Postmodernism - The Mighty Boosh article

The Might Boosh article

Media folk love to bathe and obsess about postmodernism when in fact most of us cannot give many examples that are not Tarantino productions or Scream. Postmodernism defies easy definition; dictionaries do not do it justice but it generally comprises of a set of core ideas and key concepts that work collaboratively to shape it. Enter The Mighty Boosh: two zoo keepers, one owner, one shaman and a gorilla. Here are some of the factors involved:

1) Eclecticism - a wide range of influences, contributions and techniques

Eclecticism shines through varied characters they portray and the range of musical styles they adopt so you never know what your going to get.

2) Intertextuality - an author's borrowing and transformation of a prior text

The Mighty Boosh openly borrows, mimics and adopts certain styles, cliches and conventions that the audience can relate to. Parallels are regularly made between the Boosh, Monty Python, Spaced, The Goodies and The League of Gentlemen with their individual brands of surrealist humour, its this recognition and familiarity that appeals to the audience.

3) Parody- a humorous or satirical imitation of a text

Parody is all down to the recognition that the audience will have for the style, characters, scenarios and techniques. The Boosh is scattered with parodies from the generic (see Mutants for a take on the Sci-Fi, Horror genres), musical (see hard rock parodied in Bollo's Monkey Hell) or textual (see 'The Nightmare of Milky Joe' for a take on Castaway).

4) Bricolage - A technique where works are constructed from various materials available

A criticism of postmodernism is that it suggests that we cannot bring anything new to the table and must recycle old formaMighty Boosh can be viewed as a bricolage of many already tried-and-tested formulas but does this make it less original?

5) Acts against modernism - Postmodernism embodies scepticism of ideas towards the modern world, especially ideas of progress, objectivity, reason, certainty, personal identity and grand narrative.

Postmodernism acts against reason, orthodoxy and logic to bring us a text that is rich with surrealism and unpredictability. A talking gorilla, a Mexican jazz-fusion guitarist with a door in his afro, a man made of cheese- a celebration of the medium of television that allows the Boosh to pick and choose from a history of tried-and-tested formulas.

6) Nostalgic- Celebrates the past and bathes in its glory

Postmodernism looks back, borrowing from others to construct a text rich with references.

7) Narcissistic- Fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity

Postmodernism is obsessed with itself. This obsessive nature is evident in the character of Vince Noir who has a fascination with his appearance and a burning passion to become a front man (his idol being Mick Jagger).

...it's the combination of narcissism and nihilism (total rejection of established laws and institutions) that defines postmodernism.

8) An active audience -

In this unpredictable, surreal and unreasoning postmodernist world, the audience has no choice but to be an active and aware participant ready to follow whatever twist and turn the text decides to take.

9) Hyper-Conscious - Aware of itself

The Boosh team cleverly use this at the beginning of each episode with Vince and Howard standing in front of stage curtains introducing the show with direct references as to what to look out for. In their live show, postmodernist mix of stand-up, improvisational and theatrical styles.

The Mighty Boosh provides us with an effective framework for postmodernism deconstruction and is bursting with its characteristics from the music, costumes, characters, design, mise-en-scene and dialogue. It provides its active audience with a contemporary variety show that is all knowing, highly aware and above all, a celebration of the medium of television.