A Shift in Complex Narrative Changing Features and Audience Activity

Home , All In (House), Episode 8 (Twin Peaks), Episode 9 (Twin Peaks), House of Cards (novel), Slap Bet, The End of the Aisle

A SHIFT IN COMPLEX NARRATIVE CHANGING FEATURES AND AUDIENCE ACTIVITY

An analysis of the House of Cards Trilogy (1990) and House of Cards (2013)

Universiteit van Amsterdam Masters’s Thesis Evelien Bloemena Television and Cross-Media Culture: Professional Track (Documentary) Student number: 1020553 Supervisor: Dr. Sudeep Dasgupta Second Reader: Dr. Jaap Kooijman June 2016 Abstract

Complex narrative, introduced firstly by Jason Mittell, is a concept that describes deep narrational complexity in long-form television shows. It is a crucial component of the era of complex television, that rose in the early nineties as a result of technological advancements. Following the technological advancements of the past 26 years, there has been a shift in this concept, implying that it continuously needs to be reconsidered. This thesis depicts and describes this shift through building upon the concept of complex narrative. Firstly, three major features that form the concept of complex narrative are defined: 'extensions, 'intensity and 'temporality'. Secondly, it is demonstrated how technological advancements resulted in a higher audience activity, and how this affected complex narrative. As a third step, the shift in complex narrative is exposed with help of a textual analysis of the features of complex narrative and audience activity in two serials — the House of Cards Trilogy (BBC, 1990) and House of Cards (Netflix, 2013). Based on the foregoing, this study shows that deeper narrational complexity has been created by more creative and excessive use of the features and a higher audience activity, due to Web 2.0.

Keywords: complex narrative • audience activity • Jason Mittell • extension, intensity, temporality• House of Cards • the House of Cards Trilogy • long-form television • (online) paratexts • flow

1 Index

Chapter 1: Introduction 5 1.1 Research question, method and structure 6 Chapter 2: Features of complex narrative and audience activity 9 2.1 Section 1: Features of Complex Narrative 9 2.1.1 Extension 9 2.1.2 Intensity 11 2.1.2.A Centrifugal- versus centripetal complexity of the narrative 2.1.2.B Operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity 2.1.3 Temporality 15 2.1.3.A Flashbacks and Flash-forwards 2.1.3.B Other strategies of temporality in complex narrative 2.2 Section 2: Audience activity: from a viewing to a participatory audience 18 2.2.1 Determining the notion of flow in the light of the VCR, DVR and DVD 19 2.2.2 The rise of Web 2.0 and its effect on audience activity 21 2.2.2.A Collective intelligence: fandoms and interaction between audiences and creators Chapter 3: Shifting complex narrative: an analysis of the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards 25 3.1 The House of Cards Trilogy 25 3.1.1 Extension in the House of Cards Trilogy 26 3.1.2 Intensity in the House of Cards Trilogy 28 3.1.2.A Centripetal complexity 3.1.2.B Operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity 3.1.3 Temporality in the House of Cards Trilogy 29 3.1.4 Audience activity in the House of Cards Trilogy 30 3.2 House of Cards 32 3.2.1 Extension in House of Cards 32 3.2.2 Intensity in House of Cards 33 3.2.2.A Centrifugal- versus centripetal complexity of the narrative 3.2.2.B Operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity 3.2.3 Temporality in House of Cards 36

2 3.2.4 Audience activity in House of Cards 38 3.2.4.A Bottom-up audience activity 3.2.4.B Top-down audience activity 3.3 Differences between the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards: the shift in complex narrative through the years 46 3.3.1 Extension 46 3.3.2 Intensity 48 3.3.3 Temporality 48 3.3.4 Audience activity 49 4. Conclusion 51 4.1 Features of complex narrative and audience activity 51 4.2 Limitations, recommendations for future research and contribution to the scientific debate 53 5. References 54 6. Media List 58

"Now it's the viewers' problem if they don't know what's going on. And all of a sudden, a world has opened up to us as writers."

— Matthew Weiner, creator of Mad Men (AMC, 2007) Quoted in Brett Martin

4 Chapter 1: Introduction

Television is an ever-changing medium; as is the field of television studies. Over the years, its many transformations have resulted in television as we currently know it. Although all of these changes are interesting, there is one transformation that is particularly intriguing: that of narrational complexity in serials. Complex narrative is a crucial component of the era of complex television; an era that was introduced firstly by media professor Jason Mittell. It rose in the early nineties, due to technological advancements, and it is still evolving today. The fact that the concept has gone through so many transformations, and that it is a continuing process, indicates a shift in the concept of complex narrative towards serials with far deeper narrational complexity. Therefore, it is paramount to conduct research on how precisely this concept changed. With help of a textual analysis of two serials — the House of Cards Trilogy (BBC, 1990) and House of Cards (Netflix, 2013) — this thesis depicts and describes this shift through building upon the concept of complex narrative. Moreover, it indicates the symbiosis between changing narrational complexity in relation to audience participation.

According to Mittell, complex narrative is, at its most basic level, a redefinition of episodic forms that are influenced by serial narration (Mittell, Narrative 32). It consists of several different features that all together frame the concept as a whole. These features are highly linked to narrational length, to how narratives are structured, to what occurs in the narrative, to how characters are defined and to how they relate to each other. Also, it underlines the importance of how plot connections are made, how narratives force the audience to hypothesise and how creators experimented with temporality. These features have evolved of late, and continue to do so due to the technological growth of our society. This proliferation has contributed significantly to a changing perception of television's legitimacy over the years (Mittell, Narrative 31). The shift concerns a movement to finding new, more complex forms of narrational storytelling within long-form television. Consequently, this has changed how audiences engage with serials. Since consuming a narrative requires a constant managing of the information that is received and of the narrational gaps that need to be filled in by the audience, it requires a more active audience if there is more narrational complexity. Therefore, in this thesis I will underline a shift from a viewing audience to a participating one — along with the transformation of the concept of complex narrative.

The origin of complex narrative is correlated to the development of the VCR at the end of the 1980s and later to that of the DVD — as both have had an influence on the experience of 5 watching television — especially the development DVD technology, which has had a major impact on the serial experience (Mittell, Narrative 31; Turner & Tay 10; de Valck and Teurlings 8). The cultural experience of simultaneously watching television — which used to be common due to national broadcasting — was partly eliminated with the rise of DVD technology (Mittell, Complex 27). Audi- ences could suddenly watch serials without a temporal gap between sequential episodes. Screen- time became more easily controllable, as people could now record, play, pause and rewind the programmes themselves. Consequently, it resulted in the possibility for audiences to watch — and rewatch — all episodes in chronological sequence without missing essential plot information (Mittell, Narrative 31). This technological advance provided audiences the ability to comprehend narratives more fully and appreciate the intricacies of the narrative. Therefore, creators of serials were em- powered to implement more complexity in their narratives, which resulted in a profound shift within the concept of complex narrative.

However, the concept of complex narrative developed even further as technologies ad- vanced from the VCR and DVD to the rise of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 provided incomparable opportunities for both creators and audiences from a narrational complexity perspective, in the sense of a deeper audience engagement and is therefore a stepping stone for extending narrational complexity in serials. Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon released whole seasons of serials online at once, which encouraged binge-watching — the concept of watching multiple chronological episodes in one sitting. Online fandoms were developed and social media platforms allowed wider and simpler communication. Web 2.0 resulted in a new mode of viewing serials, that is referred to as audience activity — which greatly enable the implementation of further complexity within serial narratives (Mittell, Narrative 38).

1.1 Research question, method and structure

In this thesis, I demonstrate the shift in the concept of complex narrative and the transformation from a viewing audience to a participating one, with a grounding enablement of technological advancements. This demonstration is accomplished through the employment of the textual analysis of two serials: the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards. Accordingly, the research question to be answered is as follows:

6 How has narrative complexity evolved between the House of Cards Trilogy (BBC, 1990) and House of Cards (Netflix, 2013) due to transformations in television technology and audience activity?

To demonstrate the shift in complex narrative, it is necessary to determine and analyse the features of complex narrative and audience activity at the commencement of the complex television era and that of a recent version of the concept. For this aim, I chose to analyse two particular serials, which carry, to a certain degree, the same genre and narrational plot lines. Both serials are about an amoral and manipulative politician who attempts to become leader of the governing party; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (the House of Cards Trilogy) or President of the United States (House of Cards). As the House of Cards Trilogy was broadcasted at the beginning of the era of complex television, and the last season of House of Cards was released in the spring of 2016, a dual pronged analysis will provide insights for answering the research question and will demonstrate the shift in complex narrative which occurred during this respective temporal gap.

In comparison, the audience activity differs completely in the two serials, due to the different times each are set in — the House of Cards Trilogy was broadcasted before the rise of the internet, and thus has no online audience activity, while the audience activity within House of Cards is prominently present online. Due to these major technological differences, a comparison of both will not be a useful one. Therefore, I will briefly discuss audience activity in the House of Cards Trilogy, while the major part of the analysis will cover audience activity in relation to complex narrative in House of Cards. Because of that, in this thesis, the function of the analysis of House of Cards is of more importance. The House of Cards Trilogy can be considered as the starting point of the transformation of the concept of complex narrative, while House of Cards demonstrates the actual developments of both complex narrative and audience activity, due to contemporary technological advancements. I will analyse the audience activity of House of Cards by researching online paratexts that were created by both audiences and creators of the serial.

The structure will be as follows: Chapter 2 will provide a literature review on the scholarly debate, which this research seeks to contribute to — namely that of complex narrative. I will then discuss narrational complexity in relation to the features 'extension', 'intensity' and 'temporality' of narratives in Section 1 (2.1). Following, I will highlight how the development of the VCR and DVD and later Web 2.0 affected audience activity and how this evolved a viewing audience to a participating one, along with the evolutions that affected narrational complexity itself, in Section 2 (2.2) of the same chapter. After that, Chapter 3 depicts the analysis of the House of Cards Trilogy and House

7 of Cards based on the earlier defined features of complex narrative and audience activity. Finally, Chapter 4 will provide conclusions on the shift in narrational complexity.

The goal of the thesis is to contribute to the already existing literature in TV Studies on complex narrative. It aims to create a more elaborate understanding how the concept of complex narrative evolved within the era of complex television and which factors affected the transformation of the concept.

