Impersonations and intertextuality

After reading Media Intertextuality chapter in the AS Media Studies book, I acknowledge forms of intertextuality such as; mimicry, parody, pastiche, homage. One thing that came through my mind was what about impersonations. One of the best impersonators I've known is Kevin Spacey who is a very good actor himself. Here is a video of him, impersonating some of other well-known actors.

The interesting thing about impersonations is that it's a mix of mimicry, and parody, but it can be a form of homage as well. It's definitely a mimicry because as you can see Kevin Spacey tries to imitate other actors. not just voices, but also their expressions and behaviors. A little bit of parody here as well because even though you don't recognize any of the actor that he impersonates, you can tell by the reactions of the audiences, the host of the show, and even Kevin Spacey himself. However, it is also some sort of a homage. In order to do such things, He must have watched and analyze their movements, expressions, voices, etc multiple times.

Intertextuality in Movies

Recently, I have been working on making movie posters. The movie that I've been working on is The Matrix. One of my favorite movies.Thought provoking and has very interesting depths and details. After watching it so many times, I've found some interesting intertextualities in it. let's take a look at the obvious one.

"Follow the white rabbit." One of the early scenes in the movies. If you've ever watched Alice in Wonderland , the original cartoon of course, your childhood was awesome and you'll get this reference right away. White rabbit in Alice in Wonderland leads Alice to the Wonderland itself. In this case, it leads Neo to the Matrix world.

Some say the movie has some religious elements in it. Let's have a look at the characters.

Neo, Morpheus, Agent Smith, Trinity, Oracle, Tank, Dozer, and Cypher. The story behind these character names are related to a couple theories; classic mythology, Greek mythology, The Bible, Latin, and even anagram. "Neo" is actually an anagram of "One" and his given name in the movie "Thomas" which in the bible is a man who doubts Jesus. "Trinity", the number three is a powerful number in many stories and traditions. "The Father, son, and holy spirit" from the Bible is related  as well I believe. Morpheus as the "father", Neo as "son", and Trinity as "holy spirit".

As you can see, the characters, the scenes everything in the movie seems to be carefully thought and meaningful. which is difficult to find these days. There are more things that I can list out, but I'm afraid I've gone to the rabbit hole a little too deep.

source: http://www.thematrix101.com/matrix/symbolism.php

The Hero's Journey

    

                        The Hero's Journey is a pattern of narrative that was identified by Joseph Campbell. This pattern can found in books, myths, religious rituals, psychological developments, and my personal favourite; movies.    It all starts with "The Ordinary World" stage. The hero is introduced to the audience against a background of an environment. Then, "The Call to Adventure" stage. Something comes in to the hero's life, so that the hero must face the beginnings of change.  "Refusal of Call". The hero feels the fear and tries to turn away from the adventure briefly."Meeting with the Mentor" is a stage where the hero comes across someone who gives him or her training and advice that will help on the adventure. Then, "Tests, Allies and Enemies" stage. The hero is tested and sorts out problems. "The Approach".  The hero and his/her new allies prepare for the major challenge. And comes, "The Ordeal". The hero confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Sounds similar? There are still a couple more stages. "The Reward" stage.  The hero takes possession of the prize won by facing his/her fear.   and then, "The Resurrection" stage. At the climax, the hero is tested one more time, but on a higher level. By the hero’s action, the conflicts at the beginning are finally resolved. Finally, "Return with the Elixir" stage. The hero returns home or continues the journey with elements of the prize that the hero won. Think about some books or movies that you've read or watched. I had my mind blown when I found out about such pattern. A hidden intertextuality used by great movie makers and writers.                                                        

      

       source: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm

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