Overview of Postmodern Television
Television and movies represent the pinnacle of mass-produced American culture and exhibit many of the Postmodern motifs shared by other art forms. Below you will find a description of the most significant themes and examples of related television shows.
| Pastiche | Tongue-in-cheek rehashes and tributes to classic pop culture |
| Spectacle | In the ever competitive battle for viewers, television caters to the basest and shallowest impulses to get attention |
| Faux TV | Self-referential mockumentaries, shows about shows, and fake news |
| Mystery | Bizarre, eclectic searches for the unknown involving spirituality, philosophy and technology |
| The Anti-Hero | Postmodern realities blur the lines between good and evil, black and white, for both characters and viewers |
Postmodern Television by Category
Pastiche
The Simpsons
- TV's longest running sitcom follows a dysfunctional cartoon family attempting to live the American Dream
Futurama
- Simpsons creator brings classic plots and foibles into the next millenium (including an alcoholic robot named Bender)
Family Guy
- Satiric cartoon that is interrupted with more obscure pop culture references than a Dennis Miller show
Charmed
- Three beautiful witches save the world daily in postmodern rehashes of classic fairy tales
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Tongue-in-cheek horror/comedy that follows a suburban high school student and vampire hunter
Xena: Warrior Princess
- Campy fantasy adventure that mixes multiple mythologies, time periods, and a touch of postmodern feminism
Dark Angel
- Jessica Alba's leather clad body is a genetically engineered weapon in another spin on postmodern feminist superheroes
Drawn Together
- Reality TV parody with an eclectic mix of characters (from an overweight Betty Boop to a sexed-up Superman)
Reno 911
- Pastiche of the reality show Cops, that doesn't have to stray too far from the original for absurd plots and big laughs
Glee
- "Gleeful" homage to a mashup of music, videos and pop culture, both old and new
Community
- Diverse community college study group makes meta, self-aware parodies of TV tropes and pop culture
Spectacle
The Real World
- Voyeuristic "Reality" TV original where producers hand pick a diverse/volatile group to live in a house full of booze
The Jerry Springer Show
- Granddaddy of TV trainwrecks sets up hapless guests to fight and embarass themselves in trashy situations
Cops
- Low culture spectacle follows America's finest as they chase half-naked addicts through a trailer park (see also Reno 911)
Survivor
- Postmodern gameshow mixes reality TV with the novel Lord of the Flies as malnourished contestants plot and scheme
Married with Children
- America's first family of dysfunction that spawned several sitcom clones
The Tom Green Show
- Watch the master of shock humor as he plays pranks, suckles from a cow, and humps dead animals
South Park
- Low-tech animation provides raunchy parables on the state of current mass culture
MTV Jackass
- MTV pranksters and "extreme" sportsmen perform dangerous stunts, pranks, and body mutilation
The Girls Next Door
- Sneak a peek into the Playboy mansion to experience the everyday lives of Heff's "girlfriends"
Celebrity Apprentice
- What's better than job-seekers making a fool of themselves for Donald Trump? Using B-list celebrities!
Real Housewives
- Middle-aged "Mean Girls" from your favorite city feud and flip tables in this popular TV trainwreck
Keeping up with the Kardashians
- Family of ex-OJ lawyer grab the spotlight with outrageous situations, relationships, and sex tapes
Faux TV
Seinfeld
- Pseudo-reality sit-com about "nothing" features a comedian, offbeat friends, rampant inside jokes, and a show within a show
The Office
- Original British mockumentary on workplace psychology follows an incompetent boss and awkward reality TV moments
The Office (US)
- American spin on a painfully unfunny boss and his attempts to make a dysfunctional office love and respect him
Da Ali G Show
- Borat and other Sacha Baron Cohen characters dupe unsuspecting interviewees to reveal their prejudices
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
- Pinnacle of "fake" news has ironically gone from comedy pastiche to legitimate political powerhouse
Colbert Report
- Daily show spinoff features Steven Colbert's alternate right wing persona and political punditry
Modern Family
- Mockumentary of a (post-)modern family made up of a wide range of stereo-typical characters
Arrested Development
- Absurdly quirky, inept, and dysfunctional, the Bluth family makes self-referential and recurring jokes ("there's always money in the banana stand")
30 Rock - SNL alum heavy cast pokes fun of themselves and their corporate overlords on this show within a show
Mystery
Twin Peaks
- Mind-bending mystery full of twisted plots, self-reference, and bizarre events from the director David Lynch
Lost
- Drama of philosophy and signs, where a group of cast-aways battle "The Others" amidst flashbacks and a web of connections
The X-Files
- Paranoid and paranormal search through the mysteries of the FBI's unsolved cases involving aliens, myths, and legends
Harsh Realm
- X-Files meets the Matrix in this cyberspace thriller about a hero trapped in a hyperrealistic simulation run by the military
The Anti-Hero
Breaking Bad
- Chemistry teacher Walt's evolution into drug lord is driven by terminal cancer and a wish to cement his legacy
House of Cards
- Kevin Spacey's character does "bad for the greater good" in political drama about manipulation, power, and revenge
Dexter
- Serial killer who kills serial killers, works for the Miami police and follows a strict moral code
Game of Thrones
- Story of survival features flawed heross who, neither wholly good or evil, must make compromises to stay alive