8 Chapter 2: Features of complex narrative and audience activity

Within this chapter I aim to build upon the concept of complex narrative, which was first introduced by professor Jason Mittell — a professor of American studies and film and media culture at Middle- bury College — in his book Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling (2015). Complex narrative consists of several different features which when brought together frame the concept as a whole; to simplify and explain I will highlight each feature under separate headings in 2.1 Section 1, after offering an overarching definition. In 2.2 Section 2, I will proceed to discuss how audience participation has evolved due to macro-technological advancements. The technological growth of our society greatly influences audience activity and therefore influences and determines the features of complex narrative — and vice versa — these respective sections must then be linked and seen as complementary to one another instead of two disjointed parts. Following these respective sections — 1 and 2 — I will specify how I will use the defined features and aspects of complex narrative for an analytics assessment which follows in Chapter 3.

As explained, complex narrative is a crucial component in the era of complex television. Mittell describes the concept as following: "At its most basic level, narrative complexity redefines episodic forms under the influence of serial narration — not necessarily a complete merger of episodic and serial forms but a shifting balance" (Complex 18). In short, it concerns finding new, more complex forms of narrational structures of long-form television, as complex narrative does not typically have uniform and conventional characteristics as does traditional episodic series which include sit-coms and soap operas. According to Mittell, 'unconventionality' may be one of the most defining characteristic of the concept as it attempts to push the boundaries of traditional long-form storytelling by finding new narrational forms (Complex 18).

2.1 Section 1: Features of Complex Narrative

2.1.1 Extension

Extension is a key feature of complex narrative and concerns the relationship between narrational length and its contribution to narrational complexity. To understand what is meant by unconven-

9 tionality, it is necessary to better understand the conventional characteristics of long-term episodic narrational structures; series and serials. Let's start with defining the difference between both.

A series is continuous narrative in episodic form with a concluding narrational arc over every episode. Single episodes can be watched separately without missing essential elements of comprehension and thus a series has multiple entry moments for the audience (Mittell, Complex 2, 3). In the past, series had to be structured as such, as the opportunity to watch every episode was limited, especially when in sequence (as I will explain further in Section 2.2). In contrary, a television serial is a continuous story that is set over a certain number of episodes, but a serial has a concluding narrational arc over a whole season, or over-seasonal narrative arcs instead of — or next to — episodic arcs. All episodes carry essential parts of the larger (over-)seasonal storyline. It is therefore necessary for the audience to watch all episodes in chronologic order to fully comprehend and appreciate the intricacies of the narrative. Since the narrative is continuous, it is in basic more complex compared to a television series (Creeber 8). It follows that complex narrative tends towards a serial form of storytelling as it offers potential for greater narrational depth due to its extended length.

The balance that then must be considered is one of episodic against ongoing seriality in complex narrative — which means that there is a leaning towards — or exact balance — between one and the other. The fact that narrational structures of complex narrative are more focused on season-to-season or even over-seasonal story arcs instead of episodic narratives does not necessary indicate that the selection of events in those episodes are arbitrary. They usually do contain a certain focus or theme that connects the plot of the episode into that particular episode (Mittell, Complex 30). This can for instance be done by focusing more on a specific character for a single episode, evidenced within Mad Men's (AMC, 2007) episode "Shoot" (2007). "Shoot" is an episode that, next to the continuous story line, narrates an in-depth story line about Betty Draper. Betty is usually seen as a conventional American housewife who tends to the needs of family, Don Draper and their children, yet in this episode the audience explores her background stories and ambitions — which is an example of an episodic secondary plot line next to the regular serial plot line.

Nonetheless, the balance can also occur contrariwise. For instance, the plot arc of the serial How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 2005) is episodic structured, but it also contains an over-seasonal arc, in which plot lines as well as for example also in-jokes are interwoven. An example of this phenomenon is the 'Slap Bet Competition' between principle characters Marshall and Barney. The storyline

10 starts in Season 2 with the episode "Slap Bet" (2009), wherein Marshall wins a bet; Marshall can slap Barney randomly for eight times. These slaps are divided over several episodes throughout all seasons, ending with the last episode of final Season 9, called "The End of the Aisle" (2014). Alt- hough every episode carries an episodic storyline, these over-seasonal jokes intertwine the storyline unexpectedly and can only be understood if the audience saw "Slap Bet". This kind of complexity in the narrative requires a more active audience and engagement with the narrative. As the boundaries between serials and series are evolving in complex narrative, I will use the term serial as standard to refer to complex narrative within this thesis, unless the narrational arc tends clearly more to a series than serial (like with Sherlock (BBC, 2010), described later in this section).

The exposure time of serials should also be considered when discussing and evaluating 'extension'. Technological advancements such as DVD, Netflix and other steaming services with one- time exposure have made it possible for audiences to watch all episodes in chronological sequence, which greatly impacted audience activity and engagement. Mittell argues that installment-driven structuring of screen-time with gaps between different episodes is essential to the definition of seriality because these gaps make each episode seem more eventful. Also, it encourages audiences to engage with what Mittell calls paratextual engagement and speculation. This refers to the time that audiences spend between episodes to connect with narratives, for instance via forums and com- munities, but also by discussing possible occurrences, which I will highlight in more detail later this chapter (Mittell, Complex 239).

2.1.2 Intensity

'Intensity' in complex narrative refers to what occurs in the narrative rather than in the length of the narrative, as previously depicted. An intensive narrative invites the audience to engage with the storyline, it encourages the audience to pay close attention and to connect the pieces in order to fully understand the narrative (Mittell, Complex 164). Within the feature of 'intensity' of complex narrative, a distinction can be made between plot line and in-depth psychological character development. The use of more characters in a narrative usually results in more plot lines while in-depth psychological character development results in a more long-term psychological transformation of the respective character. In addition, plot lines themselves can affect the complexity of the narrative when interconnecting or creating what Mittell calls operational reflexivity, as explained later in

11 this heading (Narrative 35). All create more intensity in the narrative and therefore more complexity.

2.1.2.A Centrifugal- versus centripetal complexity of the narrative

Characters can be equally defined by what they do — actions — and what they feel — psyche. If a narrative is centered on characters defined by what they do, feeling is expressed in an action of the character rather than in in-depth information of what characters think (Mittell, Qualities 49, 50). For example, The Wire (HBO, 2002) uses over 60 multi-dimensional characters — characters with in-depth personality— that are playing a substantial role in the first season. In the Wire, these characters are all primarily defined by their relationships with institutions rather than their interior lives or psychological depths (Mittell, Qualities 49, 50; Complex 220). Their emotions become clear only when stimulated by action, in such an instance it is the response to events which highlight their feelings and extend their depth. The complexity of the characters in the Wire is therefore accrued from the numerous characters in the serial, which provides an indication towards several, concurrent plot lines as opposed to a developed psychological depth of a character (Mittell, Qualities 50). This feature is best conceptualized as a decentralized complex web of intertwined plot lines, which all together contribute to complexity and interdependency of the narrative. Mittell refers to this as a decentralized web of centrifugal complexity, a concept that indicates that there is no clear centre, but rather an interconnectivity between different plot lines and characters which creates a rich complexity of the narrative. According to Mittell, the narrative is extended outwards, meaning its development can be found in numerous characters and institutions instead of inwards depth of character's psyche (Qualities 52; Complexity 221). On the contrary, complexity can equally be found in inward-looking psychological depths of characters as well. In such cases, there is a much more direct focus on the psychological depth and the background stories of the central characters. Mittell calls this centripetal complexity of narrative (Qualities 52). The main characters are all highlighted because of the in-depth psychological development, and therefore it is not wise to use too many characters. In this case, the cast is usually limited to around six characters (Mittell, Qualities 50). Mittell uses Breaking Bad (AMC, 2008) as an example to explain the focus on inward-looking psychological depth. Breaking Bad includes one central character: Walter White, with the other characters primary defined by their relationship to him. Subsequently, the narrative is driven by his actions and choices, and how these influence the different relationships with Walter (Mittell, Qualities 50; Complex 220). The narrative focuses on a por-

12 trayal of a long-term character transformation, which can spread over different seasons. Alongside, the chronological perspective different layers of background stories are shown, in turn (Mittell, Qualities 52). Complexity in narrative in this form can be conceptualized as a central point that layers itself inwards via psychological complexity (Mittell, Complex 221). In short, both centrifugal complexity and centripetal complexity — while differing in complexity creation — both contribute to a more complex narrative due to their divergent forms of character development. Centrifugal complexity is focused on characters in relation to institutions, including their links to society and how institutions determine the choices they make. On the contrary, centripetal complexity suggests the lack of impact of institutions on characters (Mittell, Quali- ties 54).

2.1.2.B Operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity

In his book, Mittell describes the features operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity that are akin to the narrative special effect. Remarkable is that these features cause the audience to be extracted from the narrative, which enables the audience to rethink the narrative on meta-level. The idea of operational aesthetic encompasses a shift towards a more complex connection between different and concurrent plot lines. Conventional narratives usually have one major plot line, with one or two secondary plot lines that offer thematic parallels. Operational aesthetic refers to narratives with several divergent plot lines and/or characters that are connected in multiple ways. Usually these connections disparate in the beginning, but the plot itself develops the connection in time. This causes coincidences, plot twists and ironic repercussions (Mittell, Complex 41, 42). It also creates moments of anticipation in which the audience may hypothesise what might happen next (Mittell, Complex 171). Since it relates to multiple plot lines, operational aesthetic is highly correlated to centrifugal complexity of narratives, as multiple characters usually result in multiple plot lines. The serial the Wire was pioneering in this kind of storytelling — the sheer number plot lines and characters introduced in the first episodes, results in connections between the different characters and plot lines. They only become evident and established to the audience after the first few episodes. For that reason these kind of serials ask for some persistent and active watching in order to fully comprehend, particularly in the beginning. Operational aesthetic also implies that the audience is removed from the narrative through the use of narrative special effect. This creates a 'how did they do that?' moment of realization from the audience, rather than the status quo 'what will happen next?'. There is a sense of self-

