'The Mighty Boosh' - Postmodern Analysis

A case study of 'The Mighty Boosh' was done in MediaMagazine in 2008, and I have used some elements of that are in my analysis as well (but hey, that's postmodern too, right?!).

The Mighty Boosh, at first glance is more surreal than anything else, with the main characters being (in the first series) two zookeepers - Howard Moon and Vince Noir, the zoo owner - Bob Fossil, one shaman and strangest of all, a gorilla. Many other minor characters are also played by Noel Fielding and Julian Barrett, which in itself could be considered postmodern, as a form of bricolage, but also because some of the characters they play are direct references to other people, both real and fictional (eg. the Spirit of Jazz can be seen as a representation of Slash from Guns and Roses, and also Papa Lazarou from the League of Gentlemen). This is not only intertextual, but it also draws attention to the celebrity-obsessed culture that we live in, as many references are to celebrities such as Slash. Vince also craves fame, and will constantly re-invent himself in order to do that - one day he is a punk, the next he is a goth.

At the beginning of the first series, Vince and Howard begin each show by giving a direct address to the audience about what is to come. Not only is this self-reflexive, as it draws attention to the constructed nature of the text and also references what is considered to be 'high art', the theatre, with the curtains behind them.

The use of bricolage throughout allows the show to reference many different genres, from music video (the tundra rap) to fantasy ("welcome to mirror world") and romantic comedy, not to mention the cartoons used throughout later episodes. This mixing of genres is typically postmodern, however, it is not bricolage as other texts do it, as all of the footage is newly shot. In fact, The Mighty Boosh tends to blur the boundaries between genres rather than use bricolage in the traditional sense. Much like '24 Hour Party People' shares genre characteristics with that of a documentary and a drama, the Mighty Boosh can be classed as a comedy, musical, fantasy, science fiction and many more besides.

This show also parodies and satirises many other shows, as well as genres in general. The episode 'Mutants' is a parody of the horror/sci-fi genre, and a more precise parody is my personal favourite episode, 'The Nightmare of Milky Joe', which is a parody of the film 'Castaway', starring Tom Hanks. Obvious parallels can be drawn between the two texts, with Tom Hanks' character creating an imaginary friend out of a football, and in The Mighty Boosh, Howard creates Milky Joe from a coconut. However, the Mighty Boosh takes the idea one step further into the surreal, with the coconut people coming alive to capture Howard and Vince.