FRED Plays, novels, songs—they all have a “subtext,” which I take to mean a hidden message or import of some kind. So subtext we know. But what do you call the message or meaning that’s right there on the surface, completely open and obvious? They never talk about that. What do you call what’s above the subtext?
TED The text.
FRED O.K., that’s right, but they never talk about that.
Whit Stillman, screenplay for Barcelona