Potsmodern analysis of the TV show-Futurama

Futurama:

Futura is an animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, and David X Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The animated series is produced by Lee Supercinski and Claudia Katz. The series was aired in the United States on Fox in from March 28th, 1999 to August 10, 2003 before it ceased production.  The plot of the series is based around the central character of Philip J Fry, who is a 20th century New York City, pizza delivery boy, who is frozen cryogentically for one thousand years. and finds employement at Planet Express. He finds employement as an interplenetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century. The series was also envisioned by Groening in the late 1990's while working on the Simpsons. He later brought Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox.Futurama has received critical acclaim, culminating in a Guinness World Record for "Current Most Critically Acclaimed Animated Series" in 2010. Futurama has also been nominated for 17 Annie Awards and 10 Emmy Awards, winning seven and five, respectively. Futurama has also been nominated four times for a Writers Guild of America Award, winning two for the episodes "Godfellas" and "The Prisoner of Benda", and nominated for a Nebula Award. The show also received an Environmental Media Award for "The Problem With Popplers".

Futurama's themes:

• Multicultural
• Orphanism
• Bureaucracy
• Global Warming
• Substance abuse
• Moon landing
• Relationships between characters e.g. Leela and Fry relationship
• Alienation
• Robotology etc.

Eclecticism: Futurama has been influenced by other media formats like The Simpsons,South Park and Blade Runner etc. The techniques producers like Matt Groening used to create Futurama, were that when it was sent of to Rough Draft Studios which animates the show, there were storyboards of over a 100 drawings. It then creates a pencil drawn animatic with 1000 frames. In addition to traditional cartoon drawings, the studio uses CGI for fast or complex shots. The opening sequence is rendered in CGI and the CGI is rendered at 24 frames per second as opposed to 12 frames per second.
Intertexuality: This is used in the TV show Futurama, as with the character of Zapp Brannigan is an intertexual cultural reference to the TV series Star Trek and is a reference to Captain Kirk and to William Shatner.Another example would be that of when the characters from Futurama go into a cybernetic world and this is used as a cultural reference to the movies, Tron and The Matrix series. Another example would be the name of the Futurama character, Turanga Leela is a reference to Turangalilia Symphonie By Olivier Messiaen.
Parody: This is included in the TV show Futurama, when the character of Zapp Brannigan is used as a satirical pastiche of Star Trek character Captain Kirk and to the actor, William Shatner.
 Bricolage: I would say that Futurama uses bricolage as Groening uses the science fiction genre for example when we see the setting of New New York, it has references to Fritz Langs Metropolis, Star Trek and to Blade Runner
Acts against modernism: Futurama acts against modernism such as in Futurama, the Earth is seen to have an unified government headed by the president of Earth, Richard Nixon's head is elected in season two, I would say this acts against modernism as it says how Earth is ruled by colonialist country of America. Another example of this would be that in one episode where science is used by Professor Farmsworth to create mutants which shows how science isn't being used for the ideas of progress.
Nostalgic: I would say that Futurama uses Nostalgia in an episode featuring the character of Leonardo Da Vinci as it celebrates Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions or the episode called "The series has landed" where we see Futurama celebrating the moon landings through the character of Philip J Fry.
Narcissistic: This concept is used in Futurama, through the character of Bender as Bender considers himself to be flawless-a towering inferno of physical perfection and he frequently refers to himself in the first and third person. In the episode, "The Farmsworth Paradox" Bender fall in love with an alternate gold plated version of himself, stating that he has found someone has great as him. Even those his personal email address -bender@ilovebender.com reflects his self absorbed nature.
An Active audience:An example of this would be that Groening appeals to a wide range of audiences by having so many levels of understanding which appeals to the audience. There is the science fiction intertexual level which is aimed at the sci-fi fan base and also those who recognize the sci-fi conventions and devices. Also the comedy and the character identity tends to mirror "The Simpsosn" screen devices such as Fry and Homer, Leela and Lisa, Bender and Bart etc which are considered to be characteristic features of these shows.
Hyper-conscious:This is used in the Futurama episode, "Anthology of Interest", the episode shows  Professor Farmsworth's intervention, the What if machine. In this episode we see what Leela would be like if  she was more impulsive which shows her going on a killing spree and the other characters become aware someone in their crew is killing them. Its self aware as we see Professor Farmsworth seeing a simulation of what it would be like if he invented the fing-longer but he throws the What if machine into the bin, after watching a simulated scenario of what it would be like if he invented the fing longer.