13 consciousness in this manner of plotting that requires for reflexivity and awareness of the serials on meta-level, resulting from the use of special effects that highlight the complexity of the narrative (Mittell, Complex 42, 43). Which creates opportunity for conscious accumulation, analysis, specula- tions and hypothesizing of information regarding how the story is told. Mittell's position is that the audience engages with complex narrative through the employment of operational aesthetics (Complex, 170). The manner of narrative special effect that highlights the complexity of operational aesthetic can, for example, be found in the crime drama series Sherlock. In this series, special effects are used to decipher the quick and nearly incomprehensible thoughts of detective Sherlock Holmes. His thoughts usually involve solving complicated narrational structures. Therefore, the narrational special effect in Sherlock provides the audience with insight of how the plot is driven. In his thoughts, different observations start to make sense, but it happens in such a rush that it is impossible for the audience to follow them without these special effects. To emphasize his intelligence and to bring structure to his inner thinking, Sherlock's thoughts are structured in words, pictures and at times pathways that emerge on the screen as non-diegetic special effects (picture 1). These moments create a realization by the audience in which they reflect on how (clever) the narrative is structured. Operational aesthetic is positively correlated to what Mittell calls operational reflexivity, as operational aesthetics create an opportunity for audience reflexivity. This refers to narrational spec- tacle and unexpected plot twists that, for example, require the audience to reconsider all they saw before (Mittell, Complex 47). An example of such a plot twist can be found in the first season of 24 (FOX, 2001). Federal Agent Jack Bauer attempts to save is kidnapped daughter and wife, when a trusted colleague of Bauer, Nina Myers, turns out to be the one who sabotaged him. At the moment the audience discovers that Nina Myers is such a character, all that has been seen before suddenly requires a different perspective. Furthermore, a lack of explicit storytelling can create more complexity and will need further, active audience engagement in order to fully comprehend the narrative in its entirety (Mittell, Narrative 37).

Picture 1: the narrative special effect in Sherlock: Sherlock's thoughts are structured in words, pictures and at times pathways that emerge on the screen as non-diegetic special effects (screenshots of "A Study in Pink", 2010)

2.1.3 Temporality

In Section 2.1.1, the temporality difference between series and serials and how the mode of television storytelling has shifted towards a combination of both was discussed, but interestingly: complexity of narratives can also be created through experimenting with temporality in storytelling. There are many ways to create non-chronological storytelling (Mittell, Narrative 37). Before explaining the different features of complex narrative regarding temporality, it is useful to briefly set out the three different temporal streams within all narratives. Firstly 'story time', which refers to the time frame of the narrative (diegesis). It is usually chronologically and linear like real-world time, with exceptions of for example time-traveling. The second temporal stream is 'discourse time'. Mit- tell describes discourse time as follows: "Discourse time is the temporal structure and duration of the story as told within a given narrative, which almost always differs from story time via ellipses skipping over uneventful moments" (Complex 26). Lastly, there is 'narration time' or 'screen-time' in case of television, which is the quite solid temporal framework involved when telling the story. For serials, it is usually between 20 and 60 minutes. Discourse time is particularly important within

15 complex narrative, since creators can manipulate it and experiment with it. A reason for the manipulation of the chronological storytelling can be that it creates more complexity and therefore audience engagement (Mittell, Complex 26).

2.1.3.A Flashbacks and Flash-forwards

Flashbacks usually refer to memories rather than new narrative material (Mittell, Complex 186). Although flashbacks were commonly used within television series before complex narrative, they can be intensified by using them excessive, alternatively or in combination with other temporal effects. The episode "The Platinum Rule" (2007) of How I Met Your Mother is characterized by its fre- quent use of embedded flashbacks. In "The Platinum Rule" (which is not an actual rule but rather an advice for Ted Mosby, based on the experiences of the other characters), we see all the characters giving advice to each other when he is about to make the same mistake as they did. Firstly, we see Barney advising Robin not to do something. After that, we see both Barney and Robin giving the same advise to Marshall and Lily. Lastly, Ted is about to make a decision and we see all the other characters telling him not to do it. While the characters give Ted a reason not to do it, we see a flashback to the moment when Lily and Marshall were told not to do it, which results in a flashback to the moment that Robin was told by Barney not to do it, et cetera. In the end, this episode consists of an almost non-comprehendible web of embedded flashbacks of different story lines at different times, which contributes to major temporal complexity.

Flash-forwards can be used in order to create suspense and new possibilities for narrative special effects (Mittell, Complex 168, 169). Typical examples of these kind of non-chronological storytelling are the opening sequences of the pilots of Breaking Bad and How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, 2014), in which flash-forwards are used as a preemptive narrative beginning. Both serials start with a flash-forward of a critical situation: it shows the audience a catastrophic future (Pape). In case of Breaking Bad, we see main character Walter White, clearly uncomfortable with a gun in his hand, leaving a message for his family on a video recorder in case he dies. In How to Get Away with Murder, we see some clever law-school students decide about what to do with the body of a person they just killed. These kind of flash-forwards immediately trigger a sense of curiosity for the audience ('how did they got into this hopeless situation?') and, therefore, these kind of opening sequences are able to create suspense for the whole episode or season (Pape). By creating suspense,

16 the creators try to inspire audiences to watch proactive and search for clues (Mittell, Complex 112).

2.1.3.B Other strategies of temporality in complex narrative

Apart from flashbacks and flash-forwards, there are many more creative manners of experimenting with a non-chronological discourse time (Mittell, Narrative 37; Complex 28, 58, 59). Especially How I met Your Mother is a progressive serial regarding temporality. They use, next to flashbacks, also less common strategies for non-chronological storytelling. For instance, the use of present as if it is the past, and a 'voice of the future' of a character as a voice-over (Mittell, Complex 58, 59). Let me explain those two differences in temporality in more depth. Both can be found in the pilot episode of How I Met Your Mother, however, the same style and setting is repeated frequently in later episodes of the serial. In "Pilot" (2005), we see a flash-forward to two children on a couch in the year 2030, while the voice of Ted Mosby — at that moment in the present time, as if it is 2030 — starts to tell his children the story of how he met their mother (we only find out in seasons 9). After that, we go back to the story time present of the serial (2005, thus the past for real-time) while Ted is still talking. This results in a voice-over with a 'voice of the future'. It is thus actually a flash-back seen from the year 2030. These kind of complex chronological structures within serials create more complex temporal depth.

Complex narratives sometimes connect real-time and screen-time with one other in order to create more involvement of the audience. The narrative can be linked to actualities in order to connect real-time to discourse time, which is for exampled done by the serial Lost (ABC, 2004). The pilot episode of Lost starts with a plane crash at 22 September 2004 and was released at the same day as the crash in the serial (Mittell, Complex 28). Real-time can also be connected to the narrative as pseudo-real-time in the serial, as is done in the serial 24. Discourse time is in this case equal to the story time, and almost to screen-time as well, if commercial time is included. Story time refers to the time of actual events taking place in the narrative universe (Mittell, Complex 265). Every season of 24 consists of 24 episodes of nearly an hour minus commercial break time, and tells 24 hours out of the life of protagonist Jack Bauer in discourse time. Every minute in the serial is also a minute in real-time, which is an unusual element in television. The creators often used split-screens and on-screen clocks to highlight the temporality of the serial and to solve the problem of different plot lines that overlap at the same time (Mittell, Complex 28).

Although complex narrative does not have uniform and conventional characteristics like traditional episodic series, there are several features that determine the concept. These features can be sub- divided within three main categories: 'extension', 'intensity' and 'temporality'. All these variations aim to break with conventional patterns of storytelling in order to create more complexity and suspense of, and audience engagement with the narrative (Mittell, Complex 45). In Chapter 3 I will use the following features to describe the transition of the concept of complex narrative in the light of the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards: — 'Extension': I will look at how are story arcs are structured (episodic, seasonal, over- seasonal). This is interesting since the House of Cards Trilogy has only four episodes in each season while House of Cards has thirteen episodes per season, both consist of almost one hour per episode. — 'Intensity': I will analyse if — and to which extent — centrifugal complexity and centripetal complexity is used in the narrative. Also, I will research how operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity contribute to audience engagement. All components of 'intensity' are interesting in order to answer my research question, therefore, I will analyse them all. — 'Temporality': because both serials refer to a political situation, it is interesting to analyse if, and how, the narrative connects real-time with screen-time elements. It is interesting study if they, for example, link to real-time occurrences. I will only highlight flashbacks and flash-forwards briefly in the analysis, since there is no creative or excessive use of flash-backs and flash-forwards in both serials. Nonetheless, it might show a small development to the research question in case if House of Cards, which is why I will include it in my research.

2.2 Section 2: Audience activity: from a viewing to a participatory audience

Consuming a narrative requires a constant managing of the information we already received and of the gaps that still need to be filled in, in order to comprehend the whole narrative. This information management is both pleasant and demanding; especially for complex narratives. More narrational complexity demands more audience activity and challenges the intellectual of the audience (Mittell, Complex 167; Johnson 11).

18 There has been an important shift in audience activity that started just before the era of complex television. This shift affected the concept of complex narrative highly: it invited audiences to become more actively engaged and involved. It had to do with several technical developments over the past 26 years, as well as with a change in the perception of television's legitimacy (Mittell, Complex 31). Television was a mass medium with passive, mostly feminine audiences that consumed it in domestic spheres. Due to this, it was seen as simple and easy entertainment (Marwick & Boyd 17, Napoli 508, Newman & Levine 133, Turner and Tay 1). Its reputation improved at the beginning in the early nineties, with the rise of complex narrative, because filmmakers started to create television shows as well. This led to an acceptation of television as higher culture, something film had already achieved at that time (Mittell, Complex 31). It is not surprisingly that the first serial that can be considered as being part of the era of complex television — Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990) — was made by a film director, David Lynch. Lynch integrated typical film elements in the serial. Con- sequently, from that time on, particular forms of television were considered as being art and higher culture as well (Creeber, 48; Mittell, Complex 264). The rise of complex television does not mean that it has overtaken conventional forms of television, like sitcoms, soap operas, news and reality television. Television with narrational complexity flourished next to conventional programmes. In fact, there are still many more conventional programmes than programmes with narrational complexity (Mittell, Complex 31).

Next to the changing perception of television, there have been some important technological developments that facilitated the rise of complex narrative, as well as a transformation in audience activity later on. I will mention these developments briefly in chronological order and discuss their effects on the concept complex narrative in the rest of this section.

