How Is Kick-Ass a Post-Modernism Film?

How is Kick-ass a post-modernism film?

The film Kick-ass was directed by Matthew Vaughn and was released in 2010, in a decade where the Super-hero genre was on a steep decline (primarily due to Joel Schumacher's insane rendition of the Dark Knight which shall never spoken of again), only to be reinforced by the re-imagined Batman franchise, to which the super-hero genre has been improving ever since. Kick-ass can be considered as a post-modern film because it self-referentially explores the reality of being a super-hero whilst challenging the generic conventions that are involved within the genre. Kick-ass¬ is an example of a "hyperreality" film, blending reality with fiction as it asks: "why no one has ever attempted to become a super-hero?" Reality is blurred quite extensively in the film which makes the audience question the whole premise of the film. What if I were a "super" hero?

The film is based on the graphic novel with the same name, created by Mark Millar. The comic itself is an unconventional take on the superhero genre, challenging conventions and depicting a "realistic story", the comic is a "what if" to being a caped crusader, ironic as Kick-ass is cape-less. As one being greatly influenced by Batman and other fictional Heroes, it was stated by Millar, that the comic is "about what would have happened if we hadn't come to our senses and actually gone out and done this." The film exemplifies the comic almost perfectly by addressing the reality whilst blurring it to such an extent we fail to distinguish the two, a characteristic of post-modernism. The film resembles the comic style by using transitions and captions. The fragmented narration that is dubbed over the movie is another characteristic of post-modernism. This fragmented narrative also draws connotations of the comic book genre. Similar to Batman Year one or The Long Halloween, the use of this narration resembles a comic book format. This is known as intertextuality which is seen in great effect during the film.

Particular style has been introduced in the film to further emphasize the blur between fiction and reality. It is mainly noticed in the form of advertising and product placement. Apple computers and other major products are noticeable in the film which is quite ironic. In post-modern texts a common feature is the idea that society is bombarded with advertisements at a constant basis, theorist Fredric Jameson called post-modernism "the cultural logic of late capitalism." Many post-modern authors tend to address this idea by creating false advertisements that resemble the major (e.g. a pear for Apple), to suggest that we are encumbered because of them. If Kick-ass was a post-modernist film why did it fail to address this idea? Kick-ass can be considered as a post-modernist film because it addresses this idea through not actually addressing it in a conventional way. Rather than being explicit and stating that we are controlled by advertising, it places the use of advertising in appropriate settings. As the audience we fail to realize their presence, simply assuming that it's the norm. Reality and fiction is being blurred into one in the film as we are unable to see a distinction. The hilarious cinema discussion scene is another example of postmodernism. In this scene red mist and his father are deciding what they should get before the screening of the film. As the audience we can relate considering many would done the same.

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