Intertextuality

By Ellia

Madonna• She was born on August 16 in1958 and is a famous American singer. She has sold more than

300 million records worldwide and has won many awards such as Grammies , MTV music awards, Golden Globes and Brit awards.

• She is mainly of the pop genre, however has crossed into the pop/rock and electronica genre.

• The track ‘Material Girl’ is about asking for a rich and lavish life, rather than romance and relationships.

• Madonna said ‘the concept of the song was indicative of her life at that time’.

Text Reference

• The intertextuality used in Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ refers to Marilyn Monroe's film made in 1953, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, more specifically the scene where she performs ‘Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend’.

How is the Intertextuality Incorporated?

• Different areas of conventions are followed between the two. The next slides will go through each piece and show where it is present.

MES• Mise-en-scene is hugely used to show and

spot intertextuality in these videos.• Firstly, the costume where both singers are

wearing similar pink dresses, wearing diamond jewellery and have similar blonde hairstyles.

MES

• Secondly, the props used are the same, if not similar. For example, the males holding hearts and offering both women forms of jewels/diamonds.

MES

• The setting used are the same, if not similar. This is seen by the red coloured background with steps.

Camerawork• The first proper shot of the two women

beginning to sing is very similar, if not the same. Seen by the female being central and males holding hearts. Shots similar to this and between the two videos are often seen.

Camerawork

• Another similar shot is the group shot of the singer and dancers together.

Which is used and why?

• I feel homage is used in this situation. Homage is where a intersexual references respects the original and pays homage to it. I feel this as Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ isn’t mocking the original text and is using it to refer to lyrics in her song. This connection can be seen as Madonna is saying she is a material girl and likes lavish items, whereas Marilyn was also saying girls like diamonds and can be viewed as suggesting females are materialistic and like luxury.

Why?• Marilyn Monroe is a world famous actress and Hollywood idol

and combining something she was in due to its/her popularity and making reference to it can/will boost the amount viewing the music video receives.

• It allows the audience to further understand Madonna’s song lyrics and illustrate them further thanks to a previous song that is of a similar sense. This gives the audience more of an insight.

• It makes it more fun to watch and see how they have recreated it and how well they have.

• The audience would respond positively to the link due to it being from an iconic original in a respectful way.