2.2.1 Determining the notion of flow in the light of the VCR, DVR and DVD

Major technical developments within the field of television, such as the VCR (Videocassette Recorder), DVD and later Web 2.0, led to a shift from a viewing to a participating audience. This shift is strongly related to a change in the notion of flow, as introduced by academic Raymond Wil- liams, already more than four decades ago. His idea encompasses a programming strategy wherein variously scaled textual units of programmes where rearranged in a certain way, in order to avoid ruptures for television viewers. The aim was to engage viewers with the programmes. There are

19 several ways by which this could be achieved, ranging from stacking series of the same or similar genres, to broadcasting a new show between two already popular shows (Uricchio 247). Williams refers to this notion of flow as a programming-based-notion (Uricchio 223, 237, 239). Media scholar and professor William Uricchio builds upon Williams notion of flow, but argues that it should be repositioned because of the technological advancements. He mentions particularly the invention of the remote control. This invention led to a shift towards more audience agency and a more viewer-dominated flow. Audiences could easily disrupt and reorganize flow with the remote control, for instance by switching between different television programmes or zapping away from commercials (Uricchio 239, 243). Next to this, the development of the VRC and the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) in the 1980s changed the notion of flow as well. Audiences could record shows, leading to more viewer control and thus higher audience activity, in the sense of that they could decide when they wanted to watch an episode. More importantly, from that time on, they did not have to miss any episodes. This was a break-through for the origin of complex narrative, because it meant that narrational structures could be made more complex, while there had to be many entrance moments before in order for the audience to fully comprehend the narrative (Mittell, Complex 36). The development of the DVD player had similar influence on the notion of flow. It created a maximum of 'rewatchability'. This meant that audiences had the opportunity to pause, rewind and slow-motion the images in order to watch (and rewatch) them for analysis. This greatly enhanced audience participation and also offered possibilities for serials with much more narrational complexity (Mittell, Complex 39, 44; Narrative 31). Also, this maximum of 'rewatchability' resulted in the opportunity for interaction between audiences and creators of serials, due to what Mittell calls comprehension. Audiences try to make sense of the narrative by occurrences in an episode, and every viewer starts with a core act of comprehension. The challenge for creators of television shows with a complex narrative is to find a balance between just enough complexity for its audience to still make sense of the narrative, but only if they follow the narrative in a proactive and participatory way (Mittell, Complex 164, 172). The more complexity a narratives includes, the more active audience engagement and participation is needed in order to fully comprehend. 2.1 Section 1 already discussed how this complexity can be achieved. The more features are added, the more complex a narrative becomes. The boundaries of narrational complexity, although complex narrative already grew due to previous described technological developments, rapidly increased after the rise of the internet, and especially after Web 2.0.

2.2.2 The rise of Web 2.0 and its effect on audience activity

Television transformed radically — particularly after the rise of Web 2.0. The idea of television as a stand-alone medium shifted to a matrix media due to the internet (Turner and Tay 2, 7, 8; Hartley 20). This new idea of television is characterized by interactive and more flexible exchanges and di- verse modes of interpretation and broadcasting, such as streaming services and possibilities for downloading, causing the computer screen or mobile phone screen to replace the television screen (Curtin 13, Marshall 41).

The search for creating complexity within narratives can be pushed against its boundaries with the opportunities that Web 2.0 offers. First of all, it creates yet another notion of flow. The supply of serials is easily available nowadays. Therefore, the audience is not solely dependent on broadcasting, and consequently, their choice is rather driven by their relationship to the content (Marshall 41). Audiences can catch up from earlier seasons after starting midway through or can frequently rewatch episodes. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon ensure that watching, rewatching, skipping and pausing is easier than ever before. Although binge-watching was already possible with the arrival of the DVD-boxes, it is encouraged with the rise of the internet. Moreover, with the opportunity to download serials, and because some streaming services offer complete seasons of serials all at once online — not only via websites, but also via smartphones, iPads, et cetera, it became far more easy to watch serials all at once and in sequence (Hartley 20). Flow became more dominated by the audience and, consequently, these developments and these viewing opportunities resulted in more engagement with the serials. The transformation of flow changed the way narratives are consumed by the audience. Therefore, audiences can handle more complexity, because of this shift of agency towards the audience (Newman & Levine 133). Operational reflexivity is important at this point, since it requires reflexivity and awareness of the serials by their audience on meta-level (Mittell, Complex 42, 43). This thinking on meta-level about the narrative, by filling in characters backstories, vague gaps and mysteries and finding inspiration for hypotheses, became significant for complex narrative serials (Mittell, Complex 170). However, this change in flow also resulted, in some cases, in less gap-time between watching episodes, due to a different mode of television viewing — such as binge-watching. This meant that there was less time to discuss hypothesis and speculate with other audiences, and to search for background information. Creators aimed for creating fun for active audiences, with for instance the search for hidden clues.

21 These hidden clues will only trigger active audiences and can be quite subtile. For example, by playing radio music of the seventies in a serial that is set in the sixties. These kind of creator-jokes en- courage the audience to dig deeper into the narrative to discover the story (Mittell, Complex 275, 288).

2.2.2.A Collective intelligence: fandoms and interaction between audiences and creators

Mittell discusses throughout his book the importance of how television is consumed, since many audiences do not consume it in an individual way. They watch serials as part of viewing communi- ties, often facilitated by online (fan) cultures. Fandoms are essential for complex narrative because they turn internal hypothesising into the cultural practice of theorizing by discussing serials online with others (Mittell, Complex 173). This shift to alternative consumption patterns and greater audience participation highly affects complex narrative (Mittell, Complex 165). It is not just that audiences became active and more engaged. More specifically, they became active because of the narrational complexity since it is designed to strategically confuse and stimulate audiences and force them to orientate (Mittell, Complex 275). Narratives became more intellectually demanding and asked for higher audience engagement than earlier developments, due to the migration of paratexts to other media forms such as websites and games — each providing greater narrative depth (Johnson 9 - 11, Marshall 42). At least as important is that audiences are willing to take it: they en- joy complexity.

Paratexts consist of everything that contains information regarding the serials, such as narrational structures, background stories and information, but also screen-time, creator information, inside jokes and clues, the mapping of story worlds (or even shooting locations), et cetera. It helps the audience towards a better comprehension and orientation of the narrative. Therefore, creating paratexts online can be helpful for both audiences and creators (Mittell, Complex 265). It means that audiences can search for clues online while creators do not have to explain everything in detail during the serial, but rather provide background information online if needed (or let the fans figure out the different perceptions). Also, it adds a symbiosis between creators and audiences, in which both could give and receive feedback in an active and easy way, on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram (Mittell, Complex 35). It creates interaction between the audience and creators, either indirect or direct. Direct interaction between audiences and creators usually happens via official platforms of serials were for example a Q&A's with the creators are organized,

22 or via official public platforms where feedback is given. Indirect interaction can be found in inside jokes and foreshadowing of storylines or events in upcoming episodes, which is done in several serials. Especially foreshadowing, which implies that particular clues already predict what is going to happen later, require extreme audience engagement and is usually only discovered by the audience afterwards. It might not be noticed by the broader audience at all, but fanatic audiences discuss these kinds of predictions in-depth on online (fan-)pages (Mittell, Complex 288).

Paratexts became part of potential intertextual flow of the television serial, either from official or unofficial sources. Both official industrial extensions of a serial and unofficial fan-created extensions can provide paratexts (Mittell, Complex 262). Examples of platforms where (official and unofficial) paratexts can be found are both general and specific television resources like Wikipedia, IMDb, and websites like epguide.com; social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; but also via specific fan-sites. Streaming websites like Netflix and Amazon also provide paratexts and the possibility for audiences to download serials depends on audience engagement as well (Marshall 41; Mittell 264). Audiences use these platforms for further exchange of information, news and gossip about serials and ranking of serials (Marshall 42).

Some contemporary serials air a brief non-diegetic recap (plot recapitulation) before each episode, to summarize key events in form of a 'previously on' at the beginning of a new episode, which is used as an orientation tool or new start moment for the audience. This kind of paratexts can also be produced by audiences, for example with the aim to summarize important parts of storylines or in order to make sense of the chronology. Presence or absence of plot recapitulations can drastically change the way episodes are consumed and comprehended (Mittell, Complex 187, 266). Therefore, audiences affect the concept of complex narrative as well, due to these addi- tions of how the narrative is consumed.

Because audiences contribute to paratexts on so many levels, they are not only consumers of narrative anymore, but they became producers as well. Axel Bruns defined this phenomenon of blending with the term produser, which refers to a combination of producer and user (9). Even though not every user is a producer and vice versa, it highlights the opportunity for interaction and engagement because of Web 2.0. A concrete example of how strong these boundaries between producer, users, creators and audiences are fading nowadays, can be found in the L Word (Show- time, 2004). The creators of the L Word have allowed its audiences to write one episode of the serial by providing storylines via an online platform (Schmith and Stauff). A fact is that these fading

23 borders lead to relatively low barriers for engagement and social support for sharing content (Jen- kins 5, 6). This does not mean that audiences are actually actively creating complex narratives for serials themselves. They rather intervene with the production as non-professionals and contribute to the comprehension by providing all kinds of paratexts, and hence, by influencing therefore complex narrative (Jenkins 5, 6).

The concept of complex narrative was influenced on many levels since its origin, due to a transformation in the perception of television and due to technological developments, Web 2.0 in particular. It resulted in specific features that determine complex narrative, as described in 2.1 Section 1. Moreover, it affected the way audiences engage with complex narrative. There has been a shift from a viewing audience to a participating one, which resulted in an opportunity for more complexity and narrational depth. In the next chapter, I will not only describe which important features characterize the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards by analyzing all seasons of both serials. I will also look at how Web 2.0 influenced audience engagement by analyzing audience activity for only House of Cards — since Web 2.0 arose many years after release of the House of Cards Trilogy. I will do this by researching online content. Both parts of the analysis will be used to describe a shift in the conceptu- alization of complex narrative throughout the years.

