Lesson Plan

• Describe the key characteristics of postmodern media texts.
• Explain the core ideas of major postmodern theorists and their relevance to media.
• Analyse a media example to identify postmodern traits such as intertextuality and hyper‑reality.
• Evaluate how hyper‑reality and irony affect audience interpretation.
• Compare modern and postmodern media approaches using a comparative framework.

• Projector and screen
• Laptop with internet access
• Handouts of the modern vs. postmodern comparison table
• Short Black Mirror video clip (2‑3 min)
• Smartphones/tablets for meme creation
• Worksheet for media analysis
• Whiteboard and markers

Begin with a quick showcase of a viral meme that mixes two unrelated cultural references, asking students what makes it funny. Connect this to their prior experience analysing media texts and explain that today they will unpack the postmodern strategies behind such meanings. Success criteria are displayed: identify characteristics, link theory, and evaluate audience impact.

1. Do‑now (5'): Students write down one example of a media text that feels “self‑referential” or “ironic”.
2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Overview of postmodernism, key theorists (Baudrillard, Jameson, Lyotard, Hall) and characteristic traits.
3. Video analysis (15'): Watch a Black Mirror clip; in pairs, use the worksheet to spot intertextuality, hyper‑reality, non‑linear narrative, etc.
4. Meme creation (15'): Using phones/tablets, groups create a meme that blends two cultural references; discuss how meaning is constructed.
5. Debate (10'): “Postmodern irony undermines political activism” – students argue for/against, citing theorist ideas.
6. Group re‑edit planning (15'): Teams outline how to re‑edit a short news segment with postmodern techniques (voice‑over irony, split‑screen, self‑reflexive captions).
7. Plenary & exit ticket (5'): Quick recap of objectives; students answer: “One way postmodern media changes the audience’s role.”

Summarise how postmodern strategies reshape narrative, genre and audience participation. Collect exit tickets to gauge understanding and assign homework: find a contemporary media example that demonstrates at least three postmodern characteristics and prepare a brief annotation for the next class.