154.101 Introduction to Media Studies
We are told stories throughout of life times. These stories can appear in many separate mediums as self contained narratives, however there are many stories which may be told/expanded on in different mediums. This is Transmedia Storytelling. A Transmedia narrative is one in which elements of a story are expressed across a range of different mediums in a way that creates a unified entertainment experience. On top of this dispersal of a narrative, each medium’s contribution to the overall narrative should incorporate elements of story telling the are specific to that medium. In order to fully understand the reasons behind making a Tansmedia Narrative it is useful to explore and analysis an existing Transmedia storyworld. The case study for this essay is Game of Thrones. Specifically the television series and the Telltale episodic game under the same name.
When comparing how the different mediums explore the overarching storyworld we must look at the fabula (the story in chronological order), the syuzhet (the order and way in which the story is told), focalisation (whose point of view the story is told), medium specificity and the audience labour.
The basic narrative that is taking place within the storyworld of Game of Thrones is of several noble families fighting for control of the mythical land of Westeros. This is the story or the fabula. What is important is the way in which this story is told, they way events are ordered
In conclusion, Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm,” as well as “New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticat are good examples of fiction that show how plot, setting, and point of view are used or seen within a story. 2. A story’s plot consists of four parts; an exposition, a crisis, a climax, and a resolution. 3. A story’s setting is not only the time and place of the story, but the setting also “encompasses a wide variety of physical and cultural elements” (Kirszner and Mandell 171). 4. There are three different points of view; first, second, which is rarely used, and third. 5. First person uses words like “I, me, or my”, second person uses “you”, and third person uses words such as “he, she, or it.” 6. Kirszner and Mandell said that point of view is “the vantage point from which events are presented” (198). 7. Plot, setting, and point of view are only three of several parts of what makes fiction. 8. Although fiction means false, some works of fiction may have factual elements within them, but for the most part, are false. 9. Fiction is a large part of today’s society because it is seen everywhere, such as books, movies, theater, and so on. 10. Without fiction, life would be much less exciting and duller. 11. Yes, there would still be books, movies, etc., but fiction gives artists a way to express their imagination with no
The first argument that arose out of the video game world was the debate of video game violence. Still unresolved, this debate has actually allowed for the video game industry to come fully into the main stream. As the din over violence quieted the fans of the game society began to focus on issues more akin to their own style. So then began the debate of game play vs. the video game narrative. The question arose; can a game also be a story? While the semantics would suggest that, no, a game cannot be a story, we do realize that a game can contain a story. However,
The narrative perspective helps us discover the underlying moral of the story– that is its argument about how we ought to and ought not to believe or behave (Sellnow 2017). Part of the narrative perspective is the viewer’s narrative rationality which refers to the assessment of good reasons used to persuade masses of the moral (Sellnow 2017). Another element in this perspective is its coherence defined as plausibility. Often times viewers will better agree with a moral whose story is believable and characters relatable. And the more believable and relatable the more the story resonates and that connects to its fidelity or the degree to which the values in a story ring true (Sellnow 2017). Under a narrative lens several different aspects are examined such as the actions and conditions that create the active and static events, the setting, characters that based on their depth are either round or flat. With predictable characters being flat and the unpredictable round.
Narratives have massive importance in the driving of big ideas about how we view our world. They use many different techniques, to either subtly or plainly plant ideas into our minds. The author can point out big problems in our world, and by making it relevant to the consumer, lead them to think more about what is going on around them. They can turn something that doesn’t make sense to someone and by changing something very simple, make it more relevant.
