Postmodernism

 Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

In the movie Austin Powers in Goldmember, British spy Austin Powers learns that this father has been kidnapped and must travel back to 1975 to bring him back. He must defeat a Dutchman named Goldmemeber who has been working with Dr. Evil, Powers' arch-nemesis, in order to save his father. 

While the Austin Powers trilogy is filled with raunchy jokes and innuendos, it is a great example of postmodernism for many different reasons. The first and most obvious is the intertextuality used throughout the film. This is essentially a parody to the James Bond movies from coping the image of the villian, naming Goldmember after Goldfinger and Powers' car turning into a submarine. Meta is also briefly used in the film at the very beginning where we see Powers jumping out of an exploding helicopter and when he turns around, we see that it's Tom Cruise instead of Mike Meyers. As the scene ends, we hear someone yell "cut" and the camera widens to show a movie set where Steven Spielberg is directing the movie about Powers' life.

Postmodern films clearly aren't all that serious. In the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, postmodernism is used in a playful way such as in Austin Powers in Goldmember. To show this, the film primarily uses graphics from vintage Japanese video games to show that Scott Pilgrim's world isn't entirely "real life." Pilgrim's main goal is to kill all of Ramona's ex lovers in order to win her over so each ex that he kills he earns points like you would while playing a video game. This concept is very random and the film does not follow a typical narrative arc. The beginning of Austin Powers in Goldmember also has that feeling of randomness to it as well. After seeing the movie set, Powers jumps into a musical setting where he references to Singing in the Rain by dancing with umbrellas. Then the scene jumps to an orchestra playing the song that he's dancing too. Powers continues to dance and ends up on set of a Brittany Spears music video. This all truly does not make one bit of sense, but that's the point. Postmodernism has a sense of uncertainty and show that there are no generic rules to anything. While it might be unsettling, it is meant to shake our beliefs and show that things don't have to be a particular way.

While La La Land was a bit more sophisticated, it still exemplifies postmodernism. The film is very nostalgic from the 1930s text used throughout the film to the brightly colored costumes worn. It feels like you are watching an old Hollywood musical since it references films including Singing in the Rain, West Side Story, and Grease. Austin Powers in Goldmember also references to Singing in the Rain and to multiple James Bond movies including Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die and many others. The movie also referenced a lot to hip hop which was very popular in 2002 when the film came out. The text throughout the film was also used in the 70s which also made it have a psychedelic vibe. Both films had references back to pop culture which revolve around simulacra.

Got Lots of Mojo, Needs a Little Love (New York Times)

Austin Powers in Goldmember (Robert Ebert)