Lecture 4 'Nothing New'

This lecture was an introduction to the concept of intertextuality which is the idea that nothing is truly original, everything is influenced by the past. This suggests that, as a model designer, i will never be able to come up with a new/original idea because i will always be influenced by things i have seen or learned about by way of unconscious intertextuality; this means it is not it my control, it will happen without my knowledge.

The other kind of intertextuality is self conscious intertextuality, this when things are referenced on purpose. This is most familiar to us in films and on TV. Shows like 'Family Guy' are full of references to films, TV and aspects of American culture. This kind of intertextuality only works if the knowledge is shared and the sign can be interpreted by the viewer. This is sometimes a problem with shows like 'Family Guy' which rely on these references (signs) for a large part of the humour and having not lived in America and watched American TV i do not 'get' all of the jokes.



Still form family guy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Family-Guy-4ACX29-Evil-Tree.png

This still from family guy id referencing the scene in 'Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring' where Gandalf is fighting the monster in the Mines of Moria. This i understood and found funny because i had seen the movie.

Still from family guy, http://www.flixster.com/poll/fav-person-on-family-guy

This still is referencing the character in the advert for Kool Aid which we do not have in this country and i had never seen before. This example of intertextuality didn't work on me because i did not have the knowledge to understand the sign.



Intertextuality is not just imposed by the author/designer/film maker it is laid on by the viewer. I may see references in things which aren't intentionally or otherwise there. For example in the lecture Ivan showed us an picture he'd taken of a landfill site which reminded him of the Pyramid of Giza.



Landfill site                                            Pyramids of Giza

This is a reference which Ivan has imposed onto the view, the men working at the site did not intend on creating an impression of the Pyramids and the Pyramids were not designed to look like a land fill site 5000 years in the future. The control has shifted from the creator to the viewer, the artist cannot control how his work will be interpreted no matter how much he tries to push the viewer in the right direction.