Five ways to spot and post modernistic product

Playfulness and self reference: this is this the way in which the characters and the world of the media product itself knows that the world it takes place in is only fictional. This often occurs when the characters of will talk directly to the audience thus breaking what is known as the fourth wall. A good example of this is the Marvel hero known as Dead pool who is known for being fully aware that he is only a comic book character and will often talk to the audience and skip panels in the comic because he already knows what will happen next.

Postmodern products sometimes end up having many cross media references a recent example was night at the museum 2 where Darth Vader from star wars appeared alongside Grouch from Sesame Street.

Generic blurring and intertextuality: Many media products will cross from one genre into others but postmodern ones will do it to a greater degree and the end product will often be a mish mash of multiple genres. A good example of this is the video game dues ex human revolution in which you play as gritty security officer who becomes a sort of film noire style detective but the setting and plot is that of a science fiction media product.

Aspects of postmodern media: Postmodern products often mix high brow things with low brow. A good example is the go compare advert which mixes highbrow opera with lowbrow cheap jokes and car insurance.

Fragmentation and the death of representation: Postmodernism uses a number of fragments from other media products and cultural influences. It says the audience see things through their media representation not the actual thing themselves. A good example is the way that people see the London bombings.

Uncertainty and the loss of context: This is the way in which postmodernism throws the rule book out the window and causes the audience to view things from a different perspective. Inception is a really good example of this as you don’t know what is reality or not at the end of the film.