5 Reasons Why Scream is Post Modern

1. Scream is a parody of the horror/thriller/slasher genre. 
2. It is reflexive and acknowledges itself as a slasher film mocking it and dogmatises the rules/limitations of the genre for the audience. It is aware the audience have seen horror films prior to this one - it informs us the rules for surviving horror films - and invites us to comment on the predictability and offers a new self conscious, humourous twist to the genre.
3. Psycho was the beginning of slasher films and since then modern films have gone onto pastiche it's success but Scream is postmodern avante-garde - it was innovative and original, new to the genre to discuss its own ideology, yet keeping an audience engaged, intrigued and on tender hooks.
4. It's a meta narrative, it's a slasher about a slasher, a slasher film that challenges the expectations of a slasher film, it plays out like we expect then twists. - it’s original because it knows it’s trapped.
5. The film's reflexivity creates irony, Sydney explaining the dogma trope of every girl in a slasher film is ironic because in this film - she's the equivalent. Also the explanation as to why all the killings happen, there's no psychological backstory or because the killers are mentally unstable they're doing it because they've watched all the scary films - the irony is: a slasher film about a slasher story because the slashers likes slasher films. Also it's ironic that the director Wes Craven appears briefly in his film wearing a striped sweater in an obvious reference Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street.