Chick-Flicks? Post-Modernism?

Conventions of a Chick-Flick

• Designed to appeal to a female target audience

• Usually heavy with emotion and contain themes that are relationship based (i.e family relationships, friendships, romantic relationships)

• There must be a strong female character in a chick-flick (usually one with strong morals and 'teaches' the audience an important life lesson)

• There is always a happy ending

• Tend to use popular, upbeat music

• Technology used in the film are usually up-to-date to emphasise the teenage hype

• Fashion and designer labels are iconic; they are used to set apart the 'privileged' and the 'less-privileged'

Examples

Mean Girls (2004)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Sixteen Candles (1984)

Clueless (1995)

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

She's the Man (2006)

Post-modernism

Post-modernism dominates many of the films we watch today. It is not uncommon that most of the films we watch today embodies some post-modern techniques. Knowing its conventions, it can easily be identified when the film pokes fun of its own characters and plot, or makes allusions to other pop culture movies of the same genre. Post-modernism attempts to subvert any kind of metanarrative.