Intertextuality

In this post I will be talking about what intertextuality is, how its used and why people use it and why they don't. To start with I will explain what it is. Intertextuality is when one piece of text or a video or song for example is created by using either parts or whole bits of another piece. This could be anything from something small like a quote or something big like an entire picture or maybe a scene just using different characters. An example of this is one that the Simpsons did where they copied the picture for the cover of the nirvana cover to a CD just using Bart instead of the baby. Below is the picture as previously stated.

Intertextuality can be seen in many different places, as shown above it can be used from TV related things and in TV shows such as the Simpsons but it can also be used in other things such as music and music videos. An example of this was Madonna's song 'Material girl' was very similar visual wise as a 1953 film called 'Gentlemen prefer blonde.' This is quite obviously shown by by what she is wearing and the way in which she is acting and all the people around her. It is very similar to the movie as you can see below.

The main advantages to using intertextuality are:

• The chance of adding a deeper meaning
• Show off whether artist is being comedic or serious
• If understood by an audience they may enjoy it more and feel nostalgic

The main disadvantages to using intertextuality are:

• If the audience do not realise what the person is doing it can be strange and sometimes less enjoyable for the viewer
• May be seen as an unoriginal idea or just a rip off
• If it is done poorly then it could harm the person doing its carrer and the person who it is meant to be representing.

After reviewing the lyrics to my song and looking around online for things that I could include into my video, poster or digipak, I have decided that I am not going to include any intertextuality or atleast not any purposeful as I feel that the song I am doing is very unique and original and that if there was a way to include something then it may be a good idea but as there is nothing I can find, I do not want to force something in that wont seem right and potentially make my work look worse.