24 Chapter 3: Shifting complex narrative: an analysis of the House of

Cards Trilogy and House of Cards

As depicted and described, recurring features in serials form the basis of complex narrative. Having previously defined its most important features, I will now analyse the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards textually — based on these features — in order to demonstrate the shift in complex narrative. This chapter is dedicated to answering the main research question: How has narrative complexity evolved between the House of Cards Trilogy (BBC, 1990) and House of Cards (Netflix, 2013), due to transformations in television technology and audience activity? This chapter is divided in three parts. In Section 3.1, I analyse the House of Cards Trilogy and in Section 3.2. I will do the same for House of Cards. Thereafter, Section 3.3 explores the differences between both serials and answers the question how they influenced the shift in complex narrative. Within Section 3.1. and 3.2., I first describe the serials in general, before specifying the particular parts of the serials which demonstrate how 'extension', 'intensity' and 'temporality' can be found. Following that, I describe how audience activity influences the concept of complex narrative, based on an examination of online activity by creators of the serials and their audience. Section 3.3 will encompass a comparison of the features that can be found in both serials: though more importantly, it will identify these differences in order to demonstrate the transformation of complex narrative over the past 26 years. Even though paratexts of the House of Cards Trilogy are frequently present nowadays, the part regarding audience activity will mostly involve House of Cards since there was no internet during the release of the House of Cards Trilogy. All paratexts were created after the release and therefore I will not analyse these. Finally, I will describe how the analysis of both serials indicate a transformation in the concept of complex narrative.

3.1 The House of Cards Trilogy

The House of Cards Trilogy is a political thriller, based on the eponymous novel written by Michael Dobbs. Anti-hero Francis Urquhart — main character of the serial — is the fictional Chief Whip of the Conservatory Party of the United Kingdom. Directly after a new — and according to Urquhart weak — Prime Minister is chosen, he is urged by his wife to take his place and become the Prime Minister. He uses any and all methods to reach his goals: from manipulating vulnerable individuals

25 to blackmailing and from seducing people to murdering them (Netflix). He also applies these dis- turbing methods during his time as Prime Minister in order to reach further goals in the serial's second and third seasons.

The first installment of the trilogy, House of Cards, was broadcasted between 18 November and 9 December 1990 by the BBC. The second and third installments, respectively To Play the King and the Final Cut, were released in 1993 and 1995 by BBC. The serial was ranked 84th of the '100 Greatest British Television Programmes' by the British Film Institute and Ian Richardson won a 'Best Actor BAFTA' for his role as Francis Urquhart (BFI, British Academy of Film and Television Arts).

3.1.1 Extension in the House of Cards Trilogy

As established, the feature 'extension' concerns the relationship between narrational length and its contribution to narrational complexity. The narrative of the House of Cards Trilogy is seasonally structured, which indicates that it can be categorized rather as a serial than series. However, the ending scenes of the first and second seasons create opportunity for new plot lines. This points to over-seasonal story arcs as well. A fourth season is excluded because the third and last season ends with complete closure, as Francis is dying. As an example of how seasons are structured in the serial, let's assess House of Cards (1990), the first season of the House of Cards Trilogy, all four episodes of this season work towards a clear goal: Francis becoming the Prime Minister. This goal is already suggested by Francis' wife in the first episode of the first season. She whispers in his ear that he should become Prime Minister (Picture 2). This results in tension for the rest of the season: will he reach his goal? And how is he going to achieve this, while the new Prime Minister has just been chosen? In the last scene of the last episode we find out that he will indeed become Prime Minister, since he is transferred to Buck- ingham Palace to see the Queen. In other words, he succeeded in reaching his goal. In addition, Mattie Storin, who is a political journalist and Francis' mistress, gets murdered by Francis, which is an evident end of an important storyline. Therefore, this season ends with a clear closure. However, the last episode creates, along with its seasonal arc, an opportunity for a next season by commencing a new storyline in one of the final scenes. At the end of the last episode of the first season, when Mattie is pushed from the balcony by Francis, the audiences sees a mysterious person picking up the voice recorder that Mattie used to record her conversations with Francis. In

26 these conversations he told her about his betrayal and murder. This indicates that in the next season, someone will discover his betrayal and murders. It is the start of a new storyline and successfully creates tension for the next season, while indicating an over-seasonal narrational arc. Episodic narrative arcs are hardly found within this serial; all episodes contribute to the (over-)seasonal arc, there are no clear cliff-hangers or closures within the episodes themselves. Some episodic structures can, however, be found in the opening and ending sequences of the episodes. At the beginning of an episode, Francis usually talks directly to the audience as some kind of introduction for the episode, while the ending sequence always concerns a conversation between Mattie and Francis. This does not affect the seasonal arc since narrational arcs are extended over the different episodes and work towards the season finale. This kind of (over-)seasonal storytelling, in which the serial structure refuses episodic closure, was at the time of distribution of the serial, at the beginning of the era of complex television, quite uncommon. It created more complex storylines due to changing serial structures, and therefore required more audience activity. Especially since the House of Cards Trilogy is seen as a cerebral serial, which focuses mostly on dialogue (textual information) rather than showing the narrative to the audience with images of occurrences (Netflix). The audience had to pay diligent attention in order to comprehend the plot lines and different character relations. More importantly, they had to remember this information until the next episode, which was broadcast the following week, which could only be achieved with proactive viewing.

Picture 2: Francis' wife telling him to become Prime Minister (screenshot of "Episode 1", 1990)

3.1.2 Intensity in the House of Cards Trilogy

3.1.2.A Centripetal complexity

The House of Cards Trilogy is a typical example of what Mittell calls centripetal complexity in which Francis Urquhart is the core and central character. All other characters are linked to him one way or another and thus Francis' actions and choices drive the narrative. Moreover, there is strong focus on the inward-looking psychological depth of Francis. This is shown in his character-development towards a more dark and narcissistic person who has no moral limits. In addition, it is shown even more noticeable during every episode. Characteristic of this serial is that Francis talks directly to 'his' audience by gazing straight into the camera (Picture 3). He explains his plans to his audience and gives his blunt opinion on political situations or other characters. This provides insight into what and how he thinks and therefore provides more complexity in sense of psychological depth of his character.

Picture 3: Francis talks directly into the camera to inform his audience (screenshot of "Episode 1")

28 3.1.2.B Operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity

As mentioned in the first Section (2.1) of the previous chapter, operational reflexivity and the narrative special effect are highly correlated to operational aesthetics. Since the House of Cards Trilogy is mainly focused on Francis' plot line, there lacks operational aesthetics in the sense of many loose plot lines that start to connect sooner or later. Operational aesthetics can be found in the fact that Francis talks directly into the camera at times and its within these moments that enable the audience to feel as if they are right there with him. They feel overwhelmingly present as an audience while watching, especially the first time, as they might not expect him to gaze into their eyes. These moments pull the audience out of the narrative due to this overall feeling. Accordingly, it creates an opportunity for operational reflexivity: it emphasizes their role as an audience and creates awareness and a higher plot-engagement (Mittell, Complex 42, 43). This mode of self-consciousness requires reflexivity of the audience on meta-level. Mittell argues that the audience engages more with complex narrative due to these kind of effects (Complex, 170). Therefore, using this type of operational aesthetic results in a more active audience. Curiously, this operational aesthetic results, next to a more active audience, in a more passive audience at the same time. This is not directly due to operational aesthetic itself, with Francis speaking directly into the camera, but because of the dialogue in which Francis reveals his intentions to his audience. By explaining his intentions, he simplifies the plot's complexity for the audience. Therefore, the audience does not have to think the occurrences through. Operational aesthetic results in both a more and a less active audience on different levels.

3.1.3 Temporality in the House of Cards Trilogy

In Section 3.1.1 I discussed the temporal element of the House of Cards Trilogy, referring to how narrational arcs are structured within episodes, seasons and over-seasonally. This section focuses on temporality regarding screen-time and time in the sense of how is experimented with temporality in the serial. All three seasons of the House of Cards Trilogy consist of four episodes of nearly an hour. Therefore, it is also referred to as a mini-serial (IMDb). The seasons are quite short compared to contemporary serials that usually consist of ten till thirteen episodes of nearly one hour or around

29 24 episodes of twenty till 25 minutes each. Understandably, more depth can be created in serials that have longer screen-time, especially for cerebral demanding serials like the House of Cards Tril- ogy, since these serials already focus on great amounts of textual information and therewith narrational depth. Much more depth could have been integrated in for instance more plot lines if there would have been more time, considering that the overall screen-time of the House of Cards Trilogy is this short. The House of Cards Trilogy does not use any flashbacks and flash-forwards in the narrative. It can be a stylistic choice or may have to with resulting in too much complexity since it is already quite difficult to follow at certain moments. Also interesting is the relation to real-time occurrences that the creators of the House of Cards Trilogy have established. The creators linked the narrative directly to the political status in the United Kingdom at that time. The first episode of the first season was aired two days before the Conservative Party Leadership elections, just after Margaret Thatcher's downfall. Francis directly refers to this event in the first episode, by gazing at a picture of Margaret Thatcher. He puts the picture face down on his desk while he says: "Nothing lasts forever. Even the longest and most glitter- ing reign must come to an end someday." ("Episode 1"; Youngs). This resulted in pre-publicity for the serial and more audience engagement as it catches the mood of the nation at that time (Kirby). Indirect links to the real-world are made in the second and third season as well. There is, for instance, a focus on the Royal Family of the United Kingdom in Season 2 — To Play the King. Even though they do not use characters of the real Royal Family in the serial, the fictional setting of how the political situation in the United Kingdom is structured, with a Queen and a Parliament and so forth, is a replica of how it is structured in real-time. This also indicates a higher audience engagement, since it because they can identify better with the fictional situation the serial is set in.

