Intertextuality

Description, examples, ideas.

What is intertextuality?

• Intertextuality is when one media text references another media text.

• In music videos this could be through the style of the video, or in parodies.

• Intertextuality is often relatable to the target audience and gives them a higher level of understanding.

Examples

Robbie Williams’ You Know Me features him dressed as

the rabbit from Alice in wonderland. Furthermore, a

parody of the Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer logo is shown

at the end.

Katy Perry’s Roar features the lyrics ‘eye of the tiger’ referencing

Survivor’s classic song. This conveys to the audience how Katy has apparently learned to fend for

herself and become a ‘survivor’.

Madonna’s Vogue obviously has intertextuality towards the magazine vogue. But it also

references several classic Hollywood stars which embody the image that Madonna was

trying to create.

Ideas for my music video

The next few slides will explain the ideas I have for intertextuality in my

music video.

The Son of Sam murdererFrom the summer of 1976 until around the same time in 1977, there were a string of murders throughout New York. All murders were committed with a .44 calibre gun and all victims had similar traits such as being young brunette women. The murderer, for they were all surely done by the same killer, was dubbed the .44 caliber killer. However, in a letter to the police from the killer he refers to himself as a ‘son of Sam’, thus leading to this more popular nickname. Anyway, the point is that my song, Psycho Killer, was released just after or during this murder spree, leading many to presume some eerie connection (though in actual fact the song had been written 4 years earlier). In a nod to this and to perhaps hint to the context of this song, I thought it would be neat to reference this killer.

First off, I thought I could use a .44 caliber gun as a prop at some point, in reference to the murderers signature weapon.

Secondly, the killer claims he was part of a Satanic cult that organized the murders, this could be a theme in my music video.

Finally, before the killer put forth the cult theory, he initially claimed that he

had been compelled to kill by his neighbour's possessed dog; a black

lab. I thought this would be a suitably odd thing to put into my video, and

my own dog would love to help!

Fargo (TV series)I’ve recently watched the TV series of Fargo, which I greatly enjoyed. I think that the main character, Lester (played by Martin Freeman), suits the New Wave convention of being a bit of a nerd from a white middle class background. Referencing this TV show would also convey to the audience the meaning of the song, helping them too understand what the artist means by the term ‘psycho-killer’.

Having my bad wear costumes such as these would be a good idea as all these characters are killers.

I would love to use this poster as a prop at some point, as I will probably end up having a scene situated in a basement or garage.

Other Ideas

Not sure how I would

reference this, but this is one

of my favourite films and it’s

about a gentlemanly

serial killer

Sweeny Todd? Could use costume or something?

Death Note is an anime about a schoolboy who finds a note book

capable of killing anyone who's name he writes in it. Perhaps the book

could be a prop? I also thought that one band member could dress up as

Ryuk (a god of death) at the very end.

I would like to have a shower death scene like this, referencing Alfred

Hitchcock’s Psycho

I also had the idea of recreating the classic Scooby-Doo corridor chase scene where they go into

one door and come out of another, you know. Not sure

who the guy in the centre is…

Not sure if it would work very well, but I could do a POV shot

from the murderers perspective, such as like what

you often see on TV programmes such as Midsomer Murders.