The next type of question related to The Big Issue is an Intertextuality question.
It would likely look something like this...
How does The Big Issue use intertextuality in extract A?
Extract A: Front Cover No. 1214
This front cover was release in July of 2016. The all female remake of the popular movie The Ghostbusters was released in this same month along with Donald Trump receiving the official Republican Party nomination for his first run for U.S. president. Here his face has been placed onto the body of Slimer, one of the more iconic ghosts from the Ghostbusters franchise. The heads of the ghostbusters have been replaced with the heads of (From left to right):
Hilary Clinton - The Democrat Party nominee running against Trump.
Theresa May - The new UK Prime Minister, only the second woman to hold that office.
Taylor Swift - According to Forbes magazine, the highest paid celebrity in the world.
Serena Williams - The highest paid female athlete in the world.
Definition:
Intertextuality is when a media text references, copies, or echoes another media text (such as a film, TV show, celebrity, artwork, slogan, or genre) so that the audience recognises it and brings their existing knowledge to the meaning.
In short: Texts gain meaning through their relationship with other texts.
Magazines use intertextuality to:
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Engage the audience quickly – familiar references are instantly recognisable
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Create humour or irony – especially through parody or pastiche
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Add depth and meaning – one reference can communicate complex ideas fast
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Position the reader as “in the know” – making them feel clever or included
The Big Issue often uses intertextuality to:
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Connect with a broad, mainstream audience by referencing well-known films, celebrities, artworks, or cultural moments
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Challenge stereotypes by placing homeless or marginalised people within familiar, high-status cultural imagery
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Create empathy – recognisable references make serious social issues feel more relatable and human
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Blend activism with popular culture, making political or social messages more accessible and less confrontational
For example, when The Big Issue references iconic film posters or famous figures, it invites readers to rethink social issues through a familiar cultural lens, helping the message feel relevant rather than distant.
Introduction:
Intertextuality helps magazines like The Big Issue engage audiences by using familiar cultural references to communicate social messages quickly, challenge assumptions, and create a sense of shared understanding with the reader.
Task 1: As you can see, this introduction is very vague. Rewrite it so that it relevant to the extract. You should include something about the messaging of the extract and you may wish to include something about the audience demographic.
Post you response in the comments section below...
riley reynolds-
ReplyDeleteintertextuality helps magazines like the big issue engage audiences quickly by using familair cultural refrenences to communicate social messages quickly. an example of this as shopwn in this extract is 4 highlt empowered woman and a dunald trump bieng humilated behind them. intertextuality also helps challenge assumptions as we can see that the 4 woman are seen as heroes and donald trump is a monster. and lastly intertextuality cretaes are shared understanding woith the reader as ghost busters in this extract is very well known so th refrence is easy for readers to look into.
Intertextuality has proven to help the Big Issue with their magazine cover as it provides mainstream references to communicate with their audience. The referencing of the 2016 female ghostbusters movie creates a recognisable triumph towards women on this cover as they have established an image that credits female celebrities that were also highly relevant at the time. This enables readers to have an awareness on the topic and also feel involved within the demographic of the Big Issue.
ReplyDeleteIntertextuality has proven to help the Big Issue with their magazine cover as it provides mainstream references to communicate with their audience. The referencing of the 2016 female ghostbusters movie creates a recognisable triumph towards women on this cover as they have established an image that credits female celebrities that were also highly relevant at the time. This enables readers to have an awareness on the topic and also feel involved within the demographic of the Big Issue.
DeleteIntertextuality in this extract helps The Big Issue to engage its educated (73% ABC1) and largely left-wing ("socially aware") audience by using the familiar cultural references of the 2016 remake of The Ghostbusters to quickly communicate its social message about the potential power shift from white supremacist capitalist patriarchy to an empowered female lead culture. It creates a sense of shared understanding with the reader that this feminist 'revolution' is a positive direction for the future.
ReplyDeleteMillie
ReplyDeleteThe Big Issue uses intertextuality to construct audience identification, which makes audiences feel validated and gratified. They can encode familiar cultural references into their magazine covers to create shared understanding within the audiences. The Big Issue expect their predominantly ABC1 audience to engage with the cultural references made and expect them to be "affluent, environmentally, socially and ethically" aware. Which means they can successfully communicate their social views and ideology and allow them to engage with their audience, gratifying and validating them at the same time.
Intertextuality helps magazines like The Big Issue engage audiences by using familiar cultural references to communicate social messages quickly, challenge assumptions and create a sense of shared understanding with the reader. An example of this is how they have put powerful and successful female faces on the faces of the Female Ghostbusters movie poster, with Donald Trump as slimer. This is effective as the Female Ghost Busters would have been relatively new and well known in 2016 therefore connecting with a mainstream audience. This not only gives the reader a proud feeling of superiority for knowing what it is alluding to, therefore engaging the audience quickly, but also constructs ideologies and viewpoints. The fact that the subjective part of the female body is only used from the powerful females shows the audience how they are intellectual and thinking. And the way they are wearing a uniform that doesn't sexualise them reinforces this.
