SYNOPTIC QUESTION 1: INTERTEXTUALITY

SOME RESOURCES

Chatham and Clarendon Media Studies Blog: LFTVD: INTERTEXTUALITY - ECONOMIC CONTEXT

Chatham and Clarendon Media Studies Blog: LFTVD - INTERTEXTUALITY - SOCIAL CONTEXT

Chatham and Clarendon Media Studies Blog: LFTVD - INTERTEXTUALITY - CULTURAL CONTEXT

Chatham and Clarendon Media Studies Blog: LFTVD: INTERTEXTUALITY - HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Chatham and Clarendon Media Studies Blog: LFTVD - INTERTEXTUALITY - POLITICAL CONTEXT

PREPARE YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS QUESTION

2026 Question: “Economic contexts are more influential on the way that programme makers use intertextuality than social, cultural or historical contexts." How far do you agree with this statement?

2026 Question: "To achieve success, intertextuality must reflect dominant values and ideologies within both global and national markets." How far do you agree with this statement?

Let's start by watching these youtube essays.

Intertextuality: Hollywood's New Currency

Stranger Things And Intertextuality (A Response To The Nerdwriter)

Stranger Things: Intertextuality and Post-Structuralism

QUESTION 1: 

Firstly, ask yourself, what it the question really asking?

“Economic contexts are more influential on the way that programme makers use intertextuality than social, cultural or historical contexts.”

You are being asked to:

• Evaluate this claim (not just agree)

• Compare economic contexts with social, cultural, and historical contexts

• Focus specifically on intertextuality (references, influences, homage, genre borrowing)

• Apply this to both Stranger Things and D83. 

NB: This is not a “describe intertextual references” question. It is a judgement question about why intertextuality is used.

Secondly, be crystal clear about what you understand by Intertextuality and how it is used in media texts.

Intertextuality = how media texts reference, echo, borrow from, or respond to other media texts.

This includes:

• Genre conventions
• Homage / Pastiche / Parody
• Narrative tropes
• Visual style
• Music
• Character archetypes

Thirdly, plan the structure of your essay. 

Introduction: 

• Briefly define intertextuality
• Acknowledge the debate: economic contexts vs social/cultural/historical
• Name your texts
• Offer a balanced argument (e.g. economic contexts are crucial, but not more influential than cultural and historical contexts)

Paragraph 1: Economic Contexts - Stranger Things - Paragraph 2: Economic Contexts - D83

https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/economic-context-long-form-tv-drama-ppt/267458707

Paragraph 3 & 4: Social (Cultural) and Historical Contexts

Here is where you challenge the statement, asking if these areas are at least as important or possibly more important than Economic contexts. 

 

https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/social-and-historical-context-lftvdpptx-715c/267637586

One possible line of argument might be:

Economic contexts strongly influence the use of intertextuality in Stranger Things, where nostalgia and recognisable references function as a commercial strategy in a risk-averse streaming market. However, Deutschland 83 demonstrates that historical and cultural contexts can be more influential, as its intertextual references prioritise authenticity, national identity and political memory over commercial appeal. Therefore, the statement is only partially valid.