Pop culture allusions in fiction

pop culture allusions

My novella Change of Lifestyle contains a lot of pop culture allusions to films, musics and books. My daughter, a Media Studes graduate, refers to them as intertextuality: references to pop culture that help shape characters and story. Here’s why I included them.

Favourites Tennis

During their first date, supply teacher Michelle suggests a game of Favourites Tennis, a game she (well, I) probably invented. The main rule is ‘No repeats or hesitation.’ Michelle starts with a question, Gabe answers with a justification, then Michelle replies. Then Gabe asks a question, and so on. During the next two minutes, they bounce their favourite songs, books, films, cities and even cafes at each other.

The game is used to explore the differences and similarities between the characters, developing a sense of character synchronisation. When Gabe discovers Michelle has read his favourite book, he briefly wonders if Michelle might just be his perfect soulmate. So far, the date seems all very rom-commy. But then Gabe says his favourite song is Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. A teaser from earlier in the story starts to make sense, because we know from an earlier scene that:

‘The author of the series of articles that had inspired him to change his lifestyle so dramatically had been thoughtful enough to change the names of everyone she wrote about. Gabe had been Mr. Jones.’

The Lesson Evaluation Rebellion

In his old life, Gabe worked in an inner city primary school where admin and beaurocracy ruled. Because of the management’s determination to tick every box before an impending OFSTED inspection, teachers had to write ‘meaningless lesson evaluations,’ a chore normally reserved for student teachers. In silent rebellion, Gabe always included song titles in each evaluation, choosing a band or singers catalogue to work with each week. Muse’s Supermassive Black Hole makes an appearence, as does an Oasis title.

Gabe’s literary allusions here are used to further accentuate the meaningless of the evaluations. No one ever knows about his tiny rebellion because no one ever reads his evaluations.

Limited Space in a novella

Change of Lifestyle is a 21,000 wod novella. Although the characters are always key to any story I write, there is less time for character development. Referring to the characters’ cultural likes and dislikes is a good, shorthand way of introducing them to the reader.

It Must Be Love…

… by Madness provides the final literary allusion, because Michelle following Gave over 7,000 miles must be an act of love, surely. Or is it? More importantly, it’s a Madness track. It had to be included, and It Must Be Love made a lot more sense than Baggy Trousers.

links

Read Change of Lifestyle

Good Story Company: Pop Culture References

Book Riot: In Defence of Pop Culture References

Pop culture allusions in fiction