Post Modernism

Postmodernism discards the traditional crusade of modernism, it’s a movement that developed during the mid to late 20th century. Postmodern music videos tend to display features that are deliberated as old fashioned or vintage, which have been brought back and appear in the present-day. This can also be seen in other forms of media for example films and is also frequently seen in the fashion industry. To put it simply, postmodernism creates new material by replicating the old.
Which is why intertextuality seems to be a key feature in postmodern music videos; this can be seen in Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’, the music video holds intertextual references to Marilyn Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend” in the 1953 film ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’. This intertextual image isn’t necessarily of Marilyn Monroe specifically, but more likely represents Hollywood’s archetypal sexy blonde, who uses her desired appearance in order to get her own way. 

Intertextual references can also be found between Shania Twain’s ‘Man I Feel Like A Women’ music video (1999) and Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted To Love’ (1986).

Postmodernism has brought the distinction between the media and reality to ruin. Reality as we know it is being defined by simulacrums created by the media. Postmodernism is one image referring to and reflecting another, rather than a untainted representation of reality. And many believe that people today are subject to popular media creating postmodern societies who become stuck in a hyper-reality.