Bibliography

Kirkman, R. (2003). The Walking Dead (Comic Book). 1st ed. California: Image Comics.

The Walking Dead, (2010). [TV programme] AMC.

The Walking Dead (Video Game). (2014). California: Telltale games.

Forzus, A. (2012). Nick Grimes. [image] Available at: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/053/d/f/rick_grimes_painting_by_arthurforzus-d4qmuej.jpg [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Wikipedia, (2014). Clementine_as_shown_in_The_Walking_Dead_Season_Episode_3_In_Harms_Way. [image] Available at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Clementine_as_shown_in_The_Walking_Dead_Season_2%2C_Episode_3_In_Harms_Way.png [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Gray, J. (2010). Show sold separately. 1st ed. New York: New York University Press.

ERB, (2010). ERB. [online] YouTube. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMu5gPmKp5av0QCAajKTMhw [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Breaking Bad, (2008-2013). [TV programme] AMC.

Epic Rap Battles of History, (2014). Rick Grimes vs Walter White. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 3.. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krQHQvtIr6w [Accessed 28 May. 2014]. The Walking Dead Forum, (2014). “To Live Again”. [online] Available at: http://www.walkingdeadforums.com/forum/f99/live-68712.html [Accessed 20 May. 2014].

Brooker, W. (2002). Using the force. 1st ed. New York: Continuum.

Jenkins, H. (1992). Textual poachers. 1st ed. New York: Routledge.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Fans, bloggers, and gamers. 1st ed. New York: New York University Press.

Ang, I. (1991). Desperately seeking the audience. 1st ed. London: Routledge. Manovich, L. (2002). The language of new media. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown up digital. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Rose, F. (2011). The art of immersion. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Davis, W. (2014). MediaPost Publications Yahoo!: Internet Users ‘Mesh’ Web With Television 04/19/2005. [online] Mediapost.com. Available at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/29314/yahoo-internet-users-mesh-web-with-television.html [Accessed 27 May. 2014]. Walkingdead.wikia.com, (2014). Walking Dead Wiki. [online] Available at: http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_Wiki [Accessed 27 May. 2014].

International Business Times, (2014). Norman Reedus of ‘The Walking Dead’ Tweets About Fan Art Book Project, Needs More Tattoos in the Book. [online] Available at: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/552150/20140512/norman-reedus-new-fan-art-book.htm#.U4WvFi_HISU [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Reyes, N. (2013). Web 2.0. [image] Available at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Herramientas_web_2.0.jpg [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Conclusion

In conclusion, through the observation of the media text ‘The Walking Dead’, with research and reading into the interactions with the audience and the media text, in comparison to the development of new media technologies, multiple arguments have been put forward and questioned. On one hand, audience participation has been key to the creation of paratexts, however it can be seen through the research that in order for audience participation to be as effective as it has been for the media text, that the new technologies such as the Internet have brought about platforms such as forums and social media sites, that have allowed the audience to participate with the text and communicate with each other a lot easier than it would have been through old media such as television alone or radio, as these mediums allow little to none interaction. The easy access to video sharing sites and forums has also allowed the audience to create and be able to view fan generated paratext’s and have begun to create online networks in which they are able to discuss through the Internet about the development of new texts and suggestions to each other about how to improve stories written by anonymous users. However, it can be found that the development of new technologies and new platforms has been key to the spread of the media text, however, most of the online forums have been created by the audience themselves, allowing the audience to create new platforms for the media text to exist on. An example of this is a proposed book by the actor Norman Reedus who plays the character Daryl Dixon, which will contain a collection fan made art, which has been posted, to him by twitter and email (International Business Times, 2014). It can be seen here that by the participation of fans with the text, a new platform is being created without the need of a new technological development. This suggests that the spread of the media text across platforms is not reliant on just one of these factors, but each allows the other to be exploited by the audience, as the participatory culture relies heavily on the technology and platforms available and the technology and platforms also rely on the audience to participate, allowing the platforms to exist and in some cases creating the platform itself.

