Post Modernism | What is Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakam | Video Essay Script | Moving Images
Hello and welcome to another episode of MOVING IMAGES. What does Kathai, Thiraikathai, Vasanam, Iyakam have in common with Aaranya Kaandam, Tamizh Padam, Pulp Fiction, Inception, and Blade Runner to name a few? They all have a post-modern narrative structure. Post-modernism is a paradigm of different philosophies and artistic style that came as a reaction to modernism. So, before we understand what post-modernism is, we need to know what is modernism.
Modernism in art, literature, and even cinema is built on the idea of structure and an intrinsic purpose. A modernistic narrative in cinema places a lot of emphasis on the singular vision of the director and the meaning-production practices of film. Modern narrative films had a meaning to their story. Modernism also insisted upon the divide between “high” art and “low” art. Post-modernism came about as a reaction to modernism and essentially defragments and subverts the ideas of modernism. While modern art is built on a structure, post-modern art is against structuralism and rarely has a meaning.
Tamizh cinema has rarely had a film made with a post-modernistic narrative and many of the audience found it hard to understand KTVI. Was it an art film or a commercial film? Was it high art or low art? Well, it is neither and both. It is post-modern and here is my theory on why KTVI is essentially a post-modernistic film.
A post-modernistic narrative, like I said, is a reaction to modernism or modern art. There is no set definition for post-modernism philosophies but they do have a few characteristics. A post-modern narrative does not limit to one genre. They combine several genres into something called pastiche. KTVI combines comedy, mystery, tragedy, romance, war, satire, and drama to give us a pastiche of prevailing Tamil cinema genres. It subverts from genres and structures making the film absurd. A second characteristic of post-modernism is metafiction or self-referential narrative. Modernism emphasizes the singular vision of a film-maker, post-modernism on the other hand calls the viewer’s attention that the movie itself is only a movie either through characters’ knowledge of their own fictional nature, through visuals, or through… The whole idea behind this is to undermine the narrator or in this case, the director Parthipen and constantly remind us that this is just a film. Another way KTVI achieves meta-reference is through intertextuality, which is the constant reference to other films and fictional works in Tamil cinema. Lastly, post-modern films deconstruct time through a non-linear narrative. Linear narration in cinema is achieved only through film-making techniques like editing, the scenes in a film are seldom shot in chronological order and are made linear in post-production. Post-modern narrative breaks even that, again appealing to the audience that what they perceive on the screen is constructed.
On the surface, KTVI and its post-modern narrative might seem chaotic and as an attempt to break conventional cinema narrative. No longer the audience are made to suspend their disbelief, no longer is the idea that stories have meaning to them or the idea of good vs evil propagated, time has no meaning and the film maker does not decide how the film ends. Post-modern narrative blurs the line between high and low forms of art, between official culture and popular culture. It is for the elite and the common man.
But why KTVI? The movie was made as a tribute to 100 years of Tamil cinema but truly it is a reaction to modern Tamil cinema. There are constant reminders in the film on who the audience is and what they deem as “good” cinema and what the film industry offers them. The film brings to our attention the disparity between expectations and reality. KTVI is a commentary of all the current trends in cinema and it is even more relevant now as years’ pass. KTVI maybe a film without a story but it definitely is a film with a purpose. Until next time, this is Kishor signing off saying…
