The Transmedia Trend

Honesty, the notion of Transmedia scares me. That may seem strange for an eighteen year-old who has grown up during the genesis of this storytelling format, following characters and storylines that evolve through presentation in different media, to say. I admit, it’s a viewpoint much more likely to be held by those collecting social security and not familiar with the new technologies through which Transmedia storytelling occurs. But there ya have it.

 

I am sure there are many, primarily young people who have grown up engaged by Transmedia enterprises, who find it able to provide vehicles to tell and interlink all the little facets of the stories they want to get out there. But for the most part, I am convinced Transmedia is the design of synergy-using media conglomerates to get more money by creating hooks for products related to earlier products (built-in advertising). You do not need, for example, to have seen the Barbie fairy princess movie to enjoy playing with the dolls. But Mattel would certainly love for children to think that the movie and dolls are mutually exclusive. 

 

Coming to college, I felt like the kid who, raised thinking of carrots as a treat, came to kindergarten not knowing what the heck those salty, crunchy, greasy, yellow things all the other kids brought were. But I don't regret the comparatively medieval way I grew up. I may not know who Yoshi is, but I fondly remember creating my own little worlds from pulled-up chunks of grass for my dinosaurs and Lion King figures to play in. I played a lot with Barbies, but never remember needing to see those cartoon Barbie movies. I did jump on the Pokemon Transmedia bandwagon: collecting cards, watching the show, ands seeing the movie. However, that had more to do with my awkwardness and desire to fit in when I was little (an issue for another time) more than any actual investment in the Pokemon world.

 

Despite all my apprehensions about the use of Transmedia to tell stories and sell things, nowadays there can be no denying it is the wave of the future for storytelling to all ages. We are a culture that has a particular propensity to become obsessed with things, be they television shows, movies, books, etc. While the story of Lost told on television can be appreciated as is, the producers have created various online additional stories, from the Internet scavenger hunt-like Lost Experience to new online segments that fit in, add information, and lend new meaning to the show itself. I must admit, Transmedia-phobe that I am, as an ardent Lost fan I have followed some of the online additions, though not all. This form of storytelling is able to expand, and thus further the reality of, these fictional plots. No matter what the motives are behind the use of Transmedia, it's the perceived reality of stories that fires up the imagination. Which is the best result.