Intertextuality

Recently we learnt about intertextuality (transposition of one or several sign systems into another). This got me thinking about how intertextuality can purposefully or un-purposefully create connotations and links inside the viewers mind to other things they are reminded of...
The Family Guy Star Wars episodes are an obvious use of intertextuality, you only have to watch the opening scene with the paragraphs floating through space and the definable Star Wars theme tune playing in the background to recognise its origin. 

Of course, contextually, the Family Guy episodes of Star Wars are created as a spoof, so although intertextual, the whole of the episode in a way can be classed as intertextual and it is very, very intended. 

One thing mentioned during the lecture which kind of made me think about real creativity or if real originality still exists, was about how intertextuality questions our beliefs about authorship, originality and creativity. When we create something, are we actually creating something unique? Likely there is sure to be something similar out there which ahas already been made, even if of a different purpose, something truly unique must be actually quite hard to create. 

When we draw something, we make it out of lines and shapes. Before we have already started we are already creating something that has been done before. But what if we created something that wasn't made from lines and shapes? It is indeed very hard to think about and something I am really interested in. As an artist or an artist in the making it is strange to think that what we do might not be as creative as we like. It is in this sense, probably intertextual to at least one of the 6 or so billion people in the world.

While there is the previous issues about intertextuality, it can also be used purposefully to intend to affect the audience in some way. In the lecture we were shown the example of in Madagascar, where Alex the lion intertextually performs a similar role as Charlton Heston did in the original Planet of the Apes film (1968). Below is a link to the Madagascar version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32lwKxakec8

and the Planet of the Apes version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muEnLlycOn4

Those are my thoughts on intertextuality, really interested at looking into this further and I'm sure will be something I consider when watching film from now on. And on that note, I'll leave you all to look at this which was used as an advert for television...