Postmodernism requires a highly literate audience. Genre, Derrida, Context and Kick Ass

 

“The centre is not the centre. The concept of a centered structure…is contradictorily coherent. And, as always, coherence in contradiction expresses the force of desire.” Jacques Derrida

 

  

The centre doesn’t exist naturally, but rather because we need it to in order to make sense of the world around us – however, according to Derrida, this need for and perception of a centre doesn’t necessarily mean that centre exists. [Film School Rejects]

 

  

Last lesson we highlighted several interextual elements present in the opening 30 minutes of 'Kick Ass'. Merely noticing them doesn't make them postmodern, you've got to know why they are there and what they say about the 'centre'
 
We know the 'centre' as genre, Steve Neale declares that 'genres are instances of repetition and difference' (Neale 1980, 48) you MUST therefore know what is repeated and what is changed.

 

Before we continue watching you need to research:

• Batman
• Adam West's Batman
• Spiderman
• Spiderman film 
• Marvel Comics superheroes (the very early years 1960s) 
• Female superheroes (look specifically at their appearance)

 

 We need to do this in order to deconstruct the text, however you must always remember "Genre films are variations on a perceived norm (or centre), but if all we have as evidence of genre are variations, then where, exactly, is the centre?"