Narrative: The Basics by Thomas Bronwen

Author:Thomas, Bronwen [Bronwen Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Intertextuality

The notion of intertextuality has been particularly influential in the analysis of postmodern narratives, where parody and pastiche often feature prominently, and where the idea of fixed and stable meanings is constantly contested. However, John Fiske (1987) has argued that intertextuality is also important to understanding how contemporary television narratives work. He defines intertextuality as something that ‘exists … in the space between texts’ (108), arguing that unlike allusion, there is no need for the reader or viewer to be familiar with specific other reference points, so much as with the ‘culture’s image bank’ (108) in which these meanings circulate. However, intertextuality also allows us to talk about different levels of response that a text may elicit. Thus when watching a film such as Johnny English (2003), viewers familiar with the James Bond franchise will pick up allusions to specific scenes, characters and visual and aural echoes, including the clothes worn by the hero, the locations and the soundtrack. Even if a viewer had never seen a Bond movie, according to Fiske he or she would readily be able to draw on the ‘image bank’ for the spy or secret agent, reimagined as it has been so many times across movies, tv shows, ads and so on.

Intertextuality relates closely to the idea of ‘knowingness’ in postmodern culture, and is a central feature of countless movies and tv shows from the 1990s, including the Scream movies, The Simpsons and South Park. Much humour and playfulness is derived from recycling and recirculating images and references from popular cultural texts, and from establishing a relationship with the viewer which is based on collusion and mutual understanding.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.