Tom Shadyac's 2007 comedy, Evan
Almighty, is a contemporary display of intertextuality through its
modernization of the Bible story concerning Noah and his ark, found in the Book
of Genesis. The rising action of the film is a series of strange happenstances
that occur during the day-to-day life of the main character, Evan, who is
played by Steve Carell. The Bible story from which the movie is based tells the
story of a man, Noah, who is warned by God that He is sending a flood to wash
away mankind for its various sins. God then commands that Noah build an ark out
of gopher wood, or modern-day cypress, and bring a pair of each type of animal
onto the ark, and He promises that Noah, his family, and the animals will be
saved.
In the film, the weird
events start when Evan’s alarm clock repeatedly goes off at 6:14 every morning.
The number, 614, begins to appear in multiple areas of Evan’s life. Unbeknownst
to him, the number is a reference to the chapter (6) and verse (14) of Genesis
in which Noah’s story begins. Older style equipment as well as a shipment of
cypress, brought by a company called GO4-WOOD, appears at Evan’s doorstep,
obvious references to the Biblical tale. At this point in the movie, Evan has
yet to be informed by Morgan Freeman…fittingly played by God…that his life has
recently been inspired from an age-old religious text.
While Evan is still
clueless, a state that Carell seems to perform effortlessly throughout the span
of his career, intertextuality comes into play as an effect upon the audience’s
interpretation of the movie. If the viewer is unfamiliar with the Old
Testament, then it just seems like eerie or irrelevant things keep occurring in
this man’s life. But for the majority of American cinematic audiences, these
specific events are emphatic clues, foreshadowing the entire plot of the movie.
Intertextuality is heavily prevalent in modern media because theme and plot
ideas have existed for as long as creation, as evidenced by the motifs
incorporated from such ancient texts as the Old Testament and the Vedas.
I think this is a great way to relate intertextuality to modern films, because although I have not seen this movie, I can fully understand your comparisons. Personally, I would not have noticed the 6:14 references, so you give a solid example of how acknowledgement of intertextuality can enhance an experience as common as watching a movie.
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