Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 LEGO STUDIES Since the “Automatic Binding Bricks” that LEGO produced in 1949, and the LEGO “System of Play” that began with the release of Town Plan No. 1 (1955), LEGO bricks have gone on to become a global phenomenon, and the favorite building toy of children, as well as many an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO). LEGO has also become a medium into which a wide number of media franchises, including Star Wars , Harry Potter , Pirates of the Caribbean , Batman , Superman , Lord of the Rings , and others, have adapted their characters, vehicles, props, and settings. The LEGO Group itself has become a multimedia empire, including LEGO books, movies, television shows, video games, board games, comic books, theme parks, magazines, and even MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games). LEGO Studies: Examining the Building Blocks of a Transmedial Phenomenon is the fi rst collection to examine LEGO as both a medium into which other fran- chises can be adapted and a transmedial franchise of its own. Although each essay looks at a particular aspect of the LEGO phenomenon, topics such as adaptation, representation, paratexts, franchises, and interactivity intersect through- Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 out these essays, proposing that the study of LEGO as a medium and a media empire is a rich vein barely touched upon in Media Studies. Mark J. P. Wolf is Chair of the Communication Department at Concordia University Wisconsin. He is the author of Building Imaginary Worlds and co-editor with Bernard Perron of The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies and The Video Game Theory Reader 1 and 2 . This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 LEGO STUDIES Examining the Building Blocks of a Transmedial Phenomenon Edited by Mark J. P. Wolf Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 First published 2014 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of the editor to be identifi ed as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data LEGO studies : examining the building blocks of a transmedial phenomenon / edited by Mark J.P. Wolf. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. LEGO toys. 2. Educational toys. 3. Popular culture. I. Wolf, Mark J. P. TS2301.T7L384 2015 688.7′25—dc23 2014019502 ISBN: 978-0-415-72287-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-72291-9 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-85801-2 (ebk) Typeset in ApexBembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 CONTENTS List of Figures vii Acknowledgments xi About the Contributors xiii Institutions xix Prolegomena xxi Mark J. P. Wolf 1 The Cultural History of LEGO 1 Lars Konzack 2 Adapting the Death Star into LEGO: The Case of LEGO Set #10188 15 Mark J. P. Wolf 3 Middle-earth and LEGO (Re)creation 40 Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 Neal Baker 4 Myth Blocks: How LEGO Transmedia Confi gures and Remixes Mythic Structures in the Ninjago and Chima Themes 55 Lori Landay 5 Chicks with Bricks: Building Creativity Across Industrial Design Cultures and Gendered Construction Play 81 Derek Johnson vi Contents 6 (Un)blocking the Transmedial Character: Digital Abstraction as Franchise Strategy in Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO Games 105 Jessica Aldred 7 Playset Nostalgia: LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and the Transgenerational Appeal of the LEGO Video Game Franchise 118 Robert Buerkle 8 Brick by Brick: Modularity and Programmability in MINDSTORMS and Gaming 153 Christopher Hanson 9 Building the LEGO Classroom 166 Michael Lachney 10 The LEGO System as a Tool for Thinking, Creativity, and Changing the World 189 David Gauntlett 11 LEGO: The Imperfect Art Tool 206 Nathan Sawaya 12 LEGO Art Engages People 216 Ed Diment and Duncan Titmarsh 13 The Virtualization of LEGO 227 Kevin Schut 14 Bright Bricks, Dark Play: On the Impossibility of Studying LEGO 241 Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 Seth Giddings 15 Afterword: D.I.Y. Disciplinarity—(Dis)Assembling LEGO Studies for the Academy 268 Jason Mittell Appendix: Resource Guide for LEGO Scholarship 275 Index 289 FIGURES 1.1 Patent #3,005,282, for the stud-and-tube design of the LEGO brick. 