ReplyDeleteEvie-Mae
ReplyDeleteThe Big Issue engages their “affluent, environmentally, socially and ethically conscious” audience by using intertextuality. This uses familiar cultural references which are relevant at the time to communicate social messages quickly or to reveal a deeper meaning, challenge assumptions, and create a sense of shared understanding with the reader. For example, this copy of the big issue uses Ghostbusters and the reference, and portrays Donald Trump as the slime ghost, ridiculing him, allowing the ABC1 audience of The Big Issue, to understand the ideologies such as the patriarchy and capitalism are also a joke.
Kiera
ReplyDeleteIntertextuality is a term that denoted a refers to another commonly known text or media. It helps magazines such as The Big Issue engage audiences by using familiar references. For example, in this specific cover, it features the faces of five well-known figures (Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Theresa May, Taylor Swift, and Serena Williams) plastered on the bodies of the ghostbusters and a monster from the ghostbuster movies. Trump represents patriarchal, capitalist, supremacist ideologies, and by depicting him on the face of the monster challenges these ideologies. The women in the cover are depicted on the faces of the ghostbusters themselves, physically empowering them and promoting feministic ideologies despite the society we live in.
George Eales
ReplyDeleteIn this magazine cover the Big Issue utilizes intertextuality in an attempt to engage their audience by using the familiar cultural reference to the ghost busters to display the "New Female Frontline" and furthermore promote both the 4 empowered women on the cover and feminist ideologies in general while simultaneously attacking patriarchal ideologies via the humiliating depiction of political leader, Donald Trump.
Amelia Jones
ReplyDeleteIntertextuality is referred too as using media and text to shape an additional meaning from another form of media.
On this cover of an issue of The Big Issue contains forms of intertextuality to help convey ideas and engage audiences with mainstream cultural references. In this case, The Big Issue references Ghost Busters to use as a form of empowerment for the successful women in the industry. They also use the cultural reference of the villain from Ghost Busters as a way to ridicule D. Trump and as a way to humiliate him and his political ideas for the future of America. The empowerment links to ideas presented by Bell Hooks of female empowerment.
riley reynolds -
ReplyDeletein this magazine, the big issue uses the image to convey viewpoints and ideological positions. in the image we as readers are displayed with an intertextual refrerence so us (ABC1) 72% of the big issues readership feel valued as we can understand what the big issue are trying to convey. this intertextual refrence includes the ghostbusters with 4 empowered woman at the front including thereasa may, hillary clinton, taylor swi8ft and serana willaims, these 4 represented as the ghostbusters, then in the back of the image there is donald trump bieng humilated as a ghost/monster. so what this image does is create the ideological position of feminism as it creates a viewpoint that the woman are heroes and are coming to save us, and donald trump is a bad guy and noone should support him. also another aspect withinb the image that highlights the womans power is thier stance and armoury, they are kitted up with supernatural weapons and look as iff they are ready to battle, this increaes us as readers interest as it seems these woman are so powerful and should be looked up to.
In the image, the Big Issue use an intertextual reference to the 2016 all female reboot of The Ghostbusters to construct the viewpoint that women are heroes and are coming to save us, from the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, which is encoded through the representation of Donald Trump as the antagonist. This intertextual refrerence allows the 72% ABC1 readership to feel valued as we can quickly understand what the big issue are trying to convey. This intertextual reference includes the ghostbusters with 4 empowered women at the front including Theresa May, Hillary Clinton, Taylor Swift and Serena Williams, who are all famous for their political, cultural and sporting achievements. The image uses mise en scene to highlights their power as their stance and armoury construct the idea that they are ready to battle; the proxemics also shows them standing close together which encodes a message of teamwork and unity. So what this image does is to clearly encode the ideological position of feminism. In the background of the image there is Donald Trump being humiliated as a ghost/monster. The Big Issue have selected a candid image of Trump that has a ridiculous facial expression. We could apply bell hooks here to suggest that the Big Issue are taking an intersectional feminist approach by challenging the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy that Trump exemplifies.
Deleteriley reynolds-
Deletein this magazine , the big issue uses typography to convey intertextuality. firstly, the main sell line in this image is "who you gonna call?" this phrase is an intertextual reference to the 2016 all female reboot of the ghostbusters movie, and this method from the big issue is a way to make thier readers (72%) ABC1, feel valued as they understand the link that the big issue are making. the main sell line is in bold writing right below the imagew of the four woman, so that placement conveys who we are going to call as there is only really one option, which then almost makes it a rhetorical question as we know who we are going to support and then if we do support them then these woman will save us from the white supremacist patriachy, this then links with the theorist bell hooks, as she theorised and beleived in the disagreement of patriachy . also the main sell line is presented at a scew angle which adds to the intertextuality as the phrase is a jokey refrenece from ghost busters, so the scew angle adds to the vibe of the reference.. now for the sub sell line which is "the new female frontline", this phrase cretaes a feminist ideological position from the word "female" included instead of it bieng just "the new frontline". the word "new" from a progressivist point of view creates a positive view point that our society is improving and we are getting stronger and better.
