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November 1993

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Subject:
From:
Dan Harries <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 8 Nov 1993 10:46:57 +1000
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Responding to Greg M. Smith's question: "Would it change our notion of how
intertextuality works if viewers can recognize and find pleasure in
references without understanding them?"
 
I have found in my research on film parody and intertextuality that,
obviously, there are multiple levels of how one might read/enjoy/appreciate
a parodic reference.  On the one hand, knowing the source text (the
reference) can be quite enjoyable and provide some sense of reaffirmation
of one's "literacy."  One can also pick up on "some" of the reference (i.e.
a film such as _Rustler's Rhapsody_ might be read as a Western parody (and
enjoyed as such), but its particular target is the sub-genre or cycle of
what is termed, "the oater," or singing cowboy Western.  On a different
level, one may also find enjoyment in picking up that something is just a
bit off ( noticing a certain disruption or incongruity in the text), yet
not knowing the source of that parody (possibly what the 14 year old picked
up on).  On yet another level, one might simply find the parodic discourse
humorous without any attention being placed on source texts (a film such as
_Airplane!_ can be read as funny without any parodic references).
 
In this manner, I think parody highlights the semiotic complexity of any
text (or intertext, or parody) and demonstrates that people make various
meanings on different levels -- with no level enjoying a privileged
position.
 
I discuss this in great detail in my PhD dissertation (UCLA, Film and
Television, 1992) titled: "Bursting at the Semes: The Social Semiotics of
Film Parody."
 
Gotta run now.
 
Dan M. Harries
School of Film & Media
Griffith University
Brisbane, QLD  4111
AUSTRALIA
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