#baddgerz

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Tales From The Black Gate: Chroniclers

In the reading “Sites of Participation: Wiki Fandom and the case of Lostpedia” Jason Mittell writes that fan wikis “...constitute a system of participation” (Mittell 1.3). This system can be easily seen on the Tolkien wiki, also known as The One Wiki to Rule Them All. Currently, the fanon section of The One Wiki to Rule Them All is holding a contest called “Tales From the Black Gate: Chroniclers” in which fans can utilize Wikia’s new map feature to chronicle their own tales of The Black Gate of Mordor in the sixty years between the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. A winner is chosen through fan vote, and will have their story placed on the front page of The One Wiki to Rule Them All. In the reading, Mittell refers to Sarah Toten’s take “...that wiki’s as a platform seem to be better suited to such typically masculinist pursuits of cataloguing and analysis than to feminine creativity and community,” and states that his experiences have been different than Toten’s and complicate the “neat linkage between technological platform, gender identity, and mode of fandom,”(Mittell 2.2). “Tales from the Black Gate: Chroniclers” supports Mittell’s take on wiki’s rather than Toten’s, as it is event being held for the sole purpose of fan creation rather than fan collection. Mittel furthers his argument stating that Toten’s viewpoint is flawed as different Wiki’s demand different analysis as they may be larger or more in depth. The One Wiki to Rule Them All, being incredibly large with a ton of fan involvement, more closely aligns with Mittell’s view on sites of participation. “Tales From the Black Gate: Chroniclers”  can be seen as a parallel to “The Lost Experience”, the ARG that Mittell mentions in his essay. Much like “The Lost Experience”, “Tales from the Black Gate: Chroniclers” acts as an example of a wikis “...dual function as a catalog of canon and a site of original creativity,” (Mittell 2.34). Despite the contests goal of encouraging fan original content, it does have very specific guidelines that creators must follow, most notably the time period of the canon in which they are allowed to create their stories. This is done to protect the boundaries between fanon and canon, and keep the wiki in control over its own contest. “Tales from the Black Gate: Chroniclers” is a noteworthy showcase of a wiki’s ability to not only encourage and cultivate original fan content on The One Wiki to Rule Them All, but also the wiki’s ability to control the distinction between fanon and canon.

Mittell, Jason. “Sites of Participation: Wiki Fandom and the Case of Lostpedia.” View of Sites of Participation: Wiki Fandom and the Case of Lostpedia | Transformative Works and Cultures, journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/118/117.

http://shadowofwar.wikia.com/wiki/Portal:Tales_from_the_Black_Gate

http://lotrfanon.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

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Fanboys and Failures:“The Last Airbender”

In her essay “Who’s Steering the Mothership? The Role of the Fanboy Auteur in Transmedia Storytelling” Suzanne Scott discusses the idea of the “fanboy auteur”, a creator who touts their “fanboy credentials” (Scott 44) in order to garner audience's appreciation and admiration. In most cases the idea of the fanboy auteur has worked as it simultaneously garners excitement and enthusiasm from the audience, while also allowing a person with passion for the project to helm it. Some notable cases being Joss Whedon with The Avengers, or J.J Abrams with The Force Awakens. However, the fanboy auteur model is not always successful, with the most notable case being the infamous film “The Last Airbender”. In a interview done for Nerdist, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, the creators of the television series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” discussed their experience with “The Last Airbender” stating they had no intention of creating a film for their hit TV series, and once the film had lifted off the ground Paramount would not allow them to be the ones to create it. They mention they were “dealt the cards we were dealt and had to live with it”. Konietzko and DiMartino being the creators who “steer the mothership” as Scott would say, divulge in detail that taking control away from them and putting it into the hands of Shyamalan, brought the downfall of the potential franchise

The idea here for Paramount was simple. Employ this hot property to try and create a new epic family franchise using the transmedia model. Throughout production, Shyamalan often touted his appreciation for the source material, evident in an interview with The Washington Post in which he states he fell for the “...mythology” of the show, and that it felt “...like somebody had taken all my interests and put them into one…”. By stating this, Shyamalan was acknowledging his role as a fanboy auteur. However, as noted by Scott, fans often have a “complex relationship” with fanboys auteur’s and openly “critique the fanboy auteur’s control over the transmedia narrative…” (Scott 49). This complex relationship is easily seen with “The Last Airbender”.

“The Last Airbender” effectively failed to be the starting point to what was supposed to be a strong and viable franchise. As noted in the podcast interview from Nerdist, creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino had next to no input into the film, which is often the most credited reason as to why the film failed. In her essay Suzanne Scott mentions that transmedia extensions tend to fail when the original creator is not involved in anyway or approves the extension, as it wipes out what she calls “affective value”  (Scott 45). By denying Konietzko and Dimartino any type of creative control in the film and relying solely on Shyamalan, a self proclaimed “fanboy auteur”, the audience had no emotional investment in the film and thus the potential franchise hit a wall before it was even able to start running.

Work Cited

Scott, Suzanne. Who's Steering the Mothership?: The Role of the Fanboy Auteur in Transmedia Storytelling. www.academia.edu/15087580/Whos_Steering_the_Mothership_The_Role_of_the_Fanboy_Auteur_in_Transmedia_Storytelling.

https://nerdist.com/nerdist-writers-panel-154-legend-of-korraavatar-the-last-airbender/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2010/07/talking_with_director_m_night.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P1bbfeZqms