Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Response to Jenkins and Transmedia

I found Jenkins analysis of Bordwell and Transmedia storytelling to be extremely interesting. Transmedia storytelling is something that my Media Analysis class discussed last semester, and to do so we also read a Jenkins article Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling. In this article he expands on some of the topics he discusses in the blog, but with reference to the Matrix he makes the assertion that for one to actually fully understand the films and the story, you must also take part in the other media involved, like the video games, comic books and websites. He states that the Wachowski brothers intentionally create gaps in the films that confuse the lay viewer, but which complete the story for those completed enveloped in all aspects of the transmedia text. I think this tactic can function well in the genre of science fiction, however I think it can be troubling for a viewer when taken outside of this genre. In a science fiction world, everything is alien to the viewer. So when something seems incongruent with previously held schemas of the world, it does not seem shocking or upsetting to the viewer. The use of gaps here would be acceptable, and the use of transmedia to fill in those gaps can be utilized extremely successfully. However let’s take a romantic comedy for example. If we are left unaware as to why the female lead breaks off her engagement to the male lead, we would not just be intrigued; we would be confused and possibly pissed. Unless this was somehow resolved – the viewer would most likely leave unsatisfied. However, in a science fiction film if we aren’t explicitly told why character A one day is green and the next day blue, we may just attribute it to the science fiction world that they live in. In this case, having a transmedia outlet (for example a website) that provided information on the color changing abilities of the characters in the film would be useful and most likely entertaining for those interested enough to engage. In conclusion, I agree with Jenkins in that transmedia has an absolute place in the film world, however should not be blindly used on every film and in every genre.

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