Sunday, November 13, 2011

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is a term to describe the visual referencing between films. Quite literally, films 'borrow' from each other, and we as the audience may recognise certain camera angles, aspects of mise en scene, snippets of sound or methods of editing in some films that we have seen in others. Indeed, it is argued that our understanding of a film is formed by other films that we have seen. 
Below is the famous 'shower scene' from Psycho. Countless films have borrowed from this famous scene. See if you can spot the visual references in the clips that follow, but also try to think whether you were aware of them anyway.  If so, where from?
Psycho (1960)

The Stepfather (2009)

What Lies Beneath (2001)

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Succubus (student film opening)

The Roommate (2011)

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