002. Why Can Heather Write?

While reading this article by Jenkins, I am reminded of Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 where books were burned in an effort to suppress the birth of dangerous ideas. Religious institutions that wished to ban the Harry Potter books were working towards the same kind of censorship created by the firemen in Fahrenheit 451. Then the extinguishing of ideas stems from Warner Bros working to stop the appropriation of Harry Potter. Obviously, even with both sides working to reach their goals, fans will continue to find ways around such restrictions. If you tell a child not to do something, he or she will inevitably do it. It’s basic psychology.

As Jenkins states, the existence of books like the Harry Potter series does indeed help spark a child’s interest in reading and writing. However, it seems that kids these days aren’t really picking up books as often as they should. For me, the adaptation of books into film has caused a decrease in the amount of reading being done by this generation. Why read the books when you can watch the movie? This can be said of many novels these days: The Chronicles of Narnia, Twilight, The Hunger Games. The trailer of The Hunger Games trailer has sparked curiosity in many viewers but there are several people who would much rather wait until March 23^rd rolls around instead of pick up the trilogy.

In reference to Heather’s appropriation of the Harry Potter franchise, why stop her? She’s an example of the positive influences of the media world. In addition to inspiring an interest to improve one’s writing skills, Heather offers the company a mean of transmedia storytelling. In a way, her little Hogwarts newspaper is a form of free advertising for the Harry Potter franchise.

001. Transmedia Storytelling

It was difficult for me to really appreciate much of the Jenkins article. I have never been exposed to The Matrix franchise though my boyfriend has been meaning to force me into watching the trilogy. However, I did understand much of what Jenkins said about transmedia storytelling. In a way, transmedia storytelling can be seen as an advertising campaign for a certain franchise.

For those who have not taken an advertising or marketing class, an advertising campaign is defined as “a series of coordinated advertisements and other promotional efforts that communicate a single theme or idea” (O’Guinn). In the case of The Matrix franchise, the promotional efforts are made through the creation of the movie trilogy, web comics, animes, and computer games. Transmedia storytelling is being widely used in the entertainment industry today. The article points to Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! as very good examples. Pokemon is not only a TV show, but also a children’s card game, manga, and a very successful video game series. There are also currently 11 Pokemon movies.

Transmedia storytelling does not have to be limited to movies, TV shows, and children’s card games. In the case of the Harry Potter franchise, the transmedia storytelling has expanded into a theme park in Universal Studios Orlando. Effective advertising? I would say so.

Many movie companies are picking up on successful novels and turning them into popular franchises. Harry Potter is one example along with the ever popular Twilight. Next will be Suzane Collins’ The Hunger Games.

Transmedia storytelling is a very widespread practice in the world of popular media. It can compare to an advertising campaign in the business world. Taking advantage of the many entry points in the entertainment industry can really boost a franchise and intrigue consumers. Using different medias to appeal to different consumers can help to guarantee a massive following.

And Now Begins My ATEC 3325 Posts

Cuz before, I used to use this for my LIT class based on pop culture. But anyways, now this blog is dedicated to my intro to computer mediated communication blog assignments. That is all.