81 minutes
Director: Tom TykwerWriter: Tom TykwerStars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu and Herbert Knaup |
Why is Run Lola Run postmodern?
"The ball is round. The game lasts 90 minutes. That's a fact. Everything else is pure theory." (Tykwer). This starts Run Lola Run off to a very postmodernist start. Postmodernism is all about subjectivity; there are no universals; everything is open to interpretation. The very premise of the story is postmodern. Lola must find 100,00 mark for her boyfriend Manni in twenty minutes. That's it. The film does not try to make some broad, sweeping social commentary. It does not try to show the detrimental effects that drug dealing and trafficking has on society. In postmodernism, there are no universal themes. Another postmodern aspect of Run Lola Run is the whole premise of changing outcomes and realities. This obviously shows the postmodernist belief that everything is subjective and there is no universal truth. How can there be absolute truth when we just saw three totally different outcomes, and basically no reason for why the outcomes turmed out that way? It is completely random. One random act of jumping over a dog in a stairwell rather than running past it results in a completely different outcome. This also shows the meaningless of life that postmodernists have seemed to observe. This premise of three different outcomes is also complete self-referentialism. Tykwer does not try to stay grounded in reality. There is no explanation given for why Lola and Manni are able to say, "No. I don't want to die yet. Do-over," nor does there need to be. This is a movie; movies aren't reality. The way the film is presented is also exemplary of postmodernism. The score is all techno and electronic music. It's catchy and makes the film move. It isn't supposed to be some artistic statement. It's music. It sounds good; people like it. The way the film is edited is pretty postmodern. Tykwer chooses to use lots of different types of shots. The film is jumpy and fast because of these shots. It is stimulating and fun to watch. This film is marketed towards mass culture. It is not pretentious or overly artsy. Almost everyone can enjoy this film. This is exactly what Tykwer was trying to accomplish. Postmodernists seek to break down the distinctions between high and low culture and embrace pop culture. This is exactly what Tykwer does.
Once someone sees all of the postmodernism in Run Lola Run, they think, "Okay. So what does this all mean? What's the point?" There is no point. The film is pretty random, and it is excellent at being this. There is no deeper meaning other than it was an enjoyable watch. It was stimulating and fun, like a video game. The point is that there is no point. By making a postmodern film that is so exciting to watch, like taking speed, Tykwer is perhaps making a commentary on the condition of humanity. This, of course, seems contradictory to the postmodernist idea that there are no universals and that truth is subjective, but even being contradictory is a bit postmodern. The condition that Tykwer suggests is that we have come upon a time where everything is completely random. There is no deep meaning in all of our actions. Life is like a game, with many random obstacles that result in random outcomes. Some are good, some are bad, all are random. It does not matter whether or not someone is a good person. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. This idea, that life is meaningless, should seem depressing. Yet, the postmodernists don't see it as depressing; they see it as fun and enjoyable.
Postmodernism is complicated and difficult for most because of what it's all about. "What do you mean there's no point?" Postmodernism believes that life is rather meaningless and enjoys it. They believe that truth is subjective and that there are no universals in life. They want to deconstruct the lines between high and low culture. They embrace pop culture. Tykwer's film Run Lola Run is very exemplary of these points of postmodernism. It reinforces the randomness and meaninglessness of life. It shows that there is not one absolute Reality or Truth. The film is aimed towards mass culture. It is made so that everyone will enjoy it. It reinforces the postmodernist belief that there is no point to life and that this is just a game. It is through this film that postmodernism becomes more easily seen applied to everyday living rather than pretentious, weird art.
