In the film industry in-jokes are jokes that only the writer/creators/actors understand. Short for inside joke these can range from private jokes to hidden messages, pictures, puzzles, famous cameos, anagrams or even running gags.
Image via Wikipedia
Some Examples
- Torchwood (The TV Spin-off of Doctor Who) is an anagram of Doctor Who. BAD WOLF
- In Fight Club, if you pause the movie at the right parts, you can see Tyler Duerden hidden there in a single frame. HIS NAME IS ROBERT PAULSON AKA MEATLOAF
- In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the gravestones had many of the crew members names on them. SHE SAVED THE WORLD A LOT
- In True Blood, you can see Sookie‘s gran reading a Charlaine Harris novel. I’m pretty sure I spotted Sookie reading one of her books as well. GO TEAM ERIC!
In-jokes are common in movies and in fiction. They aren’t always created deliberately but just come from the creators imagination and references.
The only problem with an in-joke is that your readers may not get it because they don’t understand the punchline, so be very careful with these. You can use them but don’t allow them to be too noticeable.
One personal in-joke of my own is that when I’m not sure where the plot is going, sometimes I’ll have a character ask `where are we going?’ or get annoyed about their lack of direction, but only if it will fit in with the story and doesn’t stand out. This is really me reflecting that I’ve got stuck with where to go next and using my voice in the story for a split second.
Image via Wikipedia
I’ll also often I’ll pick names from the world around me. One of my fictional countries I named from altering some of the letters of a brand of bottled water.
If you look out for these when reading books or watching films you will occasionally hear the writer’s own voice in the dialogue. Sometimes it’s completely unintentional on the part of the writer but it does happen. DOES ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THE EVIAN BACKWARDS IS NAIVE?
Your Turn…
Do you do any in-jokes yourself? What’s your favourite in-joke?
Psssst… There are several easter eggs hidden in this post. Can you find them? Elementary,I like this show:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t4pgh
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TO TRUE ENIGMA
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