SpM, I can get up a thread on metareferences and intertextuality, it will take me a few days to view the movies and get some ideas.
The point of metareferences and intertextuality, is in a movie (or book/writings), to draw attention to a previously written book/movie. It supports the idea that no piece of work is "fully original," or fully "created." Literature now adays (and more centuries) have written off of previous ideas, and then slightly altering the story. As one example from ROTK the movie, to get everyone on the same page.
Saruman being impaled on a wheel spikes, is a metareference to his earlier acting days as Dracula. Where Chris Lee is impaled on a wheel of spikes several times. The fact that it's Chris Lee (Saruman) and Chris Lee (Dracula) makes it a metareference. Trying to draw attention to his earlier movies. If it was somebody who acted as Saruman (say Ian Mckellan) then it would be intertextuality.
Some authors/directors, use metareferences and intertextually purposefully, others use it unconsciously. Where they read a story, or watch a movie, and then as human nature, we write our own stories about these. Then as a viewer we go "Oh that's from...so and so" or "That's sort of like this." A lot of people believe, now adays, Literature/Films, are filled with metareferences and intertextuality. That everything we have written/made, has been done, but the story is just different. Another example, this time intertextuality, the feud between dwarves and elves. I don't know about everyone, but this reminds me of the hatfield and the mccoys, also Montagues and Capulets. Again, Tolkien could be doing this purposefully, or just unconsciously.
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