Response to Prompt #3

Foster discusses the “dialogue between…texts.” He refers to this as “intertextuality.” What is the significance, value, and effect of this textual connection? How does it inform and enhance our reading experiences? Is intertextuality intentional or serendipitous? How does it operate? How might it relate to the “one big story?” How might it relate to archetypes, symbols? When have you noticed intertextuality at work in the “real” world? What is the “mythic level?”

By noticing the similarities in various works and understanding connections between such, no only can it help deepen the understanding but also the appreciation of both sides of the connection. It depends on the story. Some stories were written with the intent of allusions (eg Dante’s Inferno alluding to Greco-Roman mythology) while other times the allusions were probably happy accidents (like the similarities between “Undertale” and The Wizard of Oz.) It is a fairly simple operation. All the reader has to do is make the connection. If everything can be connected in one way or another, it is not an extremely difficult job to create a fluid amalgamation of stories. (It would take a long time, though.) The mythic level, then, is where archetypes and symbols that everyone knows (like red roses being romantic) reside. Lots of archetypes and symbols are derived from stories that came before. For example, in tradition horror movies (and “The Breakfast Club”) there are certain archetypes or “stock characters” that end up getting used a lot, for better or worse. The main cast usually consists of the nerd, the airhead, the jock, the scream queen, the bad boy that is somehow not the killer, the weird girl that is somehow not the killer, the “psycho” ex that is somehow not the killer, and the killer. (Not all of these are in “The Breakfast Club.”) Most of these can be traced back to classics like “Friday the 13th,” “Scream,” and “Nightmare on Elm Street.” As for symbols, a good one to note is the golden apple, a popular symbol for chaos straight out of Greek mythology. With this in mind, it is not hard to link everything together into one big story. On the serendipitous side of allusions, one that is really interesting that comes up more often than one would think is the digital yandere. To elaborate, a yandere is a girl that will do anything (like murder) to get her crush. A digital yandere is basically a killer AI with a crush. The two most notable characters with this archetype are .GIFfany from the TV Gravity Falls (the one and only episode she appears in is “Soos and the Real Girl”) and Monika from the indie video game “Doki Doki Literature Club (DDLC).” Both girls start out innocent, but are already sentient when the plot starts. While both have blood on their hands, .GIFfany’s are stained with that of her programmers whereas Monika’s are with the blood of her fellow club members. While not a part of the archetype, both girls end up being vanquished by their crushes.