1. Unit G325 – Postmodern
Media
A Cock and Bull Story
(Winterbottom, 2005)

2. Lesson Objectives
• To examine the features of A Cock
and Bull Story that make it
postmodern.
• To understand why Winterbottom has
again used postmodern techniques in
the making of a film.
• To confirm Winterbottom’s status as a
postmodern auteur.

3. A Cock and Bull Story – Postmodern
Features
• Breaking of the 4th wall destroying the
audience’s suspension of disbelief. Coogan
frequently directly addresses the audience.
• Intertextuality – references to Alan Partridge
and 24 Hour Party People for example.
• Some intertextual casting – Tony Wilson as
the interviewer for the DVD featurette.
• Playful approach to film-making. Coogan
even says ‘…the trouble with writing a book
about yourself is that you can’t fool around.
Why not?’ at the beginning of the film. There
are lots of playful and unconventional
techniques used in the film.

4. A Cock and Bull Story – Postmodern
Features
• Not a chronological linear narrative – time and space
jumps about all the time. Sometimes wipes are used to
move the story in terms of time and space. The actor
playing the director even says “it’s not continuous,
we’ve jumped in time.”
• No attempt to maintain realism. Again, Coogan says “He
wants realism?….I’m a grown man talking to the camera
in a BLEEP womb.”
• Use of parody – exaggeration of Coogan’s celebrity
persona in the sequence about what the tabloid
journalist has discovered.
•

5. A Cock and Bull Story – Postmodern
Features – Self-referentiality
• Self-referentiality is when a text
(book, film etc.) makes reference to
itself OR to one or more of it’s
processes of construction.
• There is lots of self-referentiality in A
Cock and Bull Story.

6. Self-referentiality in A Cock and
Bull Story.

7. Self-referentiality in A Cock and
Bull Story.
• The one with Coogan and the camera
crew after the bed scene
• Mini war village
• Coogan talking to camera about the
ability of the child actors
• Discussions with director and seeing
him get into the fake womb
• Him getting make up and costume at
the beginning
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8. A Cock and Bull Story – Postmodern
Features – Meta-textuality
• Metatextuality refers to the idea of a
text within a text or a text about the
production of another text.
• A Cock and Bull Story is metatextual in
that it is both a literary adaptation of
Tristam Shandy AND a film about the
making of the literary adaptation of
Tristram Shandy.

9. Why all the pomo?
• Reward the cultural capital of the target
audience who would be interested in film
(as a medium) and probably familiar with
the book.
• “the audience for this film are not going
to be interested in a battle scene”
• Directorial style that Winterbottom uses.
• Book itself is postmodern in that it leaps
about in terms of time and space.
• Used for comedy purposes.

10. Why all the pomo?
• Fundamentally it’s a comedy and
pomo playfulness is funny.
• The book is a book about telling a
story and the film is a film about
making a film.

11. Michael Winterbottom – Postmodern
Auteur
• An auteur is a film-maker who can be
thought of as an ‘author’ because
their films share certain characteristics
(themes/genres/storylines/structures/
visual techniques etc).
• Winterbottom uses postmodern
techniques in both 24 Hour Party
People and A Cock and Bull Story and
is therefore a postmodern auteur.

12. 24 Hour Party People
• What are the film’s themes?
• Rock music creation
• Drugs and partying 24 hours a day
• Sex
• Setting up a record label, Factory records
• A narcissistic look at one person, Tony Wilson
• The power that goes to his head
• The 80s were a crazy time in that ‘scene’
• One person’s journey to set up a new
generation of music
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13. 24 Hour party people themes
• Sex, drugs and rock and roll
• Evolution of indie culture, Music culture
• Difference between social groups - looking at
TV presenter and the people he dealt with of
‘lower status’
• Looked at the Manchester (Madchester) scene
• About the 80s and the formulation of a
revolutionary record label and nightclub
• Self references section did provide information
about how this music ‘era’ was developing and
its significance.
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14. A Cock and Bull themes
• Examining the 18th century - gender
roles
• Self obsession of celebrities
• Men’s roles are ‘manly’ and women
have and look after children
•
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15. A Cock and Bull Story
• What are the film’s themes?
• Gender representation - men and
women not equals.
• Looks at the egos of celebrities
• Comparison of 18th century and 21st
century life
• How men aren’t sympathetic to
women and the roles they perform eg
giving birth
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16. 24 Hour Party People
• Do the postmodern techniques used
help Winterbottom to explore or
communicate the film’s themes?
• Why has he used postmodern
techniques?
• Do the postmodern techniques add to
the film?
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17. A Cock and Bull Story
• Do the postmodern techniques used
help Winterbottom to explore or
communicate the film’s themes?
• Why has he used postmodern
techniques?
• Do the postmodern techniques add to
the film?
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18. Homework essay question
• With reference to 2 films, discuss the
degree to which they can be
considered postmodern.
• 1000 words
• Due Friday
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