This Big Issue magazine cover uses imagery to present feminist ideology with their incorporation of famous female figures in a powerful outfit that references the female ghostbusters. The positioning of these women is based in the foreground of the image and they are all positioned in powerful positions to further emphasise the ideology being portrayed. The female celebrities are also visualised with weapons to further extenuate their power from a left-wing perspective. The women in the picture are also positioned as a team to establish the triumph of women working together to defeat patriarchy.
ReplyDeleteThe Big issue magazine uses typography to address the power women withhold through feminist ideology. The main sell line, 'who you gonna call?' references the current female ghostbusters movie which encourages the audience to read the magazine due to their use of mainstream media. As for the sub sell line, 'the new female frontline' this also provides a feminist ideology as the reference to these women being ghostbusters implies that they are powerful and triumphant.
DeleteThe big issue uses the mid-ground of the front cover in attempt to break down the ideology's of patriarchal ideas. The big issue does this by placing female idols faces on body's that are strong and that emphasise the strength of the four women, rather then body's that may attempt to objectify and sexualise the women. This diminishes any potential patriarchal point of views that could have been created.
ReplyDeleteThe big Issue also contextualises the use of Bell Hook's ideas with the use of the midground image containing intertextuality with references to Ghost Busters. Bell Hook's ideas are shown as she believed in the disagreement of patriarchy and the ability to reinforce the voices of females.
Millie
ReplyDeleteThe Big Issue uses intertextuality to make a reference to the female 'Ghostbusters' which helps to construct their social views and feminist and anti-patriarchal ideology. The Big Issue present Donald Trump as the villain in this specific magazine cover, humiliating him, and using him as a symbol for the white, patriarchal, capitalist and supremacist population. Most likely as The Big Issue view his patriarchal ideology as regressive, which contrasts to The Big Issue's own left-wing and progressive social values so they present him as the villain. The Big Issue use this intertextual reference to Ghostbusters to construct audience identification and to validate and gratify their ABC1 audience. Which they expect to share the same left-wing qualities as the magazine has.
Evie-Mae
ReplyDeleteThe photo on the cover of The Big Issue nods to several intertextual references, but most clearly, the four empowered women of ‘the new female frontline'. Hillary Clinton, Thereasa May, Taylor Swift and Serena Williams were all very fresh in the news for a range of achievements in sports, politics and the music industry the year this was published. By presenting these women as the heroes of the story (The members of the Ghostbusters, and Donald Trump as the villain) It creates a clear divide and what political views The Big issue encourages and discourages (feminism vs patriarchy). These women are also stood in proximity, allowing the audience to view them as united, a team, impressing the view of women's triumph in the white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal society, compared to Donald trump as an individual in the background, giving ideas that no one should support him and his ideologies.
The Big Issue uses intertextuality to engage their audience quickly, challenge stereotypes, and create humour. For example, they have chosen the female recreation of the film Ghostbusters since in 2016 it would have been relatively new and well-known, therefore connecting with a broad, mainstream audience, engaging their audience quickly and making them feel clever for recognizing the film. Four successful and powerful female faces are plastered on the ghost busters' bodies. The fact that it is the only subjective thinking part of their bodies that is shown and their uniform isn't sexualized, indicates to the audience that they are intellectual and clever, and not to be objectified. This constructs a feminist viewpoint. The Big Issue has also used intertextuality by putting Donald Trump's face onto Slimer. This creates humour as despite it illustrates Donald Trump to be a villain, it conveys him to be a ‘joke’ rather than a threat since Slimer isn’t particularly dangerous but rather a comedic character. The fact that four successful women are battling him (and alluding to them winning like they do in the film) it goes against female stereotypes and the patriarchal ideology that women are inferior and weak compared to men, since it is demonstrating them to be powerful and strong.
ReplyDeleteOn this magazine cover of the big issue they use the image of the background to cover messages of ideology’s and viewpoints. In the background of the image we see a humiliating representation of Donald Trump as his face has been put onto the Villian from Ghostbusters. The intertextuality reference to Ghostbusters is used to mock Trump and his ideas for changing america as when this issue was published in the July of 2016, there was also an election taking place in which Trump was running for president in America. The use of the humiliation inflicted onto Trump is also used as a strategy to convey the ideological idea of feminism. This means that the mocking of the antagonist Trump manages to also empower the ‘frontline’ women and present the strength and capabilities of women in the media. The big issue is trying to convey the idea that we can depend on women as out ‘frontline’.
ReplyDelete