Post Option #2: Return of the Merch
P. David Marshall’s chapter on Intertextual Commodity is a great early 2000′s academic perspective on the developing trend we now know as transmedia. One of the core principles of his explanation for how this mode of intertextual entertainment has developed is the aspect of interactivity with the text, or simply put: play (p.71-73). It took industrial entertainment far too long to realize that everyone who is dedicated to story, not only children, love to get their hands in and play with a story.
Play is arguably different for adults, as they want to interact with the universe more than just make up their own stories for their action figures as children do. This is why video games are so successful, and Marshall argues that the level of interactivity they give is something that is being incorporated into many forms of entertainment as it appeals to audiences’ growing desire to have a deeper understanding of texts they consume (p.73).
There are two entities that understand this concept (and all of Marshall’s concepts) better than just about anyone else, and they are Star Wars and Disney. I can attest to Star Wars personally because of how invested in collecting action figures my brother and I were from as young as I can remember. I cannot say if they were the first to do so, but I would argue that Star Wars was the most successful in using merchandise to expand understanding of its universe.
A great example would be the Mos Eisley Cantina scene and subsequent merchandise. This scene was so appealing because it showed a wealth of unique creatures all coexisting in an environment similar to ones in real life. But who are all of these non-human characters? You might be familiar with Ponda Baba, the character who is dismembered by Obi-wan because you bought his action figure (as I did) which has his name printed on it. Similarly every creature, droid, and vehicle in every scene has a name, and the easiest way to find out was buying toys (which were still on the shelves 20 years after the film was released). And this concept goes far deeper once you get into the realm of games and books and the like, which could certainly be considered merchandise because they must be purchased to be enjoyed.
Combine this marketing prowess with Disney, supreme ruler of mass commercialization, and what do you get? Force Friday. As K.M. McFarland’s article for Wired describes, now that Disney is behind Star Wars merchandise, it is going to be a phenomenon like never before. The article describes how Disney is flexing its marketing muscles to get even small manufacturers’ products into big stores like Target, Kohls, and Walmart. Disney and Star Wars as a brand know how to strengthen their cultural commodity through every possible facet of production to give the the fans exactly what they want: a deeper understanding and involvement in a fictional universe, which in turn gives the production companies what they want.
Marshall, P. David. "The New Intertextual Commodity." The New Media Book. Ed. Dan Harries. London: BFI Pub., 2002. 69-81. Print.
McFarland, K. M. "Disney Is Going to Sell a Lot of Star Wars Merch." Wired. Condé Nast Digital, 3 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
Spaceballs. Dir. Mel Brooks. By Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan, and Ronny Graham. Prod. Mel Brooks and Ezra Swerdlow. Perf. Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1987.
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