Abstract
The following thesis looks at the themes of modernity and postmodernity in the films of the American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. Focusing on what Jarmusch refers to as his trilogy – Stranger than Paradise (1984), Down by Law (1986) and Mystery Train (1989) - the point is not to argue for an either/or choice between modernity and postmodernity. Rather, it is to illustrate, via a study of these films, how the themes of modernity and postmodernity can be seen to operate in tandem in Jarmusch’s work. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the notion of interpreting the cinematic text and, accordingly, my thesis makes no claims to be the definitive interpretation of these films.