"Gorillaz" and post modernity, 9/23

In the beginning of class today, we watched two music videos. One was Kanye West’s “Stronger” and the other was the Gorillaz’s “Feel Good Inc.” D.C. instructed us to look up and analysis the lyrics and determine their costiveness with postmodern thought. However, for the purpose of this post, I would like to discuss how the band “Gorillaz” is based entirely upon postmodern thought, regardless of their lyrics.

Lyotard states in his essay, “Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?” a particular definition of post moderinity: “The postmodern would be that which… puts forward the unpresentable in presentation itself…” The “Gorillaz” band correlates and in fact embodies this definition. The “Gorillaz” is a virtual band. It is the unreal, and presented through music videos and the production of songs, a part of reality as well.

“Gorillaz” consists of four animated band members; 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel; that represent a multitude of artists and sounds. The music only has one consistent artistic contributor, Damon Albarn, but it also incorporates a wide variety of various collaborations.

The band integrates the concepts of what is real vs. a real reproduction vs. an authentic band. Is “Gorillaz” considered an entity in and of itself, or is it simply a metaphor for Albarn’s emotional expression? Both ideas can be easily thought of in terms of post modernity. A virtual entity interacting with the general acceptance of real “reality” is a perfect fusion of classical and modern. This dichotomy works in the opposite sense as well. Albarn, a part of “real” reality, translates himself into the virtual “unreality”, and thus is also an example of a classical and modern entanglement.

Is it possible for “Gorillaz” to be authentic, because it is an original reproduction? The answer to that question, like most other, depends on the definitions of the individual words involved, as discussed in previous classes, and also the very definition of reality. With that, I conclude with the question, is it possible to comprehend the postmodern without understanding reality, or is post modernity determined by the real vs. the unreal, as Lyotard somewhat suggests?