EE Reflection #3

Throughout the EE process, I undoubtedly enjoyed researching into my chosen topic. This is because it started out as a simple interest I gained through participating in a workshop led by my teacher on Balinese masks. I was pleasantly surprised to see how my interests in Theatre can lead me to undertaking an investigation. Through my research, this topic has become far more appealing to me, and is something I will take forward in my life. Nevertheless, I do acknowledge points in my research where my approach was lacking – where I could have carried out more extensive primary research. Perhaps an inclusion of a mask workshop led by myself, with participants consisting of my Theatre peers. This may have led to a more comprehensive research process, through which the evidence used in my EE could have been vindicable. However, my inquiry into various credible secondary sources, and my practical exploration in a professional Butoh workshop, provided me with a more wholistic perspective that I utilised to my advantage when in the process of writing my EE. This project has had a profound impact on my perspective of Theatre and its real world implications.

Intertextuality Questions

How does intertextuality contribute to meaning within texts?
Intertextuality adds a layer of understanding the audience must go through in order to truly understand the message/point of the text as a whole. This additional layer is added through another text, and therefore demands an understanding of the two. As a result of incorporating or referencing another text, meaning drawn from one is able to build upon meaning established from the other. Thereby creating a ‘two way street’, in which context from both aid each other in delivering the intended message to the audience.

What is gained and lost through the use of intertextuality?
Mentioned above is what I feel is gained through using intertextual references – an additional layer of understanding, therefore a more in depth perspective into that specific topic of discussion. However, discussing what is lost through the use of intertextuality is a far more interesting perspective. While the usage of intertextuality adds a layer of understanding (as mentioned earlier), at the same time it adds a layer of complexity, in which some audiences are thrown off completely. For example, if a text relied almost entirely on intertextual references in order for the audience to understand the true message behind it, there can be consequences in terms of viewership. In that example, if an audience member does not understand those intertextual references in any shape or form, then they are immediately unable to grasp the intended message behind the original text in the first place.