The 1975 released “Sincerity is Scary” as their third single off the album ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ in September of last year. It was then only two months later when they released the music video accompanying it. It is through the critical lyrics and contrasting upbeat dance performances done in the video that help in creating an overall feel of postmodernism.
It in and of itself is a paradox as the lyrics denounce postmodernism in our culture today while the pastiche and self reference within the video seems to contribute to it (which in fact makes it even more postmodern).
Some examples of postmodernism in the video include:
-The clock at the beginning of the video reading 1975- the band name
-It is filled with comedic tropes-i.e. a piano falling, the soccer ball going through the window
-The little girl at the end of the video in black and white is a reference to another music video “A Change of Heart”
These are only a few of the many Easter eggs littered throughout this video; including more self references such as having the sign above the door at the beginning read 1975, the cinema sign being featured in another one of their videos, and some of the same choreography from the “A Change of Heart” video. They also have Singing in the Rain inspired choreography when lead singer, Matty, twirls around the lamppost.
This dance sequence is also inspired by the alley dance in My Sister Eileen.
It is because of the multiple uses of self reference, pastiche, maximalism and intertextuality that we see postmodernist flare to it. It is through this framework that we are able to gage the true irony between the lyrics and the music video itself. When looking solely at the lyrics you are able to see the frustration towards todays postmodern culture and I believe it is through the excessive postmodernism of the video that we are able to see this conflict more clearly; as it creates even more of a contrasting paradoxical effect. I also believe that it is this paradoxical effect that reveals that although postmodernist culture can bring about great things such as choice of your own narrative, it can also make things more complicated as it gives everyone the right to feel offended all the time-as there is not simply one truth anymore. It is through the contrast of the song lyrics and video that epitomizes this conflict in today’s culture.
Postmodern with a captital P 