(Reyes, 2013)

Reflection

Throughout the research of this case study and the careful analysis of multiple different concepts and applying them to the cross media text ‘The Walking Dead’. I feel that I have developed a clear understanding of the concepts that I have researched and I have learned multiple key lessons about structuring the arguments for my case study. A key lesson that has been reoccurring in my research has been the conflict between the multiple arguments that I had put forward. For example my argument that the technologies that are constantly being developed, are allowing cross platforms text to spread across different platforms, has been challenged by the argument that the spreading of the text it is in fact reliant on the audience through participatory culture, as it is suggested that the audience is actually exploiting the development of new technologies and platforms and that the development of such technologies has just allowed audience participation to be accessed easier. However my second argument was also being challenged by my first, as I learnt through my research that the participatory culture also did have an effect on the development of new platforms and technologies. This showed me the criticality of each concept against each other, which made me question my original decision for this case study. Through this experience I feel I have learned how to approach new concepts with a more critical mind, as I would be able to predict any challenges that would occur with my arguments. The multiple challenges that I faced with my arguments and concepts through my research ultimately caused my position on the subject change as I was writing the case study. Originally, I believed that the conclusion of the case study would have resulted with the suggestion that it was the development of technology that was the main reason that the media text was featured over such a broad space, however through my research I learned that it was equally the participation of the audience and that the two concepts challenged each other. From this I came to the conclusion that both of the concepts allowed one another to influence the space that the media text occupied. This was how my position changed through the case study and I feel has impacted my future media production by showing me the correlation between the media technology and the audience and how they can be used together to spread across space and help generate fan content such as paratext’s.

The Development of Technology continued…

It can be argued, that as the media text has been able to spread across space, the audience has begun to create new mediums to ‘enhance’ another, known as media meshing. Wendy Davis on an online article argues that “Using the Web in this fashion–dubbed “media meshing” by the report–“fulfills a need to become more deeply involved with hobbies, interests or stories that kindle passionate involvement,” states the report.” (Davis, 2014) An example of media meshing with the media text ‘The Walking Dead’ can be the websites such as ‘The Walking Dead Wiki’ (Walkingdead.wikia.com, 2014), which helps provide the audience with information from characters to storylines of the media text across all of its platforms such as the television series, the comic book and the game. This website can be accessed on IPhone’s, IPad’s or laptops while the television program can be playing in the background. This use of multiple screens shows how the multiple platforms, brought on by new technologies can be used to compliment each other and help the audience delve deeper into the media text and have a better understanding of content that they may have missed. The website even includes trivia’s about the text such as information about the behind the scenes development of characters and storyline’s, for example on the character page of Carl Grimes, it revels that the creator named the character after his father. The website also offers the audience the option to vote in poll’s such as “What did you think of the midseason finale” in which there are options such as “It was amazing” or “It was awful”. However, this idea can tie into the concept of audience participation being a prime catalyst for the expansion of the media text through the development of technology, which could challenge the suggestion that it is the development of new technologies alone that is allowing this cross platform text to exist over a large space.

The Development of Technology

However, It could be suggested that the expansion of the media text The Walking Dead to multiple platforms such as television, the web and a videogames could be based on the technology that is available through new media. As The Walking Dead was a comic, this means that the text is very much based on visuals. The expansion to more visual platforms, such as television, games consoles and the Internet meant that the producers could create realistic interpretations of the comic books through forms such as television, and could be recreated as the authors were intending for it to be, which they may not have been able to recreate as well on a platform such as radio. As said by Manovich’s in his book ‘The language of New Media’ (Manovich, 2002) “Today we are witnessing the emergence of a new medium — the meta- medium of the digital computer. In contrast to a hundred years ago, when cinema was coming into being” Producers have the option to create a realistic experience for the viewers due to the technological advancements that were not possible before new media and through this they were accurately able to create the style and the content intended. This could have proved a strong case to consider Television and the web as platforms for the media text, as the digital effects and technology available would allow for greater quality and experience. The same can be said for the ‘Walking Dead Game’. The game was created on a game engine allowing for it to be available on many different platforms such as Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, iOS, OS X, PlayStation Vita, Kindle Fire HDX and android. By releasing the game and making it available on many different platforms, it could be argued that the producers are broadening the space that the media text covers and allowing the media to be available to a greater audience, particularly the new generation, Tapscott says “The print media company and the TV network are hierarchical organisations that reflect the values of their owners. New media, on the other hand, give control to all users. The distinction between bottom-up and top-down organisational structure is at the heart of the new generation.” (Tapscott, 2009). However, the suggestion that new technology is taking over the old such as television can be criticised, The Walking Dead television series is not being overtaken by interactive media such as web forums and games, as the series itself can be viewed on the web just as easy, Frank Rose says “Americans are watching more TV than ever – but, like their counterparts around the globe, increasingly they do it on their own schedule, and at the same time they’re uploading their own videos to YouTube, posting their snapshots on Flickr, sharing their thoughts on Blogger or WordPress, and connecting with one another through MySpace and Facebook.” (Rose, 2011) So it can be argued that television as an object may be replaced; however television as an industry is growing even more.