Postmodernism theory applied to Futurama:

Postmodernism theory can be applied to the, science fiction animated series Futurama as it includes the concepts of pastiche, which is tongue in cheek rehashes and tributes to classic pop culture. This can be applied to Futurama as Futurama paints the Simpson's creators as bringing classic plots and fobiles into the next millenuim, which includes the uncharacteristic character of the alcoholic robot, Bender.  

Postmodern theory:

Postmodernism theory, is an theory that centers on a wide range of ideals, values, methods and methods. When it comes to postmodernism, I would say that the theory is based on their being no objective truth within the world. The theory is also associated with the concepts of simulation, hyppereality and implosion. The theory is also centered on questioning, our own morality and reality and this is challenged, through those concepts and it also says that we live in a fabricated world of existence and where nothing is original anymore and where every plain of existence is fabricated, constructed and not original as it questions humans purpose in the world and our loss of humanity.

Postmodernism also asserts human beings as a species that are only able to exist as media texts. Postmodernism also means "post" as it denies the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody - a characteristic of the so-called "modern" mind and postmodernism also rejects metanarritives.  Postmodernism can also be described as an theoretical theory based on the premise that we live in a world of simulations and hyperreality in economies based on the of images and information rather than the production of materialist products. For Baudrillard, he describes simulation,as we living in an era of media saturation in which we bombarded with information and signs. So much of our experience is in the form of media texts rather then first hand direct experience that mediated signs became more real than reality itself. Postmodernism theory is also the part of our lives that is dominated by computer games, television, social networking on the internet, magazines and all other forms of media experience. Baudrillard argued that the distinction between reality and simulation breaks down altogether: as we make no distinction between direct reality which we experience first hand and the simulated experience offered by the media and this is called implosion. Baudrillard described hyperreality as where we get to the stage where the difference between reality and mediated experience hasn't just got blurred and the image part has got the upper hand. 

Postmodernism theory applied to my AS film, opening sequence:
Postmodernism theory can be applied to my film's opening sequence as my films opening sequence conveys how humanity istrapped within reality and have has basically lost all sense of reality, and the protagonist is seen drinking alcohol and playing cards which has been used how he uses alcohol as a way of escaping his own fate and reality. The cards have been used in the film's opening sequence to conveys how the protagonist has lost his own grip on reality and his own humanity and how he isn't control of his own destiny which is presented as an illusion towards the audience but the illusion of time becoming  repetituous which is shown through the relationship between his boxing career to his criminality as in away those sequences offer an opposition to authorative figures and to popular culture. I would say that my films opening sequence is more connected to marxism than postmodernism though. I would also say my film is postmodern in terms of its references to how I compare my protagonist to Muhammed Ali and Rocky  Marciano and the way my central protagonist is trapped in the mythology of boxing simulacra. The film opening sequence is also postmodern in away by the way in which it doesn't follow the typical narrative structures which are usually associated with Todorov or Propp as my film opening seqeunce rejects conventional narrative structures and formats by its ending of ending not on a satisfying ending but ending with no happy ending, no emancipation and constructing the protagonist as someone who is declining in society and has become corrupted by capitalism etc and he fails in making himself a better character and declines in terms of his morality, traits and faults etc, this is shown in the last scene where we see the closing of the door of the safe at the end.