What Is Postmodernism In The Longest Nite?

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In Postmodernism and Consumer Society, Fredric Jameson proposes the idea of pastiche as a new component of postmodernism. Although both mimic and twitch other styles, different from parody, pastiche remains neutral, devoid of ulterior motive or satirical impulse, i.e. it is satisfied with the appropriation of previous fashions or styles, without attempt to mock or critique them. Based on the death of subject and the impossibility of parody, the notion of pastiche, however, arouses the question about the boundary: to what extent and in what context can the hypothesis function? Using The Longest Nite (1998) as an example, this essay will try to evaluate to what extent a postmodern movie can or cannot fit into Jameson’s definition of pastiche and nostalgia film; and thus, in the other way around, to what degree pastiche can be regarded as a common feature of postmodern texts.…show more content…
Different from historical novel or movie, nostalgia film does not necessarily refer to a particular historical period, but satisfies consumers’ desire to experience the past once again through referencing objects of the older period. In this way, The Longest Nite can be interpreted as a nostalgia film in Jameson’s sense: Though with contemporary setting of Macau in 1998, it inherited the popular genre of action gangster movie, and corresponding cinematic aesthetics, e.g. representation of masculinity, conspiracy, and violence, which

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