Intertextuality in Music Videos

Intertextuality in music videos show how far-reaching pop culture is on every form of media and there are a range of videos who use intertextuality from films, other music videos and video games. An obvious example of a specific piece of intertextuality would be the video to ‘The Universal’ by Blur where the entire video is based around A Clockwork Orange and, specifically, the Korova Milk Bar in the film. The use of God in the lyrics also reflects the message from the book so there are specific reasons why intertextuality is used.

Another would be the use of video games in ‘Californication’ by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The meaning of the song is to denounce the meretricious nature of Hollywood and, in a way, video games represent the artificiality of Hollywood.

There are, however, times when intertextuality is used to represent the artist. Robbie Williams borrowed heavily from the band KISS for his video to ‘Let Me Entertain You’ which features a massive stage show which is akin to KISS and Robbie Williams in that they both represent the ‘showman’.

Intertextuality has been described as a ‘shortcut’ to the meaning and these examples have accurately conveyed their message and tone through intertextuality because it may simply be the easiest way but, also, to pay tribute to them. This is done more often in movies than music videos but it is still an interesting and valuable tool to use in music videos.

My main influence would probably be a film-noir style lent from films such as The Dark Knight. In terms of actual music videos, The Scientist is a huge influence as is the music video to ‘Hero’ by Chad Kroeger or ‘Signalfire’ by Snow Patrol as they both utilise narrative and performance effectively despite being constrained to a certain topic as they are soundtracks to movies.

I would probably imitate a few of these techniques in some way but I am probably going to steer clear from concept videos, despite being a fan of many, as they are tricky to pull off correctly and a more conventional music video may be better in these circumstances.

 There are certain things I like but I won’t shoehorn them in to the music video as intertextuality isn’t the be all and end all of a music video and things shouldn’t be put in just because someone should pay homage to it in some way. Finally, it is important to take in to consideration my group’s stance when it comes to intertextuality.