3 2.1 Four different LEGO incarnations of the Millenium Falcon, ranging in resolution from 663 pieces to 5,195 pieces. 21 2.2 The Kenner Death Star set from 1979, designed for use with the Kenner action fi gures. 22 2.3 The LEGO Death Star set #10188 (2008), as seen from the front and back. 24 2.4 Comparisons of the gun towers on the Death Star’s exterior; in the fi lm (top) and in set #10188 (bottom). 25 2.5 Comparisons of the garbage compactor interior; in the fi lm (top) and in set #10188 (bottom). 26 2.6 Comparisons of the Detention Block area, in the fi lm (left, top, and bottom) and set #10188 (right). 28 4.1 Lions in Chima. Left column, from top down: Legends of Chima animated series, 2013; the story of the Legend Beast, Laval riding Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 the Legend Beast, the Legend Beast easily thwarts a Chi-ed up Croc, and the temporary Chi-up state. Middle column, top: Lion Legend Beast playset #70123, Lagravis speedor from Royal Roost #70108; middle: Laval in iPad game LEGO® Legends of CHIMA: Speedorz™ (2014); bottom: Chi-up in Chima Online; right column: choosing avatar in Chima Online, multiplayer play in Chima Online, bottom: CHI Laval (set #70200). 61 4.2 Transmedial Imaginary Worlds Experience (model and photographs by Lori Landay). Ninjago images in the model (from top): Ninjago viii Figures book; tornado in animated series; iPad game; cards, minifi gures, and spinner. For these and other images, see http://lorilanday.com/lego. 63 4.3 Castle sets from 1986 and 2013. 73 5.1 Gender-normative Friends product ( Butterfl y Beauty Shop #3187) as marketed on the online LEGO storefront. 87 5.2 Screenshot from Feminist Frequency’s “LEGO and Gender Part 1” video, through which Anita Sarkeesian argues that the minidoll is an “entirely separate species” from the minifi gure. 90 5.3 Feminist attempts to mobilize the 1981 “What it is . .” ad, as seen on the Women You Need to Know blog. 93 5.4 Screenshot from Gizmodo.com in which the potential for supposed gender-neutral, free play with Friends is asserted. 96 5.5 Fenella plays with the Dolphin Cruiser and the mini-doll while exclaiming “Whee!” and “Splash!” . 97 5.6 Screenshot from a “behind the scenes” Chima designer video in which Adrian Florea is identifi ed as a designer and surrounded by lights and other self-refl exive production iconography. 98 6.1 The expanded cast of playable characters in LEGO The Lord of the Rings (2012) (top); Aragorn prepares Gimli for launch (center); and the master inventory of playable characters during the “Pass of Caradhras” chapter of LEGO The Lord of the Rings (bottom). 112 6.2 The Riders of Rohan strut their stuff during a typically fi gurative cut-scene performance. 115 8.1 Hans Andersson’s Tilted Twister robot, built from LEGO MINDSTORMS, is capable of autonomously solving a Rubik’s Cube. (Image provided by Hans Andersson, used with his permission) . 154 10.1 Participants in a LEGO Serious Play workshop. (Photo by David Gauntlett) . 193 10.2 A model of culture. 196 11.1 Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton made of LEGO. (Image courtesy of Nathan Sawaya) . 209 11.2 Red (2006). (Image courtesy of Nathan Sawaya) . 210 Downloaded by [New York University] at 13:09 03 October 2016 11.3 Yellow (2006). (Image courtesy of Nathan Sawaya) . 211 11.4 My Boy (2009). (Image courtesy of Nathan Sawaya) . 214 12.1 Bright Bricks’ LEGO Christmas tree, St Pancras Station, London, November 2012 to January 2013. 219 12.2 Sabre-toothed cat, “LEGO Lost World Zoo” exhibition, Milestones Museum, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, February 26, 2014 to April 27, 2014. 220 12.3 Milestones Museum visitor numbers and percentage change in visitor numbers . 221 Figures ix 12.4 Bright Bricks’ LEGO Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 jet engine, Rolls-Royce Plc, Derby, UK, 2012. 223 12.5 Bright Bricks’ LEGO tunnel boring machine for Bechtel Corporation, London, UK, 2013. 225 13.1 LEGO Digital Designer is a completely open-ended virtual LEGO-building tool. LEGO creators can make anything they can imagine—such as a pair of telegraph poles. 228 13.2 LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (2012) is one of the popular LEGO action games. It has a relatively elaborate narrative, and many rules that restrict free play. 234 14.1 “Crazy Bamboo Town”.