3.1.4 Audience activity in the House of Cards Trilogy

As the House of Cards Trilogy was aired before the global rise of the internet, audience activity dif- fered completely compared to our current status quo. The collective intelligence of audiences gathered with paratexts — which can now easily be created and accessed with help of Web 2.0 — was very limited at that time. Therefore, audience activity was merely signified through proactive watching, by which audiences attempted to make sense of the different plot lines. In case of the House of Cards Trilogy, the proactive watching is challenged due to its narrational complexity. Es- sential plot information will be missed if audiences do not diligently pay close attention. Also, audi-

30 ence activity is stimulated by linking occurrences in the House of Cards Trilogy to actual political events in the United Kingdom at that time. The plot requires more commitment of an audience that is trying to fully comprehend how the fictional plot structures relate to the real-life political situation. It is a very basic form of audience activity, but it already indicates a shift from passive viewing — that was common before the era of complex television — to an early state of audience participation, which is common within complex television. Moreover, access to the serial was limited at the time. If the audiences did not have the opportunity to record the episodes with, for example, a VCR, the audience did not have a choice but to watch the episodes at the time of broadcasting. As these were of course only aired once a week, it was less easy to follow a serial, especially compared to our current access to online streaming services. The combination of limited access and the gap-time between different episodes restricted the opportunity for greater narrational complexity of the serial. The serial uses a non-diegetic plot recapitulation at the beginning of every new episode in order to help audiences with narrational complexity, in which they highlight the most important parts of the plot lines. This is necessary in case of the House of Cards Trilogy, due to its low 'rewatchability' opportunities. The differences in access to paratexts and 'rewatchability' may explain why complex narrational structures and foreshadowing with hidden clues are avoided. Instead, foreshadowing can be found in a more direct way, for example in the first episode of the House of Cards Trilogy Francis tells the Prime Minister the following: "I think we have to face that it may be someone very close to you, Prime Minister. Someone you've always trusted and who now wants to break you" in the textual context of betrayal ("Episode 1"). In saying this, he is directly referring to himself with this statement. Considering that the audience already knows that Francis is the one betraying the Prime Minister and that the Prime Minister does not know his (Francis') intentions, it creates a connection between the audience and Francis. It seems as if he takes the audience in confidence with how he wants to become the Prime Minister. This quote is a clear indication of what is going to happen later that season.

In short, there are several different features of complex narrative that contribute to complexity in the House of Cards Trilogy. The serial invites the audience to engage through different elements of narrational complexity, though they do so in a modest way due to the restricted opportunities for the audience to fully engage and participate.

31 3.2 House of Cards

The political drama-serial House of Cards, created by Beau Willimon and directed by David Fincher, is also an adaptation of the novel by Michael Dobbs. Consequently, there are several similarities between House of Cards and the House of Cards Trilogy. First of all, in their main characters: Francis Urquhart and Frank (Francis) Underwood have similar defining characteristics — as both are manipulative, dark anti-hero's. However, other characters are similar in many regards, for instance Francis' wife Elizabeth and Franks wife Claire Underwood, journalists Mattie Storin and Zoë Barnes, Tim Stamper and Doug Stamper and Roger O'Neill compared to Peter Russo. They all fulfill the same purposes within the narrative, yet in a different timeframe and in the case of House of Cards with much more character depth, as I will explain later in the chapter. Also, some basic plot lines are comparable — at least in the beginning — but are set in a different setting. House of Cards is set in Washington, D.C. instead of in the United Kingdom, as in the House of Cards Trilogy. The main character is Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, who is a Democrat and House Majority Whip. Frank initiates a dark plan to become President after he was passed by for a role as Secretary of State ("Chapter 1", 2013). Following the achievements of his initial goal, Frank then again has to be elected for the next presidential term. Frank's wife Claire has a major influence on all of his decisions and like in the House of Cards Trilogy. Frank uses all necessary means in order to reach his goals, such as blackmailing, manipulation and murderer.

House of Cards consists of four seasons in total, starting with the first season which was released (only) online by Netflix in 2013. Thereafter, Netflix released one season each year. The fourth season was just released this spring and the fifth season will be released sometime in 2017. The serial was well received with twenty-two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations and seven Golden Globe Award nomination where Kevin Spacey won the 'Best Actor — Television Series Drama' for his role as Frank, while his co-star Robin Wright won the 'Best Actress — Television Series Drama' for her role as Claire Underwood (Golden Globe).

3.2.1 Extension in House of Cards

Narrational arcs are quite continuous across the different seasons, meaning that there is not a clear, decisive closure at the end of every season and even less at the end of the different episodes.

32 Therefore, the narrational structure seems like one main continuous narrative, which includes different seasons and is not bound to screen-time. It creates further opportunities for more unexpected plot-changes, for instance by suddenly ending an important plot line instead of at the end of an episode or season. Exemplary is Zoe Barnes' death in "Chapter 14" (2013), the first episode of the second season. In this episode, Zoe Barnes is pushed in front of a metro, which is an occurrence which is greatly unexpectedly by the audience. These kind of plot-twists break with conventional storytelling methods, as it is quite uncommon to end an important storyline at the beginning or somewhere during a season. Where the House of Cards Trilogy already started with breaking conventional storytelling methods with the over-seasonal expansion of narrational plot lines, it is shown that House of Cards goes beyond this by abandoning episodic, and even seasonal, narrational structures.

3.2.2 Intensity in House of Cards

3.2.2.A Centrifugal- versus centripetal complexity of the narrative

Centripetal complexity is strongly present in House of Cards. Just as Francis in the House of Cards Trilogy, Frank is the main-character and the core of the serial, he meets every other main character (except Janine, of which he is aware), which highlights his central role in the serial. His actions and decisions highly influence the plot lines of the other characters. His inward-looking psychological depth is highlighted in the same way as Francis' — Frank speaks directly to the camera as well, to inform the audience of his thoughts and strategic plans (Picture 4). But his personality may be even darker, especially so in the fourth season. His character is described as a "patient, cold, duplicitous, cunning, and ruthless politician that knows exactly how to take what he wants" (Wikia). Moreover, his character is evaluated as a sociopath by psychiatrist Dale Archer. According to him, he is a text- book case of a "pathological narcissist functioning at the highest level" (Archer). It might be clear that this typical centripetal complexity intensifies the complexity of the serial due to the strong psychological depth which is being exemplified. Fascinating in House of Cards is that, next to Frank, more characters show inward-looking psychological depth. For instance, Francis' wife Elizabeth is a side-character with no depth in the House of Cards Trilogy, whilst Frank's wife Claire is a strong main-character with great psychological depth. She is also evaluated as being a sociopath and narcissist and she has strong defining charac-

33 teristics and beholds her own extensive plot lines in the serial (Archer). It shows that, even though her actions are partly defined by what Frank does, the lines between centripetal complexity and centrifugal complexity are blurring. Mittell described that the cast of a serial with centripetal complexity is usually limited to around six characters, while serials with centrifugal complexity typically have many characters but lack a central character and/with psychological depth (Mittell, Qualities 50). In case of House of Cards, which can on several levels be characterized as a serial with centripetal complexity, there are many more main-characters who also show (some more than others) inward-looking psychological depth and character development. Consequently, boundaries between centripetal complexity and centrifugal complexity are not clear in this serial — it contains elements of both.

Picture 4: Frank talking directly into the camera to inform his audience (screenshot of "Chapter 1")

3.2.2.B Operational aesthetics and operational reflexivity

As mentioned, the boundaries between centripetal and centrifugal complexity are not clear and concise in House of Cards — Frank is a central point between the different plot lines of the serial, though there are many other side plots, which interlink with each other at a certain point. Other main characters have their own independent plot lines that are not always directly connected to Frank's plot lines. Consequently, operational aesthetics are more present as the plot lines start con- necting with each other. Therefore, operational aesthetics are no longer only highly correlated with centrifugal complexity, as is suggested in Chapter 2.

34 The narrational special effect in House of Cards is moderately present, usually when Frank is texting Zoe or vice-versa (Picture 5). A non-diegetic image pops up when a character receives a text message, which creates an awareness at the audience. The fact that it is non-diegetic is important, since is highlights the non-natural presentation of the message in the screen. It makes the audience to be aware that it is watching a show and it gets extracted from the narrative and creates realization of the serial. Operational aesthetics can in House of Cards, like with the House of Cards Trilogy, also be found in the fact that Frank speaks directly into the camera (Picture 4). The effect of this operational aesthetic on narrational complexity is already discussed in Section 3.1.2.B. It results in both a higher audience activity and a more passive audience in case of the House of Cards Trilogy. Interest- ing is that, with House of Cards, the audience activity becomes even higher instead of creating an additional passive audience due to Frank's monologue into the camera: he talks in metaphors instead of explaining his intentions or thoughts explicitly to the audience. These metaphors invite the audience to pay closer attention, so they can connect the metaphor to the occurrences, instead of simplifying the narrational complexity.

Picture 5: the narrational special effect: Frank is texting Zoe (screenshot of "Chapter 14")

35 3.2.3 Temporality in House of Cards

The fact that centrifugal and centripetal complexity have the opportunity to blend in newer serials has to do with temporality — or more specifically with the extending of screen-time. House of Cards is made up of four seasons with each thirteen episodes of around fifty minutes. It is striking that the duration of the episodes of House of Cards is so much longer, when compared to the House of Cards Trilogy, especially when taking into consideration that Frank only became President at the end of Season 2 in "Chapter 26" (2013). Where the three seasons of the House of Cards Trilogy have a screen-time of almost eleven hours in total, House of Cards has a comparable screen-time for just the first season, in which Frank does not yet become President. The narrational arcs of the same plot lines are stretched over more screen-time. This is important, as it allows for more plot lines, more psychological depth of multiple characters and a higher audience activity. It seems that the creators have expanded the narrative and explored the maximum narrational depth and complexity which can be achieved. House of Cards was completely chronological structured. Surprisingly, this changed halfway through the third season. "Chapter 33" (2015) starts with Claire and Frank having their vows re- newed after some disagreements. Following that, the narrative shifts one month before this moment when they were still arguing with each other. Even though this is not an excessive use of non- chronological storytelling, as is seen usually within contemporary complex narrative serials, it is worthwhile to mention as it breaks with the earlier chronological of storytelling in House of Cards. Such a change in the stylistic character of the serial after two seasons — even with a single chronological break like this — demands more operational reflexivity of the audience. The aim for creators with breaking with their own storytelling methods after a while is to create non-expected moments for their audience, which results in a moment of reflexivity when it turns out to be different from the audience expectations. Moreover, the fourth seasons includes creative use of flash-backs to the persons that Frank killed when he is hallucinating. Even though these occurrences did not actually happen in the story world, they depict and make reference to earlier story times. "Chapter 46" (2016) is noteworthy, as it shows many of these hallucinations. For instance, Frank is following a lady that looks like Claire but she turns out to be Zoe Barnes, with the looks of Claire: plain clothing and with short dark hair. Also, within the hallucination, she is wearing a white dress, which refers to the first time she and Frank met each other. Furthermore, it refers discretely to other characters and moments in the narrative. A moment later in the hallucination, Zoe is trying to stab Frank's eyes out, as Claire tried

