Intertexuality Andrew Goodwin’s theory talks about Intertexuality which is an important aspect of his

theories and used a lot in many music videos. In many music videos Intertexuality is used to

add a sense of realism. Many music videos draw upon the cinema as a starting to point to

start a music video, specifically in music videos that are narratives. This is due to the fact

that music video directors are often graduates from film schools or academy’s that use

music videos as a stepping stone to the film industry. Many typical or mainstream music

videos use ‘cinema’ in order to have a memorable flow to the music video in order for the

audience to be able to remember it. Overall, the word ‘inter-text’ means to integrate two

texts and combine them together, so therefore Intertexuality is when any form of media

texts references another example of a media text. This enables the audience to further their

thoughts on the meaning behind the music video. When portraying Intertexuality in many

music videos, this is represented in the form of:

Cinema/film references that are portrayed within a music video

Cinema/film portrayed in a music video as a parody or sarcasm

Examples of film directors who started of directing music videos:

Spike Jonze

Jonathon Dayton

Anton Corbijin

Marc Webb

Michel Gondry

Starting off with music videos not only just gave these directors a good opportunity into the

film industry, but also enabled them to present a form of Intertexuality in their films. For

example, the director Marc Webb, who directed the movie ‘500 days of summer’ used a

form of Intertexuality by using a music video in his film called ‘you make my dreams’ that

was inserted into the narrative.

JULIA KRISTEVA AND INTEXTUALITY

Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian- French philosopher, a sociologist, feminist and a novelist who is

influential in cultural theory and feminism. Kristeva has basically invented the term

‘Intertexuality’ and wrote a book about it. Julia Kristeva introduced the notion of

Intertexuality and argued against the concept of a text being an isolated entity which

functions in a self contained manner. The concept Kristeva argues against is, “any text is

the absorption and transformation of another.”

Intertexuality is vital within any form of media and can be beneficial to the artist and the

audience. One reason I believe that Intertexuality is used within music videos is to increase

the amount of viewers to the music video and its audience. For example, the song ‘Decode’

by the Band Paramore uses Intertexuality due to the fact that they use the same soundtrack

that is in the movie Twilight. This can be highly favourable as it promotes the music video

and the band and enables the Twilight fans to watch the music video as well. In addition,

Intertexuality in a music video can be beneficial to the audience as it can provide them with

some sort of pleasure. This form of Intertexuality credits its audience with the pleasure of

recognition and reminds the audience that they are in a mediated reality. When using

Intertexuality in music videos, it also enables the audience to encounter nostalgic links

between different media texts as well discovering new meanings.

Examples of Intertexuality in music videos:

- Madonna’s music video, ‘Material Girl’ – In this music video, the music video

imitates the archetype of the curvy, attractive women in the 1950’s drawing on the

common phrase at the time, ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’. The picture below

portrays a Marilyn Monroe look alike which highlights the fact that there has been

Intertexuality used, as the media text that is used in this music video is from many

films from the 1950’s.

Madonna’s music video was taken from the Marilyn Monroe movie, ‘Gentlemen

prefer blondes’ which makes the music video more interesting as it can imply that

the story/narrative behind this music video is the same as Marilyn Monroe’s film.

- Red Hot Chilli Peppers music video, ‘The Abbey Road’ – In this music video the band

used a form of Intertexuality by posing the same way ‘The Beetles’ did in their music

video. As The Beetles are a very popular band and the Abbey road music video was

one of the reason it popularised them, then the audience may be able to relate and

therefore are more captivated by watching Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Every time the

audience watches this music video, they may remember the history behind the

Abbey road zebra crossing and therefore feel as if this music video may signify

something to them.

- Robbie Williams’s music video, ‘You know me’ – Intertexuality is used in this music

video through the theme of Alice in Wonderland. Robbie Williams is imitating the

iconic ‘White Rabbit’ in the movie and the dancers have heart shapes on them that

look like the cards they used in the movie. By doing so, and using this form of

Intertexuality between the music video and the film, the audience are more

interested in watching the music video as they can familiarise themselves with it and

therefore feel heart-warming towards the music video as well as captivated. This not

only adds more attention and recognition towards the music video, however the

artist himself as he has taken the role of being the ‘White Rabbit’ in the music video.

Furthermore, the use of Intertexuality may be used in order for Robbie Williams to

depict his music as fantasy that is hard to be achieved and how special it is, giving it a

‘dreamy’ sense. When watching this music video, the audience are instantly

familiarised with the song due to their recognition of the narrative.

- Taylor Swift’s music video, ‘Love Story’ - In this music video the story of Romeo and

Juliet is used in a slightly modernised version. It is evident that the theme of Romeo

and Juliet is used in this music video due to the Shakespearean clothing that is

portrayed, such as Taylor Swift’s dress and her lover’s costume. In addition, the

lyrics of the song back up my point about Intertexuality used in this music video,

“Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter, and my daddy said, stay away from

Juliet.” This makes it clear as she is informing the audience through the song that she

is Juliet and her lover is Romeo. The monstrosity buildings, castles and the dark

forest make the lyrical references more suitable, complying to the stereotypical

relationship between visuals and lyrics which is one of the key aspects of Andrew

Goodwin’s theory.