" such as, a traffic back-up due to two turtles caught in the act of coitus, again showing the satire of the importance of this news program.
The Onion video clip uses parody and irony in several ways. For instance, it parodies Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influencial People by creating its own fictitious Top Least Influencial list. This new list is the complete opposite of the original. It is ironic because The Onion's list of Top Influencial People honors those that in no way contribute to anyone's lives, in an enriching way or otherwise. This trait, in actuality, is frowned upon or seen as bad, which adds to the comedic aspect. This skit is actually making fun of the original, pointing out the lack of effect popular satus symbols (which are on the original) actually have on the average public (featured as the main character(s) in the skit). The least influential person, Jim Stutts, is ironically honored by those around him, including his wife--proud of her husband's lack of influence on the world. This ironic, because most wives are proud of their husbands' achievements and their effectiveness on those in their live.
ReplyDeleteThis ONN clip is a satirizing of twenty-four hour news channels. The set, the anchor and format of the show are modeled after any news program on cnn or fox news. Even the scrolling bar on the bottom of the screen is reminiscent of a news channel, but being that it is the Onion it is wildly ridiculous with the scrolling news reading stories such as; Cincinnati man joins air force so girlfriend can use recruiters bathroom. The clips main story is regarding Time Magazine’s 100 least influential people a clear play on the magazines 100 most influential people. This is ironic in that this man is being celebrated for having accomplished nothing. Reminiscent of most news segments a guest expert is featured, and though the topic is utterly absurd both he and the anchor maintain an apparent sincerity throughout the segment.
ReplyDeleteThe Onion News Network clip presumes wonderfully what Stucken and Cartwright call "a significant amount of media literacy/familiarity on the part of the viewers."(265) This of course opens the way for the use of both parody and irony. The viewer recognizes at once the setting of the contemporary half hour news program format used by such TV personalities as Nancy Grace and Wolf Blitzer. The parody is further complemented by the use of split-screen imagery to interview an "expert" in the field, a staple of these shows. The subject matter they are parodying is Time magazine's annual list of the most influential people. Here we are introduced instead to one of the "least influential" people in America, a claims adjuster who, ironically, has in the last two years, according to the show's host, managed to make no adjustments. Thus the irony is also based on verbal paradox. His wife, who states that she is proud her husband is finally getting the recognition (of not being recognized) likewise exemplifies how irony can be centered around linguistic paradox, one of the many tools of postmodernism. The man's "recognition" is humorous, if pathetic, in that it only emphasizes his unimportance and alienation in the grand scheme of things.
ReplyDeleteThe postmodern aspect of pluralism is differentiated nicely in reversing Time's celebration of only the influential few and going instead for the 299,000,000 uninfluential populace out there.
A second, minor parody is added in the tag-on line about George W. Bush saying he would need no translator to communicate with the North Koreans. The implication not only makes fun of his egomania, but, in an unsettling way, his ironic tendency to "communicate" with other nations through the blunt use of force, which is, unfortunately, universally understood.
The Onion News Network takes a post-modernist approach in their video clip by incorporating the aspects of pastiche, parody and irony. Sturken and Cartwright explain pastiche as, “a style of plagiarizing, quoting and borrowing from previous styles.” (452). The ONN uses pastiche to report their artificial news as real by imitating the style and framework of existing news networks, most notably CNN. The ONN is also a parody in the sense that it makes fun of serious news broadcasts through satire while maintaining their original elements such as the in-studio newscaster, supporting testimonies, and professional interviews. They create irony by showing what Sturken and Cartwright explain as, “...contexts in which appearance and reality are in conflict.” (323). More specifically, this video parodies TIME magazine’s annually published article of the 100 Most Influential People by creating their own list of the 299 million least influential people. The story focuses on Jim Stutts, who placed 9,604th on the list. While in the normal context of a list, this place holds no significant value, the ONN portrays it as an amazing accomplishment. The irony comes from importance being appropriated to the unimportant. The list itself is ironic not only for its outrageous size, but also for its celebration of a feat that would garner no attention in reality. Because the audience is self-aware of the original TIME’s publication, they are able to recognize and enjoy the intentional irony and satire displayed in the broadcast. Using this postmodern trend, the Onion News Network is able to question the concept of authenticity that we attribute to our everyday news programs.
ReplyDeleteThe video clip of the Onion News incorporates many points of parody and irony through out the piece. What strikes a viewer is how the Onion News simulates today's news networks like CNN. Instead of CNN the Onion chose to have ONN with the O looking somewhat like an onion in the right hand corner. ALso, the viewer may notice the scrolling bar on the bottom of the screen. Instead of giving them serious up to date news like CNN, they have humorous stories such as, "American Coalition of Mall Managers demands nation's shifty teens buy something or leave". This only introduces the viewer to the parodies to come.
ReplyDeleteMajor parody is the Onion News story itself. They cover Time Magazine's list of the least influential people. Time Magazine does a list of America's 100 most influential people not the least influential. Next seen is the story for Time Magazine's 9,604 least influential person, Jim Stutts. Here the ever so common family member, in this case being Jim Stutt's wife is interviewed for how not influential her husband is. She applauds how her husband is finally recognized for having no effect on people at all. Onion news even presents phone calls from past acquaintances of Jims in the usual split screen format simply saying he wanted them to move back to Indiana, but that was not going to happen. An expert on the matter is even presented, continuing the parody of the experts actually seen on programs on CNN. The clip finally ends with the parody of our former President George W. Bush insisting he would be able to handle peace talks with North Korea with out a translator, jokingly nudging at the idea of not being able to start peace talks in the first place.
The Onion is an American news satire organization that features satirical articles reporting on national, international and local news as well as an entertainment newspaper and website known as "The A.V. Club". In the "news broadcast" from The ONN (Onion News Network), the focus is on Time Magazine's "299 Million Least Influential People", parodying "Time 100", which is Time Magazine's actual annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The irony in all of this is obvious to the viewers of this "broadcast", in which The ONN reports and interviews those around Jim Stutts, one of the 299 million least influential people on this fictional list. This report is all done in the same format as an actual news broadcasting station such as Fox News or MSNBC, complete with a scrolling ticker at the bottom of the screen giving the viewers up-to-the-minute news on many other fictional stories created by The Onion. The ONN continues to add to the realism of this story by interviewing via split-screen “Time Magazine’s Features Editor, “Eric Mullay.” One could even say The ONN is using a style of plagiarism, or are that they are quoting or borrowing from previous styles and techniques, which according to Sturken and Cartwright is the epitome of pastiche. Wrapping up the “broadcast” is another imitation and mockery of real life, a mention of George W. Bush insisting he would be able handle peace talks with North Korea without the use of a language translator. This is all done in a very serious manner but is intended to entertain the viewers in a comedic way. Given that The Onion is continuously noted as and highly-acclaimed, it’s safe to say they succeed in entertaining their audiences through satires and parodies.
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