Intertextual references function as a form of cultural and economic currency within narrative

Evidence

For this case study, I’ve compiled a series of intertextual data points amassed from the cascade of references made in 30 Rock. My goal was to generate a database with which it would be possible to discern formal and financial patterns from the many intertextual scenes, stories, and seasons of 30 Rock. As opposed to the clear-cut references to alcohol and automotive brands in hip hop lyrics, the intertextual references here confronted me with the contingency of making decisions on cultural matters that do not have yes-or-no parameters. What even qualifies as intertextual and how it could be quantified were preliminary quandaries, leading to more difficult questions like how might intertextuality act as a site of exchange for cultural and economic capital, how might its value be measured, and how might it be expressed or masked within a text. My aim was to map the political economy of intertextuality of 30 Rock, noting all instances of a reference to another cultural text or brand. If these references act as a form of currency, providing the possibility for an exchange of value—economic, cultural, or both—then this currency should be quantifiable to some degree, leading to a qualitative interpretation of the role of intertextuality within contemporary narrative. — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, 363

For this case study, I’ve compiled a series of intertextual data points amassed from the cascade of references made in 30 Rock. My goal was to generate a database with which it would be possible to discern formal and financial patterns from the many intertextual scenes, stories, and seasons of 30 Rock. … My aim was to map the political economy of intertextuality of 30 Rock, noting all instances of a reference to another cultural text or brand. If these references act as a form of currency, providing the possibility for an exchange of value—economic, cultural, or both—then this currency should be quantifiable to some degree, leading to a qualitative interpretation of the role of intertextuality within contemporary narrative. By systematically recording and aggregating these referential transfers, then visualizing the data, I hope to provide a new perspective on the breadth and scope of the relationship between form and finance, intertextuality and political economy. — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, 363

Categorization

• SEED: The framing of intertextual references as a measurable currency or economic transfer opens an essay angle on quantifying cultural references as units of exchange value.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media: How Wall Street…, 363
• XREF: connects to: Materialist literary history argues basic economic structures appear in literature — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 497