Intertextuality Essay

Through the post-modernist film ‘Pleasantville’ (1998), director Gary Ross, incorporates intertextuality to express his attitude towards idea of control through the characters of David (Tobey Maguire) and Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) who are transported into the 1950s sitcom. Ross implements allusions, intertextual references through literature and art work and cinematic techniques to convey themes of revolution, standing up for one’s belief and liberation. In ‘Pleaseantville’ the theme of standing

In “Summer Life”, Gary Soto takes the reader through a guilt-filled day from his childhood. He describes himself at 6 years old stealing a pie. Utilizing Biblical allusions, Vivid Imagery, and an immaculate diction Summer Life starts and ends with biblical allusions, giving the reader exposition without literally describing Soto’s upbringing and values. He “knows enough about hell” and is “holy in every bone”, letting us infer that he comes from a very religious family and likely attends Sunday

As a polysemic text, television has the power to inspire a range of interpretations according to the encoding of the producers and the decoding of the televisual consumer. As first described by Stuart Hall in Encoding/Decoding, and then by Horace Newcomb and Paul Hirsch in Television as a Cultural Forum there exist three basic categories of potential readings of a singular text within the broad range of potential interpretations: dominant or preferred, negotiated, and oppositional, each of which

Few relationships are as deep as those between child and parent. While circumstance and biology can shape the exact nature of the bond, a child’s caretaker is the first to introduce them to the world. And as they grow and begin to branch out, children look to their parents as a model for how to interact with the various new situations. Through allusion, potent imagery, and nostalgic diction, Natasha Trethewey constructs an idolized image of a father guiding their child through life’s challenges only

Literary texts use various elements and methods to convey particular messages, positioning readers to take on the views of the author. The poem “The Hollow Men” by T.S Eliot addresses the failures of human courage and faith and his modernist style like most poets after him is an extremely expressive one, one with much of his poetry reflecting his own attitudes and beliefs about the importance of religious faith. Eliot’s manipulation of various literary conventions invites the readers to adopt his

An individual’s capacity to discover is facilitated by physical explorations of unfamiliar landscapes and anew people which fuels for retrospective revelations enhancing our knowledge of the physical and spiritual world, whilst being transformative to mental frameworks. Michael Gow’s play Away, explores such a notion displaying the confronting, poignant and emotional aspects of discovery through both physical dislocations and the human experience. As parallels, Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild: Lost

This passage from the text could be interpreted a variety of different ways. Although the entire novel is written in a mostly satirical tone, Heller uses very sarcastic language in these few lines as he has Yossarian describe himself as “untouchable”, when he clearly is not, as he is both in the hospital multiple times in the novel and also in a war that he desperately wants to get out of. Also, the description of him as both real and fake characters and historical figures, stands out mainly due

AWAY Michael Gow “Away” is a historical play written in 1988 by Michael Gow. Away reflects to the central ideas, values and conflicts of Australia in 1967-68. The central ideas embrace outsiders, family conflicts and grief and loss which affected families in the play and in the time. Gow uses three main families to convey the message of the play. The use of language and stylistic devices influence the way Gow has been able to speak to the modern Australian audience. In the play, Gow is able to speak

Allowing one to see a comparison through a reference to something well-known rather than a few descriptive words can strengthen one’s understanding of the comparison to a great extent. These references, or allusions, can incorporate an understanding that goes beyond what one work can obtain. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, multiple allusions are used throughout the play to compare the characters and extend the meanings or emotions behind actions. The texts most borrowed from throughout the play

In 2009, America was pulling out of the second “Great” depression. The market crashed and the money burned. In the midst of all the havoc, the world found peace in creativity and music, and the arts flourished. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of best selling book Eat, Pray, Love gave her speech, “Your Elusive Creative Genius”, at the annual 2009 TED conference in Long Beach, California, to encourage reflection upon the times. Gilbert is known for her humor in her written memoirs, novels, and speeches.