Intertextuality in Film

Julia Kristeva defined intertextuality as the ‘transposition of one sign systems into another’; this can be images, dialogue, characters, sounds, colours and even actors. We see these links all the time in media as they are used to add depth or humour to a scene.

When intertextuality is used in films to create a stereotypical villain for example; they will borrow features from past well-known characters to skip the process of developing the character. This type of character is known as a caricature in literature. By exaggerating and demoting the character and its flaws you are able to highlight the assets of the protagonist/hero. Although this is an effective way to present a villain in a film, it is difficult to give the character depth – which undoubtedly can spice up the overall narrative. An example of a caricature that has no depth is Lord Farquaad in Dreamworks ‘Shrek’. His character has no depth at all, he’s a ruthless dictator with multiple flaws, such as his height, malevolence and pride. With his introduction in the interrogation scene the audience is immediately told that he is the villain through several clever uses of intertextuality. The camera follows his feet while he walks, and the camera is angled upwards to his face showing power it also makes the viewer uneasy (of course all of that is gone once we see his height). This camera angle has been used to present villains many times before in cinema history – even some as well known as Darth Vader. There is an organ playing to accompany his introduction which is a clear connection to Dracula. These links are read by the audience and quickly they can make judgements on characters such as Farquaad. Although he has no depth to his character, he is merely a villain and plays no part to the main plot apart from highlighting the good features in Shrek. This is what makes his character successful, and a great use of intertextuality.

A technique alike to caricatures is the repeated use of an actor to play very similar characters in different films. One obvious example are Arnold Schwarzenegger; the face of testosterone. He has played multiple roles in action films, all of very similar features. Another actor is Samuel L Jackson; the mouthy hot-head that has taken many parts in films that require his celebrated calibre of language. When directors use famous actors like these it allows them to skip the development of character in their narrative, because of intertextuality audiences are reminded of parts in previous films they have played and therefore draw upon that to make judgements on characters.

Intertextuality is a tool for multiple purposes. I always enjoy finding links between films and games, and discovering just how directors use it to present things in their work.