As a derivative of language, stories help to combine key aspects of wisdom so we can continue to improve greatly as a species. The third group discussed how our stories are a reflection of who we are, whether personal or general as explored in Thomas King`s essay `The Truth About Stories`. In particular, they are used to define our identity as we attach ourselves to characters that are exhibited in similar circumstances. Furthermore, personal stories render us in a state of vulnerability so we can question cryptic thoughts that are not recognized often. As said by group 3, “Stories help to escape, comfort and answer questions”. General stories such as the theory of creation help establish societies and environments by providing meaning to our existence. King highlights the importance of strategic storytelling by informing the reader to “not confuse strategy with sophistication” as the significance of the truth can be
Storytelling, in many ways, allows one to express their imagination through fanciful adventures and tales; thus, serving a purpose in terms of allowing an individual to cope with their tragedies, but also to entertain one another. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and in Tim Burton’s Big Fish, the audience comes to realize that the conflict between fact and truth, combined with storytelling, are the central themes; it becomes clearer that facts have to be proven, whereas the truth is usually straightforward. These stories focus around the protagonists’ views, teaching the value, truth, and purpose of storytelling; in which, it is the pieces that collectively form the importance of storytelling. Storytelling allows the protagonists of both stories to cope with their struggles, and assists them in overcoming their adversities. It partly influences their decisions, and ideas; ultimately, changing their own perspectives in their struggles. Both show that stories can be incredibly meaningful and take on significant roles for the characters, which can be used to answer important questions about the truth.
Alsultany discussed Simplified Complex Representations as the strategies that Television producers, writers, and the director’s use. These strategies give the impression that most material covered in the media must remain complex. There is an increase in diversity each
The themes between the two narratives gives a guide to the reader on the focus for the author, which enables the reader to learn different views and have different emotions while reading the narratives.
All stories consist of a few common structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, and movies. They are known collectively as The Hero’s Journey. Understanding these elements and their use in modern writing is the object of our quest. Used wisely, these ancient tools of the storytellers craft still have tremendous power to heal our people and make the world a better place (xxvii).
The power of storytelling can create connections between people and allow individuals to find their inner
recent years, consumers will likely agree that modern media has too much recycled material. With more and more reboots and sequels coming out in recent years, this “phenomenon” has garnered a lot of negative criticisms. Yet it is arguable all stories and ideas of today come from past generations, reboot or not, and this trend of recycling content is not unique to this era. This recycled content is revamped constantly to cater to newer audiences and to reflect these new audience’s moral and cultural beliefs. Take, for example, the Cinderella story which has been retold to entertain cultures as old as the ancient Egyptians to little girls in the United States during the 1950s.
Storytelling has always been an ancient art form, taking people back to past cultures. Some believe stories were first printed on rock, carved into clay tablets, stone, bark and other materials. With the beginnings of writing they moved on to parchment and paper and now are digitally produce. “When we experience a story, we allow ourselves to be invaded by the teller” (Gottschall XV). If the author is good at his job, we are completely taken over by the story and our mind is working hard to absorb the characters, theme, colors and scenes. Early video games did not have a story but with the new digital forms, stories are necessary to keep players involved. Storytelling in games gives the gamers the opportunity to be involved in the game, experience the characters, stimulate feelings like fear and excitement and let the player know they make situations happen and the choices they make affect the outcome as well as motivate them to continue on. Graphics have always been important to the game, but developers are now realizing that the story is equally as important if players want to stick with the game.
There are different forms of literature which can include essays, poems, novels, reports and more. The one thing all forms of literature have in common is that they all have meaning, purpose and form, but how it is expressed is all different, the question is how. Most of the times authors have a reason to convey such messages, and how the messages are delivered is up to the author as well. The author uses the form, it’s aesthetics to send the readers an image; what kind of literature it is. The authors also send the readers a blatant message, the message is sent through the text of the literature. Through the text on the literature the author portrays purpose, and with the form of the
The second oldest form of literature after poetry is drama. Dramas have changed a lot over the years. They use to plays that were wrote to be performed in the theater, and now they are mostly written to be performed in a movie or a television show. There are many dramas today that most people would not considered to be drama. Before reading the information in our text book, I thought drama was basically just a story or movie between people who had problems with each other; but that’s not completely true. Dramas can basically be anything that has a hero or dialogue to a certain extent. For this paper, I choose to write about the drama in the movie The Hunger Games. This movie is not just only drama, it is also adventure and sci-fi movie.
They way stories are told may morph, but never will storytelling cease. From their people skills to their memories, there is no argument that storytellers possess boundless talent and intelligence. They were the first educators. And now, storytelling is a large part of everyday life. The news in the morning, the gossip throughout the day, the casual response to the casual “What’s up?” – It’s all a form of storytelling. Our lives are steeped in it. In almost every conversation a story is told. At every turn a story is born. So we all are storytellers, and the world is our audience, just waiting to hear the gospel leave our