Postmodernism: Deconstructing the Coachella Music Festival
Giulia Nunnari
English
Grade 12
Postmodernism
Donnel
02/14/ 2012 Coachella Destruction
Since its beginning, the Coachella music festival has seen a rise in popularity and price, attracting not only a wider audience but also exhibiting a greater tendency toward “mainstream” music. Though the culture of the festival itself has changed, the poster that advertises it has remained surprisingly the same. The poster depicts the bare Indio Valley with a mountain in the background, palm trees across the horizon, and a dramatic sky taking over much of the space. In the forefront, the three-day line-up is displayed. The poster never contains advertisements, the font is always the same, and the structure of the line-up never changes. With this layout Coachella places the music at the center of the festival, but upon deconstructing this poster and removing that center, it is clear that it is also creating a carefully constructed image of an idyllic, tranquil, and understated event that is committed to maintaining its originality. However, this is in fact a crafted image and Coachella is far more affected by the presence of its audience.
Ultimately the poster serves a practical purpose, informing Coachella-goers of the bands that will be participating on each day of the festival. Although the festival clearly has other aspects, the music is the only part presented in writing, ascribing special importance to it. The poster is constructed as a triad, separating the three days of the weekend, and the music played during each of the days. The Saturday line-up is central, which implicates its importance and the bands playing that day as central to the Coachella music experience. Furthermore the poster shows a hierarchy of music with most important bands displayed with the boldest font and other bands in progressively smaller font, based on their supposed popularity and importance. Clearly, by following this structure the organizers of Coachella view the
English
Grade 12
Postmodernism
Donnel
02/14/ 2012 Coachella Destruction
Since its beginning, the Coachella music festival has seen a rise in popularity and price, attracting not only a wider audience but also exhibiting a greater tendency toward “mainstream” music. Though the culture of the festival itself has changed, the poster that advertises it has remained surprisingly the same. The poster depicts the bare Indio Valley with a mountain in the background, palm trees across the horizon, and a dramatic sky taking over much of the space. In the forefront, the three-day line-up is displayed. The poster never contains advertisements, the font is always the same, and the structure of the line-up never changes. With this layout Coachella places the music at the center of the festival, but upon deconstructing this poster and removing that center, it is clear that it is also creating a carefully constructed image of an idyllic, tranquil, and understated event that is committed to maintaining its originality. However, this is in fact a crafted image and Coachella is far more affected by the presence of its audience.
Ultimately the poster serves a practical purpose, informing Coachella-goers of the bands that will be participating on each day of the festival. Although the festival clearly has other aspects, the music is the only part presented in writing, ascribing special importance to it. The poster is constructed as a triad, separating the three days of the weekend, and the music played during each of the days. The Saturday line-up is central, which implicates its importance and the bands playing that day as central to the Coachella music experience. Furthermore the poster shows a hierarchy of music with most important bands displayed with the boldest font and other bands in progressively smaller font, based on their supposed popularity and importance. Clearly, by following this structure the organizers of Coachella view the