Transmedia is not a contemporary issue
Transmedia is not a contemporary issue. It existed since the early 20th century. The Mickey Mouse franchise is an example of an old transmedia. Created by Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse became famous through a widespread fan and audience engagement. Mickey mouse films had gained popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly among children in America. Disney, the company that owned Mickey Mouse, then set out on a merchandising effort aimed at creating Mickey Mouse merchandise so that the fans of the films could also engage with the products of the Mickey Mouse films. Disney sold the right to use Mickey Mouse on school tablets, the manufacture of Mickey Mouse dolls and other Mickey Mouse related merchandise. Parents of the day believed that by buying dolls, they were contributing towards the positive development of their children. The production of Mickey Mouse themed toys was a “daily advertisement in that household for [Disney’s] cartoons” (deCordova, 205).The production of the merchandise not only earned Disney profits in terms of royalties generated from the sales but also advertised their cartoons and further inculcated the cultural phenomenon that is Mickey Mouse into American households. These dolls found their way to theatres and Mickey Mouse clubs where children could have fun in activities themed on Mickey Mouse were borne. In this way, Disney was successful in “integrating materials experienced in different media together into a unified experience,” hence furthering the popularity of Mickey Mouse (Wolf 146). Transmedia has gained popularity over the last two decades for several reasons. First is the rapid technological advancement that has improved communication channels across the world. This has created easy means for fan engagement and more platforms for world-building that are essential for transmedia. Transmedia can now reach people through television, social media and other communication avenues, which also make marketing and advertising much easier than in the early years. Transmedia can also be extended across various platforms such as films, video games. The characteristic of transmedia that has helped it to thrive is the aesthetic completeness of each form of media and the independence of each platform. This has allowed people to be able to enjoy an extension of transmedia without necessarily knowing another extension. This has helped transmedia acquire a wide and diverse audience as it suits the diverse preferences of consumers on digital platforms.
- Contemporary audiences love the diversity in entertainment because it is a representation of the real world where different races, genders and cultures interact. The criticism directed at Hollywood because of the lack of its lack of diversity attests to this fact. Transmedia, given its unique characteristics of various platforms and different extensions, has a great opportunity for inclusivity and to be a representation of the realities of the world. Through medium specificity, narrative complexity, authorship & collaboration, or fandom, transmedia can be diverse and represent all the races, genders and cultures of contemporary society. One of the best ways through which transmedia can achieve this diversity is through fandom. Fandom is an old tradition whereby fans of various productions created art from derived the main productions as gifts and later became monetized. Fandoms provide a great way of increasing inclusivity. Contemporarily fandom “has been celebrated as improved visibility and voice for fans” (Stillman 81). Media generally draws fans from all cultures ad these fans coalesce into fandoms. Fandom contributes to the culture of a franchise. Works by fans include fan theories, stories, fiction and other extensions that add to the production. With the advent of technology, such as the internet and social media platforms, fandom has acquired more visibility and accessibility. The monetization of fan work has attracted people from various cultures to participate in fandom. Their fan work tends to represent their understanding, interpretation and expectations through a cultural lens. The set of practices and styles of fandoms are diversified and offer an avenue for people of all identities to interact with and participate in shaping the direction of a popular media form. Through fandom, niches that reflect the diversity in American society are created and affect the perception of media in America. Even though concerns have been raised about fandom concerning its possible “counterintuitive effect, increasing fan consumption of material and thus reinforcing the producers’ creative authority,” contemporary fandom has created an independent niche that s free from the main production (Scott 211). In these niches, fan work can criticize the lack of diversity by introducing narratives that advance diversity through the inclusion of characters that identify with racial and ethnic minorities. Fandom is particularly effective because it is decentralized in that it cannot be monopolized or censored. Therefore, it is relatively free from the machinations that could stifle diversity and inclusivity.
- Transmedia tends to mainly focus on a large scale, fictional, commercial and entertainment. However, there are many other aspects of society that face the challenges of having content being dispersed across multiple media platforms. One of the spaces that have grappled with the challenges and questions of transmedia is sports. Sports stories, in its basic sense, emerged from the interpretations of what happened on the field of play. Initially, sports were watched in stadiums and popularized through print media. Then came the sale of sports merchandise such as sports jerseys and other paraphernalia. The advancement in technology led to televised sports, which made led to a boom in the sports industry. In the age of the internet, sports stories have a presence on social media with an increasing fandom presence such as YouTube fan accounts and “websites whose contents specialize in sport” that have a significant influence on the sports franchise (Gutierrez, 27). Sports have thus become a feature in most media platforms, and this has challenged the norms and traditions that instructed the sports world. Fandom, for instance, has gained significant influence through the use of humour and parodies that “combines that aspect of humor with a specific shared reference” (Jenkins et al. 207). Fan accounts in social media platform are generally team specific. That is, they are dedicated to the news, views and opinions regarding a specific team such as the Lakers in the NBA or the Cowboys in the NFL have vast followings, and they are increasingly using their popularity to rally fans towards a certain course for the specific team. Sports franchises have struggled to authorize the content of these fan works because of the ubiquitous and decentralized nature of the internet. Fans of sports around the world have engaged in world-building by following the lives of individual players and creating video games and fantasy leagues. These worlds “keep returning, more than a story, and something they can often see, hear, and even interact with, depending on the medium used to encounter it” (Wolf 141). These worlds have created controversy as they are beyond the control of the sporting franchise and hence a source of issues such as fake news and gambling addiction that harms a sports franchise’s reputation. Questions have also been raised over whether the fan accounts that produce art such as wallpaper, memes, gifs and other art forms that contribute to the popularity of a sporting franchise should be paid by the sporting franchise. The significant popularity that fan accounts create for sporting franchises, opinion is split on whether the significant fans should be paid and, if so, which what criteria should be used for the selection of the fan accounts that deserve to be paid.