RE DEFINING TRANSMEDIA AND FAN INTERACTION
Media conglomerates use different transmedia strategies to spread their brand and narrative across multiple media platforms (see previous weeks).
However, the story can become distorted when the story is placed above the corporate. This means narratives do not transcend effectively and the narrative is lost.
According to Fiske (1992), industries rely on “the cultural economy of fandom”. This theory believes that audiences intake the content, and either subvert the text to fix their own narrative or comply. Therefore, the dominant ideologies presented in the media texts are turned into resistant practices by fans.
Furthermore, Bourdieu (1985) questions the influence of cultural content (the narrative presented) in contrast to the economic advantages of the industry. This was practiced in relation to forms of productivity, this includes:
1. Semiotics: This is the personality and interior understanding presented throughout the text.
2. Enunciative: This is the expression of talking, socialising and showing in the text.
3. Textual: Producing new texts, ongoing new meanings and interpretations.
4. Capital accumulation: This is the economic and cultural impact on the industry.
POACHERS
Jenkins’ (1992) displays a theory of “textual poachers”, where fans are stereotyped to be fanatic – these fans typically further their understanding and opinions through producing cultural non-canon texts. This is particularly evident through YouTube edits, Fan Videos and Fan-Fiction.
This ideology is further reinforced by De Certeau, as quoted by Jenkins (1992) – fandom of transmedia texts is seen as a participatory culture who contribute their own ideologies, interpretations and cultural texts. He also expressed how fans are nomadic readers and resist the original meanings within the transmedia texts.
Following the Velveteen Rabbit investment model, fans contribute their time and affection into producing fan texts, critically analysing their texts, repeating/binge-watching and creating a sense of community amongst the fan base.
LOYALTY, CONSUMPTION AND OWNERSHIP
Some fans complete their engagement through collectables. According to Hill (2002) collectables serve as a part of “dialectic of value”. These collectables are personal and act as “use-value” and “exchange-value” (Adorno, 2002).
Furthermore, the preservation of the collectables becomes part of the cultural process – this is due to the renewed significance and authenticity engaged from preservation of collectables.
Fans would also produce their own cultural content in order to “redress deficiencies”, “correct mistakes”, or even to satire media texts.
An example of this can be seen in Star War’s Phantom Edit (2000). This intention of this text was to modify the existing story created by Lucas Film. Fans used new and old content to device their own film, to reclaim fan ownership over Lucas Film.
Hill (2002) reinforces this ideology, expressing that fans produce “dialectic of value”. Hill compares fans to academics, expressing their similarity through a created sense of imagined subjectivity. Likewise, Hill stated how fans would both consume and critique media texts, again, similar to academics.
Furthermore, Adorno’s (2002) theory of “use-value” and “exchange-value” looks into the object of fandom and canon, with personal and financial worth. Ardono expresses how fans can interact inside and outside the commodification of media texts. He also expresses how the “specialist consumer” is where the cultural industry predicts the success, and “anti-commercial” is where fans reject products and creates new ones.
FAN ANTOGONISM
“Anti-fans” are expressed as fans who oppose the perceived popular interpretation of the texts. This is often based on their own information and knowledge understanding they engage from being super-fans (Gray, 2003).
Particularly Gray (2003) demonstrates that anti-fans engage in a new form of “effective involvement” – meaning to engage cultural impact of the media texts, fans would have to engage, analyse and criticise the text. Thus, promoting audiences to want to search for information to gain cultural value and taste, this is particularly relevant in relation to para-texts.
FAN CREATIVITY AND FAN VIDDING
Jenkins (2006) expresses how fans “grassroots creativity”, particularly the internet (social media, including YouTube and Facebook). Although fans can infringe copyright, they are also significant in collaborating and producing a community – franchises rely on fans to market their brand.
Therefore, fan interaction can either benefit or hinder the industry market. This is because fan creative content becomes public, meaning satire such as parodies, memes and fake trailers can be seen by all. Therefore, fans content becomes mainstreamed, and produces a subculture of transmedia production and narrative.
Furthermore, fans expand the universe through their added content, exploring beyond the film screen. This is through Paratexts which copy the format of the main texts. The use of fans producing their own texts questions originality, auteur and produces a sense of fans own canon that complies to what they wish happened, rather than what did happen.
