ABSTRACT
A filmmaker's quotation of a pre-existing piece is a deliberate act that can be examined as a form of poietic intertextuality, to borrow a term from Michael L. Klein's study Intertextuality in Western Art Music. While intention and interpretation will not necessarily correspond in relation to any part of a film, uses of pre-existing music foreground specific intertextual knowledge and experience as key to the construction of meaning. In addition to textual analysis and examination of evidence of filmmakers' intentions, then, this chapter looks to the testimony of real audience members on their responses to uses of pre-existing music, as given particularly in online blogs and forum posts. The general interest in screen music is shared by members of other online knowledge communities, such as the Film Score Monthly forum, and indeed by other individuals who do not identify themselves so explicitly. The findings of Anderson's audience surveys support and extend the idea that viewers tend to read films intentionally.
