Post-modern Art
Art has existed all through the existence of man. Just like man, the complexity of art has kept increasing over the whole time. Various art movements with various characteristics have emerged over different times. Due to various inadequacies and fallacies that people thought existed in the art of the era of modernism, a post-modern era arose in 1970 (Hoeveler, 2004). The various arts of this era have been produced since then. Basically, postmodern art is one which has rejected the narrow and conservative nature of earlier works of art and appreciates the incorporation of technology far much more. Having said this, films and music videos have formed a great bulk of postmodern art. Of these films are two films – a beautiful mind and the man who saw infinity. This paper compares and contrasts the two films in the perspective of postmodern art by trying to prove the view that the film, the man who saw infinity, has more postmodern ideologies than the second film – a beautiful mind.
Postmodernism arose as a rebellion to the basic beliefs of modernist arts. In essence, postmodernism is not an artistic movement; it is more of an attitude that emerged in the mid and late twentieth century against the very basic ideologies of the art of the modernist movement (Hoeveler, 2004). The orchestrators of postmodernism questioned the meaning in life and art that had been instituted by modernism. Actually, at the beginning of holocaust, all art seemed to lose meaning except the arts whose themes were related to the holocaust. Postmodern art aimed to erase the ideology that the Christian West was definitely superior to the rest of the world; an ideology which was central to the art of modernism (Hoeveler, 2004). Erasing this ideology contributed massively to the change of the center of world art from Paris to New York. Moreover, postmodernists questioned the obvious development of art and technology that the modernists believed in.
Having said that, it is time to compare the two films in the perspective of the characteristics of postmodern arts. Both films reveal features of postmodernism but to different extents. The following paragraphs provide a brief analysis of the similarities that exist between the two films.
The first and most conspicuous similarity that is consistent with the very principles of postmodernism between the two films is the advancement that even though formal education is important, it is not all that one needs in life. Postmodernists have questioned the value of the very things that the modernists attached most value to including education. In the first film, a beautiful mind, the main actor Nash, a well-educated mathematician, develops paranoid schizophrenia probably as a result of the numerous expectations or the mental pressure that he is subjected to. A period of stay outside the institution where he lectured together with the support of his wife is all he needed to overcome his paranoia (Rettner, 2016). In a further evidence of postmodernism – conventional modernist therapy for paranoid schizophrenia is not the best treatment for Nash as the film reveals; staying at home free of the workplace hustle and his wife’s support are all he needs. The man who knew infinity on the other end depicts a poor Indian man with an extraordinary natural ability in arithmetic, Ramanujan, who was encouraged to pursue the conventional route by trying to prove his natural ability to professors of Western universities. This finally works for him when he receives an invitation from Hardy to join Cambridge University. Ramanujan’s prowess in mathematics is commendable as he is finally recognized by the university as a mathematician of international standards but at the cost of his health and ultimately his life (Woit, 2016). Both these films advance the idea that even though formal education is necessary, its importance has been overstressed. This act of overstressing can lead to harm or even death of subscribers to formal education without the realization of the system.
The second major similarity between these two films in the perspective of postmodernism is their use of technology. By virtue of being films, the two films definitely require technology to be produced. In addition, the two films are filled with scenes which show the use of modern technology. In ‘a beautiful mind’ the scenes of technology include the use of computers in learning institutions, modern means of transport and the use of technology in health practice as evidenced by Nash’s stay in a psychiatric hospital. In ‘the man who knew infinity’, the scenes of technology include the use of air transport and other modern means of transport, the use of computer technology and modern means of communication. However, technology is not a major strength in thematic analysis of the two films.
Thirdly, both films are leaned more towards the masses or low culture rather than the few elite individuals – a characteristic feature of postmodern arts. Looking at the themes and even the attributes of the characters of the two films, they are addressed to the people of low culture. This is especially true for ‘the man who knew infinity’ where the main character, Ramanujan is a poor young man who is striving with odd jobs in Madras, a place in India whose inhabitants are obviously not among the most affluent. In ‘a beautiful mind’ the main character is a student is a young graduate who is seen not to be living the most affluent life (Rettner, 2016). It is imperative to note that, in the era of postmodernism, education is far more important for the people of low culture rather than the elite in society. The problems that can come with the mindless pursuance of education are therefore far more relevant for this group of people.
Fourth, looking at both films, it is obvious that the idea in the film mattered far much more than the way it is presented by the film. A close analysis of the two films will reveal that the main idea in the films features more prominently that the way the content is being presented. This is a hallmark feature of postmodern art; the content is far more important that the way in which the content is being presented.
Lastly, both films show a strong romantic tendency which is very characteristic of postmodern arts (Mul, 1999). In ‘a beautiful mind’, Nash falls in love with a girl and proposes to her, later, it is this wife who helps him to overcome paranoid schizophrenia. In ‘the man who knew infinity’, Ramanujan marries a young woman to whom he remains devoted to after he relocates to Cambridge; however, their love is short-lived as the mathematician dies shortly after return to India.
Despite their many similarities which qualify the two films to be categorized together with postmodern arts, the two films show a few differences. The differences show that the levels of postmodernism in the two films vary slightly. The differences are discussed in the paragraphs that follow.
The first difference that emerges between the two films in relation to postmodernism is the battle of western supremacy. In ‘the man who knew infinity’, this feature of postmodern art is explored explicitly. The main character, Ramanujan, was a poor Indian who went to the United Kingdom because of his prowess in arithmetic and managed to attain international recognition in mathematics despite multiple challenges like poor health, difficult livelihood, and having to deal with racism (Woit, 2016). This, in essence, confirms the superiority of a seemingly inferior Eastern student over the Westerners. Moreover, the film identifies the flaws in a Western education system; the education system in the United Kingdom does not fulfill the needs of every student to an extent that a student could be dying of poor health without the facilitator’s knowledge. This is unlike modern films which would show the superiority of Western systems over Eastern systems. The disparity between East and West is not addressed in ‘a beautiful mind’. This reduces the mark of postmodernity in the later film.
Second, as earlier alluded to, postmodern arts are meant for the masses rather than the elite few in society. Looking at the two films, this statement suits ‘the man who knew infinity’ far much more that it does to ‘a beautiful mind’. This is because the first film is centered on a poor Indian man hence its relevance to the masses. A beautiful mind is set in a Swedish city and the main actors are university graduates of mathematics hence people of average affluence. The vast majority of people are those of low affluence hence the relevance of the first film to the vast majority.
In conclusion, the discussion above strongly supports the truth in the view that ‘the man who knew infinity’ is a better representation of postmodern art than ‘a beautiful mind’. ‘The man who knew infinity’ shows some aspects of postmodernism that are not prominent in the other film. These features are mainly denouncing the modernist view that the Christian West was superior to the rest of the world and design that makes the film very relevant to the masses. However, both films can be thought of as being postmodern arts since they share some features of postmodern arts. Among the main features of postmodernism shared among the two films are an emphasis on the message rather than the method of presentation, the appreciation of technology, challenging the very meaning and importance of education, and addressing the masses rather than the elite in society.
References
Hoeveler, J. D. (2004). The postmodernist turn: American thought and culture in the 1970s. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Mul, J. . (1999). Romantic desire in (post)modern art and philosophy. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press.
