Footnotes: From Citations to a New Style of Storytelling

Authorial asides can offer dedicated readers an incredible experience — but might lose the rest.

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Introduction: Is this meta?

Pop culture has a peculiar fascination with ‘meta’ references and punchlines. Deadpool (2016) is perhaps the most cited example from recent years, with the eponymous character’s frequent snarky asides to the audience. Dan Harmon’s Community (2009–2015) instead played heavily with tropes and clichés, and was also heavily praised for its ‘meta’ commentary. Fans of Arrested Development (2003–2019) argue that the show becomes exponentially funnier as you become more familiar with the characters and their world, thanks to a deep well of metatextual references to explore in every episode.

The question of whether most consumers of these media could describe what they enjoy in these conventions is one I’d love to talk about another time (I think it will involve exploring a couple potential definitions of comedy, so keep your laughing pants handy).

Today, I’m interested in the practice of including fictional footnotes in speculative…