36 to do in a dream of Frank as well in "Chapter 40" (2016). According to online paratexts regarding these hallucinations, it is a literary reference to the Oedipus complex, which again refers to a lack of values for narcissistic persons (Dibdin; Groen 168). Therefore, it creates more inward-looking psychological depth for Frank's character, although shaped in a discrete way. Interesting is that, due to the fact that House of Cards is a Netflix Original serial that is streamed online, it is not influenced by advertisement and television screen-time (Smith). Plot lines are, therefore, no longer structured to maintain television's flow. These changed circumstances result in more flexible screen-times, plot lines, narrational complexity and character development. Screen-time of episodes in House of Cards can vary greatly in length, from 44 minutes for the short- est episode ("Chapter 34", 2015) to sixty minutes for the longest ("Chapter 26", 2014). House of Cards does not have a non-diegetic plot recapitulation at the beginning of an episode. This can be explained by the fact that Netflix releases each complete season of House of Cards at once. Audiences are encouraged to binge-watch and, consequently, the usual gap-period between episodes disappears. This implies that story lines are still fresh in the memory of the audiences, which is the reason why plot recapitulations are less relevant in current programmes. Due to the complexity of House of Cards and the gap-time between different seasons (which is around a year), it may be hard to recall all previous plot lines. Netflix, then, releases a recapitulation of each season on their website with the most important plot lines and occurrences of that season, in order to help the audience — if needed — to remember the narrative. House of Cards does not directly refer to real-time events or political situations in the United States, as the House of Cards Trilogy did with Thatcher, but it indirectly refers to existing (political) circumstances concerning the United States, like the setting of the presidential elections in America and the White House in Washington, D.C. The serial highlights important current affairs in a fictional way as well; in "Chapter 29" (2015) there is, for example, an indirect reference to Vladimir Putin. In this episode, the fictional Russian president Viktor Petrov (who has the same initials) is introduced, arriving at the White House for a dinner with amongst others the political punk rock band Pussy Riot (who act as themselves in the serial). The episode was released after the members of Pussy Riot were arrested in Moscow and went to jail for almost two years, because of their criticism on the anti-gay regime of Putin (O'Flynn; Whitney). One of the members of Pussy Riot gives a speech before the dinner, in which she says: “To Victor Petrov, who’s royalty runs so deep he’s given his friends half of the country, who’s so open to criticism that most of his critics are in prison, the commander-in-chief who is not afraid of anyone except gays.” (qtd. in Whitney). Where there is no direct link between Putin and Petrov and Netflix wisely did not comment on these similarities,

37 most audiences easily make connections to real-time and filter out the criticism of the serial on Russian politics. If indirect links are not so clear, they will be explained online on forums, such as for example with the connection between ICO and ISIS. Here it applies that the less clear it is, the more will be written about it. For example, season four contains the storyline of the 'Islamic Caliphate Organisation' (ICO). This story line bears major resemblances to ISIS and audiences wonder what the similarities are. Articles like "Is ICO Based On ISIS? 'House Of Cards' Season 4 Might Be Pulling from Real Life" surface online to answer these questions and explain the comparison and differences between ICO and ISIS (Sorren). Along with links to reality within fictional narratives, it could also be the other way around — fiction that blends with reality. In case of House of Cards there is, for instance, a fictional portrait of Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood on exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithson- ian Institute in Washington (National Portrait Gallery). During the opening of the Portrait, Kevin Spacey said, as being Frank Underwood, that he could now convince the people even more that he should become President (Valk). Also, Frank Underwood has a Twitter account as if he is a real person, and more strikingly, there is a website for Frank Underwood for President in 2016 which is highly linked to the presidential elections in America this year — this will be discussed in more detail in 3.1.4.B.

3.2.4 Audience activity in House of Cards

A lot has changed in audience activity since the rise of Web 2.0. As the first season of House of Cards was released recently, it provided major opportunities for online audience activity and engagement. As depicted in Chapter 2, the search for complexity can be pushed against its boundaries with Web 2.0, as audiences make effort to engage with online content when something in the plot line challenge for participation. In order to explain audience activity in House of Cards clearly, this section is divided in two parts. The first one is bottom-up audience activity (3.1.4.A) and the second assesses with top-down audience activity (3.1.4.B). Bottom-up audience activity refers to paratexts that are created by (professional) audiences. Top-down audience activity refers to paratexts that are created by Netflix itself, in order to create more audience engagement. However, both types of audience activity influence and interact with each other.

38 3.2.4.A Bottom-up audience activity

Bottom-up audience activity implies that the audience actively contributes to online paratexts for House of Cards. Audience contribution can be found in several forms; any (online) contribution by audiences is a form of creating paratexts. Some audience activity is easy approachable for the audience, for instance on social media: even a 'like' on Facebook, writing a 'tweet' that you are watching a certain show, and ranking and reviewing the serial on Netflix and IMDb are forms of paratexts. It all contributes to a larger collective intelligence of the serial. This implies that audiences are not only users but also produsers because they actively contribute to (online) paratexts. By searching for House of Cards on Facebook, there are many pages that refer to the serial, but the main one is the official fan page created by Netflix. The nearly 3 million likes for the fan page show the audience engagement with and commitment to the serial. Moreover, and this is where it gets particularly interesting, audiences begin to discuss the serial with each other on this page. Picture 6 shows the response of audiences on a comment that Paul wrote on a short clip that announced the release of Season 4. Audiences are primarily expressing their first reactions regarding the new season, but are also giving reviews and making connections to other serials (in this case to the House of Cards Trilogy). Also, questions are required in case something is not clear or not fully comprehended by the audience. This single post of Paul has already 20 reactions and even more likes. The post of Netflix, that Paul is responding to, has been watched almost a million times, is shared on Facebook 14.850 times, is 'liked' 43.000 times and has almost 3000 reactions like the one Paul gave (so the sub-reactions not included). It shows a strong commitment of audiences and, more importantly, the appetite for information and sharing of experiences. The same applies, although in lesser extent, to other platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. It is not so much about creating new content but about responding to already existing content which makes it easy to approach and to participate in these kind of online discussions and conversations.

Picture 6: reactions on House of Cards on Facebook (screenshot "It's time. #House of Cards")

There are official channels on which audiences can respond, but also unofficial sources post new content and create pages or groups to discuss the serial — more effort is needed in the latter cases. Especially when audiences create content on for instance blogs and forums, if they (re-)edit clips or provide background stories of characters and plot twist, and so forth. These paratexts are useful for audiences in order to comprehend, particularly since House of Cards is a cerebral serial that requires a lot of thought and commitment in order to connect the dots and to recall the different plot lines. However, audiences need to be highly engaged with the serial too, since this content is harder to create. Usually, it contains more in-depth information compared to simple 'likes' or reactions on social media. Also, the commitment of audiences become clear when using Google. Attempting to search for "Claire stabs eyes Frank", deliberately leaving out keywords for the serial like 'Serial', 'House of Cards' or 'Frank Underwood' in order to narrow down the obvious connections to par-

40 atexts. Picture 7 shows the first six results, that all lead to paratexts regarding the occurrence of "Chapter 40" — in which Frank is hallucinating about Claire attacking him.

Picture 7: Searching for paratexts on Google (screenshot from Google)

Impressive is the Wikia — Home of Fandom database about House of Cards, on which all information is written by audiences, like on Wikipedia. Every season and episode is discussed down to the last detail and every character is described thoroughly as well, as if it is a Wikipedia page for a real person (Picture 8). A wide range of information can be found here, partly of what is seen in the serial, but also background information, that is even more in-depth. Moreover, non-fictional information can be found here regarding actors in and creators of the show.

Picture 8: Paratexts about Frank Underwood, created by audiences (screenshot from Wikia)

Real-time links and mysteries are commonly discussed on fan-pages and within articles as well. As briefly described before, the real-time links between ICO and ISIS are mentioned on different professional webpages, such as Bustle and the Guardian. Also non-professional websites like Quora are a source of information on which audiences can query other audience members for advice or clari- fication. These questions and answers go much further than what is seen in the serial itself and en- hance audience engagement:

Why was Doug Stamper so obsessed with Rachel Posner? Okay, Doug Stamper's story arc in season 3 of House Of Cards really got on my nerves and I can't work him out at all. I get that he was almost killed by Rachel Posner but at the end of the day, she was only defending herself from him. He then hunts her down and eventually (after a lot of indecisiveness) murders her. Now Rachel wasn't the best character in the World but I was really shocked that he let her go, only to go after her and kill her. I'm not sure why but her death really had an effect on me because it was so sad how it happened and she really didn't deserve what happened to her after trying to start a new life. 42

Why was Doug so obsessed with her and what made him turn the truck around and go back after her after deciding to let her go? (n.k., Quora)

The answers that follow on these kinds of questions are very extensive and offer both insights and divergent perspectives on the serial — they contribute to a better understanding of the narrative and characters.

3.2.4.B Top-down audience activity

Top-down audience activity refers to paratexts provided by the creators of the serial, in this case Netflix. The aim is to engage the audience with the serial. Creators challenge the audience to pay diligent attention and think about the serial more strenuously, by providing hidden clues and links to real-time occurrences. This can be done within the serial, by for example foreshadowing. Earlier I described that the death of Zoe Barnes was unexpected and came as a surprise, because of the tim- ing of her murder at the beginning of the second season. Audiences found out that her death was already predicted in the serial with several hidden clues from the very first episode on (Mercedes Lara). For example, in "Chapter 1" Frank says to Zoe: "Metro is killing you, huh?", to which Zoe re- plies: "Yes, Metro is killing me". Also, in "Chapter 2" (2013), Frank and Zoe are having a conversation in the same Metro station when a train approaches. Frank says: "Don't miss your train, Miss Barnes. It's the last one tonight" (Reddit). Even though these forms of foreshadowing may only become clear after the plot twist of Zoe's death, they activate audiences to pay close attention while watching and to engage and participate more with the narrative. Creators aim to give away just enough information to let the audience discover the hidden clues (Mittell, Complex 288). In November 2015, Netflix aired the website FU2016 (www.fu2016.com). This website suggests that Frank is in the running to become President of the United States in reality and as such is another real-time link. FU2016 asks the audience to actively support Frank in the elections of 2016: "Join the Movement" (Picture 9). The website looks quite similar to the official election-websites of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The interfaces all ask for support to help them become President (Pictures 10 and 11). Furthermore, FU2016 provides a media kit with stickers, posters, et cetera, to show support and, apparently, Washington, D.C. is full of billboards with Frank's face on it. Moreo- ver, political commercials for 'Underwood for President' are shown on the television canal of the republicans (Valk). Obviously, this is a smart advertisement trick of Netflix, but it creates a strange

43 mix of fiction and non-fiction and is highly linked to real-time appearances, through which they aim for more audience participation. Reality can hardly be distinguished from fiction: a fictional character wants to become president while a non-fictional television star attempts the same (Valk). Netflix also maintains an Instagram account and a fictional Twitter account for FU2016 in name of Frank Underwood. Netflix created the website and accounts partly as if Frank Underwood is a real person, but the website also provides 'behind the scenes' information and pictures. The Instagram account FU2016 posts for example pictures of the actors behind the scenes or on the red carpet. Creators are expanding the narrative out of solely the television serial by creating these kind of narrational extensions. It means that complexity is no longer committed only to the narrative in screen-time.

