Intertextuality in music videos

Intertextuality is essentially where you find a piece of text, threaded through another piece of text. For example in the case of music videos, you might find aspects of a famous film being regularly included in a music video of a song of a similar, or a completely different nature.

Some examples of this can be in the music video, “The Kill”, by 30 Seconds to Mars. Aspects of the film, “The Shining”, have been used throughout the music video as a form of intertextuality. This can be seen through the actual same story line in both the film and the music video.

Another example of this can be in the music video for “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. Aspects of the film Moulin Rouge have been threaded throughout the music video. This can be seen through the use of the same dancing used throughout both the film and the music video. This technique is used and is effective because the members of the audience who understand the “inside joke” being used, feel special, and might come back to watch the music video over and over again, especially if the like the added text being used.

As an aspect of our music video, we are planning on replacing our main actors with Barbie and Ken dolls. This is designed to give off the “perfect” image of both the man and woman involved. It gives the impression that they are both perfect for each other as Barbie and Ken are always known to be a couple. This idea carries on until something disrupts it. Although this reference to the Barbie brand is extremely obvious, it is still classed as an intertextual reference. It could remind the older target audience of their childhood, giving them more reason to watch the video.