Participatory Culture Continued…

 

Another example of participatory culture within The Walking Dead is the fan fiction section of the ‘Walking Dead Forums’ (The Walking Dead Forum, 2014) in which the audience uploads personal unofficial texts such as extended stories to the series and other fans can contribute. For example, a user with the screen name “Rapscallion” posted a story called “To Live Again” in which they give a story of the characters rebuilding the prison that they have taken refuge in during the zombie invasion. In the comment section other users have complimented the story whereas others have criticised the story written, a lot of users even add their own content to this story to improve it how they see fit. In one case, the user “Stuff&Thangs” comments, “This is completely unrealistic. Maggie treats Beth like an actual sister here” This shows a debate of the audience about the authenticity of the story, Will Brooker (Brooker, 2002) believes the same of other communities saying they are “a hubbub of voices speaking in turn but with little agreement save for temporary alliances, and little progression as the participants stick to their deeply held beliefs” and goes on to say “to talk of fan reaction or the fan viewpoint – in cases such as this at least is to impose an imagined consensus on a community that thrives debate”. These examples clearly show that the interaction of the audience has allowed the media text to spread across other platforms and generate more content for the engaged audience, Henry Jenkins suggests that the audience “actively assert their mastery over the mass – produced text which provide the materials for their own cultural productions on the basis of their social interactions” (Jenkins 1992). This could suggest that now, through new media, the communities participating to the media text through multiple different platforms have equal power over the media texts as do the corporate media, Jenkins in ‘Fans, Bloggers and gamers’ (Jenkins, 2006), says “In practice, the evolution of most media has been shaped through the interactions between the distributed power of grassroots participatory media and the concentrated power of corporate/governmental media”. However, it could be argued that despite the control and power the audience has over media texts through the participation with new media, the ultimate power relies with the authors of the original content as they introduce the audience to material and control the audience that the content is aimed towards. In order for the audience to interact with the media, they must first be engaged by the media through the producers advertisement of the text using the information of the target audience intended. Ien Ang writes in ‘Desperately Seeking the Audience’, “Audiences must constantly be seduced, attracted, lured. How-to-get-an-audience is, willy-nilly, the institution’s key predicament, even though this is not always acknowledged as such.” (Ang, 1991). This suggests that the control of the media text, while it might seem to be under influence by the audience, ultimately could be under control by the producers who aim the content to the audience. Thus creating the fan base that leads to the creation of pretext’s through multiple platforms which undermines the argument that the age of new media is bringing about the death of an author, as there will always have to be the authors creating and ‘luring’ the audience in.

