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A Series of Allusions to Peruse

Zootopia

One of Disney's most recent successes, there's so much more to this bunny-cop movie than good action and better humor.

Danny Phantom

You may have heard of the Men in Black but have you heard of the Guys in White?  What happens when the government funded, secret fighting agency becomes the bad guys?

Ready Player One

Banking on 80s  nostalgia, this film didn't seem to resonate as well as it could have. Why was that?

Hunchback of notre Dame

From novel to stage to film to Broadway, this fanfiction, written to save a crumbling cathedral, has been reinterpreted since its creation. What does that mean for a writer who wishes to allude to this tragic tale?

We Didn't Start the Fire 

Billy Joel's instant classic is an exemplar of telling history through allusions alone. How does this work?

Phantom of the Opera

Faust, Hannibal, Beast, and the Phantom, what do they have in common? A lot, apparently.

Warning: This will be the most in-depth brief analysis on this page, so give the music of the night some time.

I told you video games use allusions too. See what innocuous, seemingly unimportant, and random allusion this story about a boy, his key, his duck, and his dog makes with reference to our to our world.

blade runner

"Freeze. Enhance." If you've seen this movie, you know what I'm talking about. You may recognize it in a few other places, though. Let's clarify.

AKIRA

Speaking of seeing something before, how familiar is a dramatic bike slide, kicking up dust or friction sparks, to you?

Indiana
 
        JOnes

No one would doubt that Indy is a good guy, right? If you're suspicious of that question, then you've been paying attention. So here's a better one: can an allusion completely re-contextualize a film and a hero?

Memes

You knew this was coming, didn't you? I hope you did, cause academically speaking memes and internet culture are frickin' incredible. Let's discuss!

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