Intertextuality

What is Intertextuality?

Well Intertextuality is a term used to describe the visual referencing between films.

Films ‘borrow’ from each other, and you, the audience, may recognise certain camera angles, aspects of mise en scene, snippets of sound or methods of editing in some films that you have seen in others.

Intertextuality is the shaping of text’s meaning by other text. So with intertextuality a person wouldn’t understand the reference without knowing other things so it’s all about the context behind it.

Psycho – Intertextuality

Psycho’s shower scene is used a lot for intertextuality within different films because of its features such as mise en scene (location, props etc.), sound, editing and camera work, which are strong and distinctive, and came be recognised well.

Psycho (1960) is about a young woman who steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother. The film is directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles. The genre of the film is Horror with the sub genre of Horror Thriller and Horror Mystery. The film was nominated 4 Oscars.

Here is a table showing the intertextuality of Psycho in films that have borrowed aspects of Psycho

What Lies Beneath (2001)
What happens? -Man walks to bathroom whilst carrying lady and talking to her. -Man enters bathroom and puts the ladies body in the bath tub. -Water pouring from shower head. -Man turns tap -Dog enters.	Aspects borrowed from ‘Psycho’ -White bath tub -Running water run shower head
Fatal Attraction (1987)
What happens? -Blonde lady is talking to brunette lady. -Blond lady moves her arm and viewer can see a knife with blood on it -Blond lady stabs brunette lady with knife - See a man in the kitchen -Blonde lady drops knife -man hears screaming and goes to the bathroom. - Ladies fight when man comes in and pushes the blond lady into mirror. -blonde lady pushes man into bath tub, he pulls off shower curtains -man and blonde lady fight, man drowns the blonde lady. -blonde lady comes out of water to stab the man -brunette lady shots the blonde lady with gun -blonde lady falls back into bath tub.	Aspects borrowed from ‘Psycho’ -Knife used -White bath tub in bathroom -The style of stabbing and the editing as well as speed -Shower curtains get pulled off -the way / style blonde lady falls into bath after being shot
The Stepfather (2009)
What happens? -Man chases lady up stairs, with a knife in his hand. -A boy brakes into the house and helps secure another female. -Lady being chase breaks mirror in bathroom. -Man and lady in bathroom. -Lady stabs man in the back of the neck with broken mirror glass -Man falls into bath tub and as he falls he pulls off / brakes bath curtains.	Aspects borrowed from ‘Psycho’ -Type of knife being held. -The fall into the bath tub. -The pulling off / braking of bath curtains. Aspects borrowed from ‘Fatal Attraction’ -The mirror being broken
Succubus (Student Thriller Film Opening)
What happens? -boy having shower -girl walking to the boys shower -girl smells boys jumper whilst boy is still in shower -girl takes out knife and plays with it -girl stabs boy	Aspects borrowed from ‘Psycho’ -shower head -knife -stabbing
The Simpsons Psycho Spoof (additional research)
What happens? (intense violin music in the background) -Maggie hit Homer on the head with a hammer -Homer screams -Maggie runs away -Homer pull off curtains as he falls down -Red paint spills -The red paint goes down a hole.	Aspects borrowed from ‘Psycho’ -The intense violin music in the background -The scream -The curtain being pulled off The red paint as it goes down the hole is like the blood in psycho when it goes down the drain -The camera shots shown at the end
The Roommate (2011)
What happens? -Girl is having a shower -Light go off -Girl turns off shower before leaving the shower to look around and to see if any problems -girl returns to the shower she was using it already being put on, get returns to having a shower -a girl in baggy jumper jumps girl in shower - shower certain brakes -girl in baggy jumper threatens girl in shower and rips off her belly ring.	- Shower head -Shower curtains braking

Here are some images showing the intertextuality to Psycho:

The Roomate

The Stepfather

The Simpson's