Postmodernism in Pink Floyd The Wall

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Pink Floyd The Wall
Postmodernism And The Concept of Celebrity Culture

This essay will look at how Pink Floyd The Wall can be perceived as a postmodern film and will attempt to further analyze certain characteristics and influences of a postmodern culture through illustrated examples within the film. By considering the significance of postmodernism within the television industry, music and arts, Pink Floyd The Wall will be effectively deconstructed to exemplify what a postmodern film consists of. Furthermore, the theory of celebrity culture and its noticeable elements in Pink Floyd The Wall, will be knowingly applied an briefly discussed to reveal an intriguing yet indispensable relationship between Pink, the main character, and its faithful audience.
The animated film Pink Floyd The Wall was directed by Alan Parker in 1982 and written by the lead singer of the Pink Floyd band, Roger Waters. The film follows Pink into a life changing journey in which ironically, the view of an outside world reflects different shades of a very persistent, internal turmoil. Inspired by Waters’ troubled past and his own involvement with the music industry, Pink’s character is a result of a flamboyant persona which is often reflected not only in his spontaneous actions but in a puzzling behaviour towards its family and fans as well. Therefore, Pink Floyd The Wall is the product of Pink’s escapism and fears altered by society’s issues and a damaged trust.
Interestingly, the film has little to no dialogue as it is based on the eleventh album ‘’The Wall’. As a result, the contrasting stages of Pink’s life are constructed with the help of diverse y...

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...ten England while a factory sends legions of bombers to fly over London and scare the ‘frightened ones’ away. The gas-mask-wearing creatures feel the presence of danger, retreating in their shelters. Flying bombers gradually turn into white crosses while the Union Jack drops its stripes to disclose another white yet large cross, which explains the loss of life and the sacrifice made during the World War II. (Urick, 2010) Scarfe’s choice of the colour ‘white’ for the bird in the beginning of the illustration as well as for the crosses in the end, represents in fact the return to a pure and celestial rebirth of the tragic event.
In Pink Floyd The Wall postmodernism can be perceived as a construction on the antithesis of modern characteristics.

Works Cited

Baudrillard, Urick, Roger Waters, Pink, Blackburn, Scarfe, Jameson, Parker, Grenz, Yonika, Pink Floyd The Wall

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