Friday, 16 January 2015

To what extent is Wreck It Ralph a 'Post'-Modern text? - mini essay

To what extent is Wreck It Ralph a 'Post'-Modern text?

Jameson believes that post-modernism is the idea that new ideas cannot be made and we have to refer back to old media texts to create new ones. An example of how this is done is through intertextuality. Wreck it Ralph has multiple of example of intertextuality. Characters such as Sonic, Mario and PacMan are included in the film. The game ‘Sugar Rush’ in the film is a rip off of Mario Kart, as is ‘Hero’s Duty’ is a rip off of HALO. This is an example of where nothing new can be thought of so old games have to be recreated. The intertextuality of PacMan and Sonic are more likely to have been included to give the audience a feeling of nostalgia.

 Another way in which post-modernism can be seen in through hybridity and bricolage. There are many different genres of games shown through the film and not one genre is kept throughout the whole film. For example, Hero’s Duty is a masculine shooting game, Sugar Rush is a feminine racing game and Fix it Felix is a retro game. All 3 of these games are strongly involved in the film and Ralph blurs all of these games and genres.


Hyper-reality is also a strong feature in post-modernism. The blurring between what is real and hyper real. The hyper-real characters (game characters) are controlled by the humans, however, the game characters can overrule the humans and can take control of their own lives. You can also see them travelling through the wires in the real world, making their world look separate from the real world and also hyper real. The real world also looks as though it is the hyper real world’s God as they control them and also look onto them. This can be seen when the arcade owner places the notice on the screen of Fix it Felix. 

1 comment:

  1. Jameson believes that post-modernism is the idea that new ideas cannot be made and we have to refer back to old media texts to create new ones. - But why is this Postmodern?, use your notes from lesson to explain what idea this is routed in.

    All 3 of these games are strongly involved in the film and Ralph blurs all of these games and genres. - you need to elaborate on this example to explain how this is played out on screen. What happens when they cross game?

    The intertextuality of PacMan and Sonic are more likely to have been included to give the audience a feeling of nostalgia. - good, so how doe this work?

    The real world also looks as though it is the hyper real world’s God as they control them and also look onto them. This can be seen when the arcade owner places the notice on the screen of Fix it Felix. - good point but again, you need to explain why these are aspects are Pomo, look at the grids and notes from last lesson without explanation you cannot get the A-B.

    WT C3
    To improve:
    Connect the learning across lessons by using your notes and revising what has been learned
    You need to address the most obvious aspects of the film - the use of hero and villain bindery opposition - how does this collapse this moderns narrative theory

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