FAN HIERACHIES
Within a fan base, there would always be social tiers. The hierarchy is typically reliant on the distinction, taste, value and productivity of the transmedia text – therefore, we can categorize the fans. We can categorize them into interactors/poacher, producers and owners.
The higher in the hierarchy the fan is, typically the more ownership and knowledge they poses. This creates ground for movement, questioning cultural capital in relation to economic capital.
An example of a fan become a gatekeeper from a poacher. Fan Steven Sansweet, a journalist, became interested in Star Wars and started collecting figurines and other merchandise. Now Sansweet owns the largest Star Wars collection, has released his own content (books and journals based on his opinion and collection), and works in relation to Lucas Film. Therefore, his engagement allowed him to climb up the fan hierarchy.
FAN NOSTAGLIA
Transmedia heavily relies on nostalgia to be able to transcend content across multiple platforms – the industry has to focus on the past to be able to reveal more information, to build a universe for the text.
Furthermore, the use of nostalgia immerses old fans in the franchise, therefore presenting a new transgenerational audience (Johnson, 2013).
Particularly, through toys, films and merchandise, fans can play and interact in the old and new universe, “nostalgia-play” (Harvey, 2015).
Brooker (2007, p. 433) expresses how fans store memories, allowing them to view “the present through an archive of the past”. Reinforced by Brooker (2007) who expressed how this sense of nostalgia produces an affective connection between the imagined idea text and initial experience of the fan.
Furthermore, the use of games allow audience to emerge themselves into the universe and produce their own identity.
CASE STUDY: STAR WARS FAN FILMS
Looking at creative content produced by fans, they can extend the transmedia narrative by offering an additional or alternative ending, or by supply their knowledge into a content that works and benefit others.
However, these fan films may sometimes hinder Lucas Films and Disney’s intention, because it subverts that actual narrative and offers another. Therefore, the new Star Wars as a franchise can add additional information, but appear as if its serving as a fan film also.
Furthermore, the virality of the fan films can also hinder Lucas Films and Disney’s presentation on Star Wars. Through the use of stereotypes, parodies and satire, it provokes humour and ridicules the franchise.
Examples of this can be seen in short films such as “Star Wars Disney - Let it Flow - Let it Go Frozen”, “Adele - Hello (from the dark side)” and “The Star Wars That I Used To Know' - Gotye 'Somebody That I Used To Know”.
However, as I stated under Fan Creativity and Fan Vidding, this virality can help the franchise, as it enduces audiences to know more about the text and to engage with the text. Therefore, some texts are made to be parodies, and some as serious.
The creative energy and input that some fans has taken into the fan films proves their loyalty, dedication and knowledge of the franchise. It shows that they do want to engage in the text and prove that their content is worthy to be seen and shared. Particularly, this is relevant when a fan film such as “Epic Star Wars Fan Film – The Betrayal” expresses that JJ. Abrams (director for some of the Star Wars franchise films) has seen and critiqued the film.
Therefore, the input is significantly important to fans, as they look to seek positive appraisal by those who are inflicted in making the franchise. This contributes as it shows directors has engaged and apprehended the fan content, and then can influence the media content next produced.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adorno, T. W. & Horkheimer, M. (2002) Dialect of Enlightenment: Philisophical Fragments (Jephcott, E., Trans.). (1994).
Bourdieu, P. (1985). The Forms of Capital. Handbook of Theory of Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood Press.
Brooker, W. (2007). 'A Sort of Homecoming: Fan Viewing and Symbolic Pilgrimage', in Fandom: Identities, Communities, in a Mediated Road. New York University Press.
Fiskey, J. The Cultural Economy of Fandom, in The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media. London and New York: Routledge.
Gray, J. (2003). New Audiences, New Textualities. London: Sage Publication.
Harvey C.B. (2015) Material Myths and Nostalgia-Play in Star Wars. In: Fantastic Transmedia. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Hills, M. (2002). Fan Cultures. London: Routledge.
Jenkins, H. (1992). Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: NYU Press.
Jenkins, H. (2006).Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: NYU Press.
Johnson, D. (2013). Media Franchising: Creative License and Collaboration in the Culture Industries. New York: NYU Press.