‘eXistenZ’
| Pastiche | The film is a pastiche of itself. At the end, when they supposedly are in the ‘real world’ and out of the simulation. The main characters, Ted and Allegra, shoot one of the characters. Perhaps this is a reference to the ‘game’ in the film. |
| Parody | |
| Bricolage | |
| Intertextuality | When the infected game pod is set on fire, the camera shots/sequencing follows the structure of a specific western film from the past. |
| Referential | – When Allegra says “this is a point of higher emotional intensity to get onto the next game level” (She is signposting the function of each scene to the audience) – At the end, the characters analyse how their game character. And speak about points within the film (referencing back to itself) |
| Surface and Style over Substance and content | |
| Metanarrative | |
| Simulation | The whole movie is a simulation of ‘the real world’. There are so many layers of game (fragmented and alienating) There are so many different versions of different narrative that exist in real life. Baudrillard says that we are copies of the real world. |
| Consumerist Society | The game is consistently based around buying new things, and the obsession over commodities (buying new additions to the game etc.) |
| Fragmentary Identities | Each character has a large scope of identities throughout the narrative arc of the film. For example, at points the character of Allegra is very mature although she changes. For example, when she kills one of the characters near the end, she is quite giddy and childlike. – showing her desensitisation and how she lacks any emotion as she doesn’t believe it to be real. |
| Alienation | A sense of paranoia and anxiety/alienation is a common theme throughout the film. At points, they ask if they are still in the ‘game’. An alienation from the truth and what is fake. They struggle to define the real world and start to lose touch with knowing what is real and what is fake. |
| Implosion | |
| Cultural Appropriation | |
| Reflexivity | |
| Hyperreality | A crossover of the ‘game world’, simulation and the ‘real world’. At the end, the characters are seemingly in the ‘real world’ although they act like they are still in the simulation. Leaving the characters and audience unsure what’s real and what’s not. |