In what ways can Inglorious basterds be considered post modern?
At the start of the film the credits shows that the film is going to be post modern and it also shows that the style of Tarantino will be throughout just from the opening of the film. We can tell it is going to be a Tarantino film because of the use of yellow in his credits as this is used throughout many of his other films. Also the music used at the beginning which was 'the green leaves of summer' is a spaghetti western style music. This piece of music was released much later than when the time of the movie is based up on and this shows how Tarantino used bricolage in his film. This brickolage style is used also at the opening scene in that it days 'Once upon a time' and this links to old fairy tales in that they are fiction. This is what tarantino likes to do as he likes to make sure people know its not real and that it is a film. However the style of music used helps to set up the type of film it is going to be and that there will be anger and arguments in it.
Chapter one is also set as brickolage as it has chapters as though it is a book then linking to the fairy tale feeling again. Again in this chapter we see that there is yellow text used again and shows that it will be used throughout the film. Another thing that shows that Inglorious basterds is a post modern film is that the camera shows that the house is a set for the film and not actually real. It does this by scanning down the building and we can see all of the levels. This is also a style used by Tarantino because he likes to keep his films fiction. Although we as the audience know that it is a film and is not real we cannot help but feel alert about what is going to happen now we know that there are people hiding underneath the floor boards. Therefore this shows that although we know that it is not a real house but set for the film we still have tension building up.
As we can clearly see that Inglorious Basterds is a war film, However it is not a normal or recognisable like other typical war films. this is because in Typical war films the actors will be messy and will be scruffy with blood and dirt on them for example in the film 'Saving private Ryan'. In this film all the actors are in a Grey dull place and their uniforms are all messed up. However in Tarantinos film Inglorious Basterds all the men in the war have pristine uniforms and their hair is always shiny and not messy. This creates a false look to the film in that Tarantino likes to get across. Another part of chapter one that shows it is a post moidern film and is done by Tarantino is that large focus on the glass of milk which really is irrelevant the the scene. The start of the chapter was very long and it took a long time for there to be any action which you would expect right at the start of a war film. Like we have IN 'Saving private Ryan' we have action from the start and get what we would expect from a war film. However with Tarantinos Inglourious basterds we do not get this and so it is a not a typical war film.
These unrealistic features of the film also follow into the way the characters are viewed and also how they act. One example of this would be the main German officer Hans Landa. This is because he over reacts with his motions and the way that Tarantino focuses on things such as the milk. This actor then exaggerates the way in which he drinks the milk which shows how he is going to over exaggerate throughout the film. So because of his weird actions it creates tension with the audience in that we know he is going to be a main and bad character through out the film. Also near to this shot of when shoshana escapes is another post modern feature. As we can see when she escapes the shot is framed by the door and we see that Hans Landa is standing there and the door frame is used to outline the shot. This is used in many Taratino films and also is a post modern feature.
After chapter one we again have to story book feeling as chapter two comes on and it is just a black screen with white text showing it is chapter two. Tarantino did this so that we know it still is just a film and a fairly tale and it is not real. Again in this chapter a character called Lieutenant Aldo Raine who's American accent is overly exaggerated. This fits in with the film in that the acting is over the top and that this characters accent sounds fake. He is the leader of the basterds as this is shown as soon as we meet him and we can see that his character is going to have a main part in the film. This also links ot that Inglourious basterds is not a typical war film as in typical war films we learn more about the characters and the backgrounds of them. However in Tarantinos film we can see that we do not know much about the background of any of the characters but more of what and who they are now. Therefore because of this we then go back to understanding that it is just a film and that these people are not actually real.
However this film does have a small humor to it in the way that some of the characters and how different scenes are done. This is done through the character Hitler. This is because we can see that Tarantino has sterotypically dressed him and he is seen in a humerous way rather than a serious way because of the over top acting he does. This then shows that the film is again not link to normal ar films that we would think of as all the characters are seen as important and are not there to be laughed at. This also links to a another way of why Inglourious Basterds is a post modern film. This is because it shows how the genres are different in that some parts of it are old but it is then mixed with modern genre ith things such as costumes and the soundtrack. Another way this is done is through the use of violence and gun fire. In typical war film we hear lots of gun shooting going on all the time and see certain graphics but the graphics of the violence does not go into too much detail. Whereas in Tarantinos film Inglourious Baterds he uses more gun shots and more graphics violence int hat we see more of what is being done to the people. This then creates more excitement towards the film for the audience and makes it more interesting to watch because ofthe graphics and use of shooting. An example of this wold be that the basterds put the nazi sign into the nazi's heads and this shows of graphics. But also it does not give off lots of emotion which then goes back tot hat it is just a film and that the characters are not real and so the audience will not feel too heavy of emotion.
In chapter three again we see the use ofnd post modern features as this is when Shashona goes to meet Fredrick who is now a new character to the story. When we meet him we can see that he is a German solider and that we can feel the tense atmosphere because we now know this. A big part of this scene is that we can see hat fredrick has a huge interest in Shoshona and that the audience views that he likes her. There are also two other people there that are there for Hitler and so we Know that this is a weird situation and that Tarantiono has wanted to show this so the the audience could understand what sides people were on and so that we could understand the situation of the story at the point. This scene then come to a stop when we are introduced to the new character called Josef Goebbels. Throughout this conversation in this scene the yellow subtitles are shows to link back to reminding the audience that this is still a film. A post modern showing of this scene is when Josefs interpreter woman shows a flash back of them having sex but i comes across in a humerus way.This is postmodern of tarantino because of how he focuses on that rather than the flash back of shoshano wich is more important. with this scene it then follows to Shoshona and her parter discussing how they are going to blow up the cinema with the old video material as it is highly flammable.
Then as we go on to chapter four we are introduced to the British character which again are shown to be completely over the top. In the scene everything is very stereotypical of British people in that we live in large posh houses and talk with a posh voice. They speak fast and politely like you would expect of a British person stereotypically. This then links with Tarantinos directer way of being stereotypical and being over the top. this then leads on to the tavern pub scene in which we are then introduced to the character Bridget von Hammersmark in which you would not normally expect in a traditional war film. This is because she doesn't really have much to do with the fighting in that we just firstly see her as a actress. We then see a soldier who is not represented in a good way but shown as though he messed up in the war and was not a hero and so when we listen to him we get idea of the type of character he is. this scene then dramatically changes when the British officers come in and a big shooting goes off and we see lots of gore which a again is a post modern trait of Tarantinos.
In chapter five we can see again how Tarantino brings in his own thing of the foot fetish he has into his film. This is both done when hans landa asks for the actresses foot and also when he is strangling her. We do not see her actually being strangled but we see her feet. This brings in the bricolage of Tarantino in that he wants to bring his self into the film by doing this. The use of Tarantinos foot fetish is that it is used throughout his films and so it is something that the audeince can recognise.
Over all Inglourous Basterds feature a large amount of post modern features exspecially with the use of the music and the actual theme of it being a war film.
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