Intertextuality

Intertextuality

Not all audiences will spot a reference, which would not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognize the reference and feel flattered by this. It also increases the audience’s engagement with, and attentiveness to the product. Many music videos draw upon cinema and other areas of popular culture. 

Exhibitionism means extravagant behavior that is intended to attract attention to oneself.The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years have added to the complexity of the politics of looking and gender/cultural debates, by being at once sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze. 

Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears are examples of this. 

Andrew Goodwin, in Dancing in the Distraction Factory (1992,

Routledge), has identified the following features of music videos:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (eg stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band)
2. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
3. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.  E.g.s George Michael ‘Outside’ , Duran Duran ‘Rio’, Trey Songz ‘Neighbours Know My Name’

4. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc).

Claude Levi-Strauss - Believed constant creation of conflict / opposition propels narrative. Narrative can only end on a resolution of conflict. Opposition can be visual (light/darkness, movement/stillness) or conceptual (love/hate, control/panic), and to do with soundtrack. See Green Day ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’  or Katy Perry ‘Firework’ 

Our promo

We looked at the film Narnia for our intertextuality. In our promo you may not see it in terms of walking through a wadroabe but you will see the difference of one world to the other. We decided on Narnia as we like the concept of two worlds, one which isn't very nice and the other where you are free.