Participatory Culture

It could be argued, that the expansion of the cross media text ‘The Walking Dead’ across multiple platforms, is due to the participatory culture, that is taking place on platforms of new media, such as the Internet, video-sharing websites such as YouTube and Vimeo and online forums. Through these platforms, media audiences are able to take the existing story and world that has been created by the authors of the cross-platform media text and extend it with their own fan generated content, creating a paratext, adding backstories and new features that have not been put forward by the authors. These paratext’s can also take place as discussions or ‘fan fictions’ on forums on the Internet. The participation of the audience with media texts, suggests that they are creating a more personal and enjoyable text for the said audience and allows other’s to contribute and discuss matters that exist in the text. As said by Jonathan Gray (Gray, 2010), the audience “Carve a more personalised route through the text” and “create a reflective space in which viewers can engage more closely with the psyches, motivations, and specificities of multiple characters than they might be able to in the films or programs themselves.” An example of a spoof paratext of ‘The Walking Dead’ was created by the famous YouTube group known as “Epic Rap Battles of History” (ERB, 2010) in which they took the character Rick Grimes from the TV series of the media text and portrayed him as having a rap battle against Walter White, the main character from the TV series ‘Breaking Bad’ (Breaking Bad, 2008-2013) in a video called “Rick Grimes vs Walter White” (Epic Rap Battles of History, 2014). By doing so, it could be suggested that the creators of the video have taken on the multiple texts and made it their own work of fiction. This notion of almost ‘taking over’ a media text or multiple texts from the authors and creating paratext’s has been suggested by Frank Rose who says “Digital media have created an author-ship crisis. Once the audience is free to step out into the fiction and start directing events, the entire edifice of the twentieth century begins to crumble” (Rose, 2011).

This case study and ‘The Walking Dead’ contextualised

This case study will study the cross platform media text ‘The Walking Dead’, which was a comic book that has branched off into many other platforms. In this case study, it will be argued through evidence given from research, whether the development of technology has been the key reason as to why the media text has been spread over the multiple different spaces that it occupies from originally being a comic book. This argument could be supported by the analysis of multiple different theories and concepts about the technological advancements of technology and how they can dictate the movement of a media text over space to become a cross platform media text. It will also be argued, whether the participation and interaction of the audience is the reason for the media text to have spread across multiple platforms. This case study will research examples of other media texts that this may apply to, and apply theories of the relationship between the audience and the media texts, to see if audiences are creating their own content known as paratext’s, which ultimately allows the text to exist on other platforms. It will be determined at the end of this case study, which argument has most evidence. ‘The walking Dead’ is an on going comic book, created by Robert Kirkman, set in a world in which a zombie invasion has taken place, which follows the survivors and their journey’s through the new post apocalyptic world. The comic book follows a police officer Nick Grimes after he wakes up from a coma, and begins to try to find his wife and son. Throughout the story, new characters are introduced and killed off, new villains such as ‘The Governor’ are introduced and other characters are brought in to join the main group of survivors. The AMC TV series, while following the same characters, does tend to be quite different to the original comic book plot, such as the character plot of Shane Walsh, which features a lot more in the TV series than the comic book. It can be said that this was done as it allows the audience to witness the character development of the character Shane, which engages the audience of the television series, whereas it might not have been as important to do so in the comic books. On the other hand, the video game of ‘The Walking Dead’ follows an entirely different group of survivors, following the protagonist Lee Everett, a history teacher being sent to prison for the murder of a state senator, helping a young girl called Clementine, reach her father Hershel Greene, who does feature in both the comic book series and the television series but has been adapted into the game plot.

(Wikipedia, 2014)

An Introduction

‘The Walking Dead’ is a contemporary cross-platform media text ranging from its original platform, a comic book (Kirkman, 2003) to a television show (The Walking Dead, 2010), animated comic, novels, merchandise such as pint glasses and lighters, a board game, a computer game (The Walking Dead (Video game), 2014) and the walking dead app “Dead Yourself”. The expansion of this media text across multiple platforms was mainly credited to the AMC TV adaption of the comic book, which was critically acclaimed and was nominated for multiple awards. Throughout the development of the walking dead and through its multiple platforms, it could be argued that a key reason to its popularity and growing audience is the audience engagement through platforms such as the Internet and other new media. Platforms such as the Internet allow the audience to interact with the media text through forums, video sharing websites and social networking, which would help the audience engage with the text and feel a lot more of a personal connection than watching it just on television. Through audience engagement, it can be seen that content is generated by the audience to extend the media beyond the borders of the authors media text, creating paratext’s that which in itself offers more content to other fans. However, it can also be argued that it is the development of new media technologies that could be the reason for this cross-media text being as successful as it was and how it has spread across multiple platforms, as the new technologies offer more interaction and information for the audience in comparison to the television or radio and allow for a more visually realistic interpretation of the comic books that would not have been possible before the digital enhancements of the new media.

(Forzus, 2012)