How many times have we heard those infamous words "Damn you all to hell!" from Franklin J. Schaffner's Planet of the Apes? It seems that no film or television episode can go without referencing or parodying this scene. But there is the simplest reason that writers include it... because it's a struggle to find somebody who wouldn't recognise it and smile (even just a little bit).
Even the latest episodes of Futurama couldn't resist
Now this is just the most notable example of the tongue-twister of a word that is intertextuality, but all it takes is just one dedicated nerd (hello there) to notice that almost everything we see on TV and in the movie theatres ends up referencing something else we've seen on TV or in the movie theatres or wherever you may go to get your narrative kicks.
Before I go further into this, please know that I consider this to be a good thing.
It was Peter Jackson, before the release of District 9, who said that Hollywood had basically run out of original ideas for movies (the irony here was the movie he was meant to be promoting was actually an expansion of a short film made by the same director over 15 years before). He was absolutely right - but I don't consider it to be such a bad thing like he did.
These little quips and in-jokes should get one of two reactions from a viewer:
1) A laugh or a smile as they get the reference :D
2) There is no reaction, as it wouldn't make a difference to how they view the movie/episode :|
So when you find yourself watching Tim Burton's 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes and wondering why your parents make such a fuss over Charlton Heston repeating his own infamous line - why not go watch the 1968 version and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
It's an education.
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