Film || 5 Reasons Moulin Rouge! (2001) is Postmodern

fig 1.

Canon 

• The body of rules, principles, or standards accepted as axiomatic anduniversally binding in a field of study or art.
• A term applied to products off industry that are considered and accepted as superior.

Dead White European male (DWEM)

• William Shakespeare, Aristotle, Leonardo Da Vinci, Karl Marx,
• A man whose historical talents and achievement may have been taken out of proportion due to the value of his heritage and culture.

Phallocentricism

• Focused on or based on the form of the male penis.

Eurocentricism

• A tendency to to see the world from a European or anglicized perspective.

Post-Colonism

• Any dealing with the historical effects of colonialism.
• India, Africa, The Middle East

Multiculturalism

• Ideologically, supposed common dialog between cultures through use of a shared platform.
• Common case studies include London, Stockholm,Toronto, 'The Melting Pot'
• May intersect with post-colonialism.

Feminism

• Advocates of equality between sexes.
• Initially for woman's legal rights in the first wave, moving more towards social perceptions and intensifying in the third wave in the 21st century.

fig 2.

5 Reasons Moulin Rouge (2001) is Postmodernist

1. It re-purposes popular music within its story line, several examples being written by Toulouse, Fat Boy Slim and Madonna amongst numerous others. Music plays the key part of propulsion behind screenwriting, almost replacing most sound design. 
2. The concept for the film is based on the real Moulin Rouge, a cabaret in France which is best known as the birthplace of the 'can-can' dance.
3. Plot has a generic love story that is similar to that of the classic Shakespeare tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.
4. Somewhat, it has a denial of fixed meanings or truths, as if to recognise the dreamlike traits that make up the body by featuring over the top sequences such as the absinthe fairy, reminscient of David Lynch films in a way. 
5. Re-purposing the classic noir and then popular active trends like the music of early 2000s in order to merge styles. They fit harmoniously with the happy atmosphere, whilst also exaggerating it's pessimistic side in tandem. 

Figures

fig 1. Luhrmann, B. (2001). Moulin Rouge!. [poster]

fig 2. Luhrmann, B. (2001). Moulin Rouge!. [film still]