5 Reasons Why 'Scream' is Postmodern

Scream- Directed by Wes Craven in 1996

Reasons why Scream is postmodern:

1.  Scream is a pastiche of other horror/slasher movies. The film imitates parts from other horror movies, such as the masked killer in 'Halloween'

Masked killer in 'Halloween'

2.  Scream appropriates things from other things. For example the ghostface mask is appropriated from Edward Munch's famous painting "The Scream"

Ghostface mask and 'The Scream'

3.  Scream uses irony because of the fact that even though the teenagers know a lot of information from horror movies about how serial killers kill etc. it doesn't stop them from being killed by a serial killer. Also it is ironic that the way the serial killer is killing is because he also knows a lot about horror movies, asking the victims questions about them before he kills them. Many different movies are mentioned in the film including Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Mutilator, Friday the 13th, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Exorcist, Frankenstein, E.T, The Silence of the Lambs and Psycho.

4.  Scream breaks the slasher movie mould because even though everything that happens has been seen before in other movies it breaks the mould because it is self aware. For an example of something that happens in a lot of movies is when a teenager goes to investigate a noise and ends up being murdered, which is what happens to Casey in the beginning of the film.

Casey being murdered 

5.  Scream is self aware and mocks itself because the teenagers have knowledge of horror/slasher movies and they ridicule the stereotypical things that happen in them. For example the teenagers are seen to be watching Halloween on the TV at the party and they are commenting on the predictability of the film. For example Randy says "She always outsmarted the killer during the big chase scene at the end, only virgins can do that, don't you know the rules?"

Teenagers watching 'Halloween'