in what ways can Inglorious Basterds and Fight Club be considered postmodern?

Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds was produced by Quentin Tarantino and is a historically inaccurate film of WW2. There are many postmodern elements used by Tarantino in this film which add a clever twist to it.
A huge part of the film which is postmodern is the way it is so different to a real account of WW2. Elements such as the fact Hitler is murdered (in comparison to real life where he committed suicide) is very controversial as in a War film you would not expect a director to make such a huge change to real life. Also, the whole idea of the Basterds is obviously made up. The mix of fact and fiction in this film is what makes such a big impact on the audience and is probably what made it such a successful film. Brad Pitt, the 'lead Basterd' so to speak, is in charge of a group of men who are seeking revenge on the Nazis/German soldiers to get justice for the Jews. Unlike in real history, Pitt demans 100 scalps from each of his men, which is inaccurate in many ways- the main reason being men were shot in the war and generally not scalped after.
Another clear element of postmodernism is the music. Even though the film is set in the 40's, the non-diegetic music has been incorporated from all sorts of genres and eras. A lot of the music is from Spaghettti Westerns such as tracks in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". At one point when Shoshanna is doing her hair and makeup, we even hear a David Bowey track which we was obviously not released in the 40's. Although this music is completely mixing up the genre of the film and the music, the music however does work and you never find yourself wondering why a certain track has been used.
Another scene that you would never expect to see in any film is the bit where we see Shoshanna in her cinema walking from room to room. This scene has been done in a birds-eye view which shows that the cinema is of course a film set. This is breaking all the rules of films - to allow the audience to break put of escapism and through into reality and remember that it is all made up. This 'self reflexity' has been carefully planned by Tarantino and instead of questioning why he did it you feel like it actually works for the film.
In Inglorious Basterds we also witness alot of intertexuality. The doorway scene at the start of the film involving Hans Landa watching Shoshanna running off into the distance is similar to the scene done in 'The Searchers'. Furthermore, the scene when the soldier gets shot in the eye is intertexuality from the film 'Nations Pride'. The scene when the Basterds are in the bar with a Nazi soldier is also significant. When things start to get heated we see a shotgun behind the bar with the bartender slowly reaching for it and placing his hand on the trigger. This is similar to many Westerns where keeping a gun with you behind the bar was a common thing to do. This Western influence also compliments the odd bit of Western music we also hear throughout the film. Furthermore, there are many clues that this film is by Tarantino. Firstly, the bold yellow writing which flashes up is a clear 'Tarantino colour' - state Kill Bill. Also, we see Hans Landa take Bridgets' shoe - this reflects Tarantinos' foot fettish which we see in many of his films (such as the opening to Pulp Fiction).
One clear postmodern element throughout the film is the opening and the way the film is seperated up. The 'Once upon a time' opening straight leaves an enigma code with the audience as you then question the validity of this war films storyline. Also, the way it is split up into chapters is an unlikely way of making the film. The way Inglorious Basterds is made is like it is making a new reality, as an audience we become absorbed and accept this new reality, and actually by the end of it, believe it.'

Fight Club

Fight Club is a successful film directed by David Fincher starring Brad Pitt and Ed Norton. Once again, this film uses many postmodern elements which has contributed to its huge success.
Firstly, the obvious point to be made would be the narration over the top of the film. The narrator fills in extra detail and any gaps in our knowledge as we go along. However, we do start to doubt this narrator as we find he has no name for the first 2/3 of the film. This anonymity makes us feel distant from the narrator and wonder what he is hiding from us and why - another enigma code to draw the audience in and keep watching.
The fact Ed Norton plays a man with no name for the majority of the film is a very rare thing to watch in the film, however you dont find yourself dwelling on it until near the end. This postmodern element keeps us in suspense and makes the character far more interesting to watch.
Also, if you watch closely at the start and at the very end the director has included some subliminal elements which you would miss with a blink of an eye. When we first meet Ed Norton, we see various flashes of what appears to be another person. This person is ghost like and reflects Eds' desireable self who is played by Brad Pitt. This character however does not come into it fully until Ed has completely gone mad and then Brad Pitt is suddenly there fully and not as just a ghost like figure. At this point as an audience we now believe that there is the nameless character and Tyler Durden. This is pieced together at the end when we realise they are both Tyler - this clever twist is postmodern in the way it keeps a secret from the audience. Normally as the audience we look on as a 3rd person and can see many of the storylines developing within films.
There is also a postmodern examination of masculinity. The film starts with men looking weak and vulnerable but then progresses as Fight Club and Project Mayhem are formed. By rebelling in such a way Tyler starts to get his masculinity back as he is not conforming to society and doing the everyday 'norms'. This aspect is very strange as we then discover later on that obviously Tyler is mentally not right which makes us question the men in the film as why would anyone follow or be influenced by a lunatic? This suggests that the men are desperate at this point and will accept help off anyone who will help them rebel and become their ideal selfs. This is shown through the way they all seem content and happy with what they are doing to society- even though they are actually destroying it through vandalism and harming eachother through fighting. The organisation is fascistic in the way by the end of it they are wearing uniforms,having homework, having the same haircuts etc. These factors make Tyler look like some sort of dictator who believes he can help society -when infact all he has created is a group of men who are unhappy with who they are and influenced them to fight and cause mayhem.
To continue, there is also a clear intertexual reference in the scene at the end where Tyler meets Marla in the cafe. On the marquee outside is a cinema advertising 'Seven Years in Tibet' - this poor film by Pitt was a flop and is humerous that they have decided to place that film in the shot.