Picture 9: Frank Underwood in the American elections of 2016 (screenshot of FU2016)

In short, House of Cards exploits almost every feature of complex narrative to a maximum, in order to create more complexity; the narrative seems never-ending and is stretched over several episodes; both centripetal and centrifugal complexity start to blend; the narrative is correlated to reality; and most importantly, Web 2.0 has successfully evolved audience activity and results in high audience participation. Remarkable is that House of Cards, like the House of Cards Trilogy, does not exploit complexity in terms of non-chronological storytelling. In not a single episode are flash- forwards, and flashbacks are only used a few times in later seasons.

Picture 10: Screenshot of Donald Trump’s website for the presidential elections 2016

Picture 11: Screenshot of Hillary Clinton's website for the presidential elections 2016

45 3.3 Differences between the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards: the shift in complex narrative through the years

Previous sections of this chapter include the discussion of the features that were found in the House of Card Trilogy and House of Cards. Although both serials are similar on several levels, they also demonstrate several striking differences. These differences in features can determine the shift in complex narrative through the years, as I will explain in what follows.

The differences between both serials are highly influenced by the different circumstances in which they were created. At the most basic level: the serials refer to different political backgrounds and over the years technological developments affected the opportunity for audience activity. The House of Cards Trilogy was created in the United Kingdom, just after Margaret Tatcher's time as Prime Minister while House of Cards is focused on American politics. The political background of America seems to matter more to the rest of the world compared to that of the United Kingdom since their politics intervene highly with other political situations in the world. Consequently, House of Cards is more globally disseminated and access to and participation with the serial is easier, due to the technological developments. The differences in political and temporal backgrounds affect the audience engagement as well.

3.3.1 Extension

The first shift in the concept of complex narrative can be found in 'extension'. The House of Cards Trilogy has a clear seasonal structure, ending with Mattie being pushed of the roof by Francis and by Francis becoming President. These structures are less found in the seasons of House of Cards. As boundaries between episodes became blurred at the beginning of the era of complex television, they now became blurred between seasons instead. This means that the narrational arc of serials has expanded throughout the years. Before the era of complex television, episodes had a strong narrational arc with closure after each episode (Figure 1). Hereafter, at the beginning of the complex television era, this changed to a narrational arc in which all episodes contributed to a seasonal closure (Figure 2). Their narrational arc extended over different episodes, although episodes could have a strong episodic structure as well. Nowadays, it seems like both episodes and seasons contribute to one major complex web of plot lines that end at one point or work towards a spectacular

46 final of the serial (Figure 3). This means that closure is found solely in the very last episode. Within this narrational complexity, the start- and closure-times of plot lines are not linked to particular time phrases, as in conventional series. The shifting balance between episodic and serials forms that Mittell discusses at the beginning of his book, tends to lean more and more towards serial forms, at least is the case of the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards (Complex 18). Moreo- ver, complexity within the narrative can now be extended outside the discourse time of episodes as well, because of the possibilities that Web 2.0 has to offer, as we saw for instance with FU2016.

Figure 1: structure of story arcs — pre-complex television era

Figure 2: structure of story arcs — beginning of the complex narrative era

Figure 3: structure of story arcs — complex narrative era nowadays

47 3.3.2 Intensity

The second transformation in complex narrative encompasses a merging of centrifugal and centripetal complexity. The House of Cards Trilogy is mainly focused on centripetal complexity of the narrative, while this boundary is less clear and concise in House of Cards. House of Cards demonstrates that it is now possible to use both centripetal complexity and centrifugal complexity, because of technological developments that offer opportunities to help audiences to fully comprehend. This leads to a narrational structure with Frank as a core character and many other dimensional characters, that show psychological depth to a lesser or greater extent. Here, I would like to briefly mention that technological developments also offer an opportunity for more narrational special effect, by adding for example non-diegetic elements such as the text messages in House of Cards. This contributes to more operational reflexivity, as it creates a moment of realization at the audience, that they are watching a serial. These new forms contribute towards more intensity of narrational complexity. Concluding, 'intensity' has increased since the beginning of the era of complex television which resulted in more complexity.

3.3.3 Temporality

'Temporality' in the House of Cards Trilogy and House of Cards focuses mainly on links with real- time occurrences. Both serials shape a fictional world that could have been real in that time and place. House of Cards goes further and links narrational structures also to real-time too, by extending the narrative out of the discourse time, as previously depicted. This development challenges audiences to engage more, to participate more, to think more and to create collective intelligence, aiming for better comprehension. Neither the House of Cards Trilogy nor House of Cards use non-chronological story telling in an excessive way. Moreover, the House of Cards Trilogy is only chronological structured. Interesting is the shift from chronological storytelling in the first two seasons of House of Cards, compared to the non-chronological storytelling that occur in the third and fourth season. Using non- chronological storytelling only after two seasons, results in a break of the conventional style that was earlier used in the serial. It might indicate a long for more complexity between the release of both serials — 2013 and 2015 — since they did not applied it before.

48 What is particularly poignant, is also that the plot recapitulation at the beginning of every episode is used in the House of Cards Trilogy, while House of Cards does not provide this, despite the fact that House of Cards has more narrational complexity. This is due to binge-watching and apparently, creators assume that — and this indicates a shift in the feature — in case something is not clear anymore, audiences try to connect the dots themselves by rewatching parts or by finding plot recapitulations online. This results in more responsibility of the audience and more creative freedom for the creators of the serial. This freedom in creating shows further developed, because flow changed due to streaming services. Creators experience more freedom in narrational structures, because they are less bound to for example screen-time.

3.3.4 Audience activity

Most striking is the shift of the feature in audience activity due to the Web 2.0. Obviously there was no online activity at the time of broadcasting the House of Cards Trilogy since it was broadcasted before the rise of the internet. Therefore, the House of Cards Trilogy understood audience activity only as a proactive approach to watching, in order to connect the narrational dots. While it already indicates a shift from passive viewing, as was a common mode of television watching before the era of complex television, towards a mode of proactive watching, it can barely be compared to current audience activity. Therefore a comparison between audience activity in both serials is not a useful comparison. However, the fact that it is not a straight comparison highly emphasizes the radical changes in sense of audience activity during the era of complex television. There has been a shift in audience activity towards a participating audience over the last 26 years. The current situation of this evolution is a symbiosis between creators and audiences, in which they influence and challenge each other, which can be found in online audience activity of House of Cards. Many more paratexts were created by both creators and audiences, which can be consulted by the audiences. On the one hand, I can conclude that creators add more and more complexity in order to challenge their audiences. The capacity of narrational complexity has been extended throughout the years because audiences can (re)watch easily and can search for paratexts. Consequently, the boundaries of complex narrative itself have been extended as well because of this evolution. On the other hand, I can conclude that creators mix fictional and real-life boundaries in order to create even deeper audience engagement, as with the implementation of fictional elements in real-life — which is for instance done with FU2016. Important for both conclu-

49 sions is that the bottom-up and top-down audience activity create a direct way of communication between audiences and creators.

Even though the basic principles of the features of complex narrative are largely still the same (all features still apply), they encompass more capacity for narrational complexity. Therefore, it is not necessary a shift towards other features but more easily conceptualized as a growth within these features, of which the development of the VCR and DVD, and more important that of Web 2.0 are stepping stones.

50 4. Conclusion

This final chapter draws conclusions and provides a concise answer to the main research question. It progresses to make recommendations for further research within the concept of complex narrative and it describes the contribution of this research to broader the scientific field of Media Stud- ies.

4.1 Features of complex narrative and audience activity

Based on the concept of complex narrative — as introduced by media professor Jason Mittell — a list of features is defined for this thesis. Together, these features — 'extension', 'intensity' and 'temporality' — frame the concept of complex narrative as a whole. They are over-arching designa- tions from which one can create further narrational complexity. Each is correlated to narrational structure and length, narrational occurrences, character definition and development, and their in- terdependencies. Amongst others, important factors are interconnectivity of the plot, (non- )chronological use of time and audience engagement. Based on the technological advancements of the past 26 years, there has been a shift in narrational complexity, which implies that these features have to be continuously reconsidered. In addition, audience activity is highly encouraged by the development of Web 2.0, which resulted in an interaction between narrational complexity and audience activity. With more audience engagement and participation, narrational complexity could be increased. By means of an analytical approach of the features in the serials the House of Cards Tril- ogy and House of Cards, this research defined the differences in how complexity is created between the early nineties and today, and to which extent audiences actively participate with the narrative.

Following such analysis and insight a clear and concise answer to the research question: how has narrative complexity evolved between the House of Cards Trilogy (BBC, 1990) and House of Cards (Netflix, 2013) due to transformations in television technology and audience activity?

Most striking is the changing audience activity due to Web 2.0, which extended all features of complex narrative towards more complexity. Audience activity and features of complex narrative are highly complementary of each other. While the features themselves have not changed significantly, it is rather related to an expansion of the capacity of the features that changed over the years.

51 These features show internal development, in which they can provide further complexity. More importantly, the features interconnect with each other, as creators currently prefer to use a combination of the different features instead of choosing only one. In conclusion, narrational complexity has evolved over the years due to more extensive use of the same features. The reason which the creators of serials can now utilize these features more extensively, is due to the emergence of Web 2.0, that offered the opportunity for deeper audience engagement and participation. While in the beginning of the concept of complex narrative the creators had to take into consideration the limitations regarding the audience's access to information, they can currently assume that the audience actively searches for answers, in instances of confusion. As Mat- thew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, once said: "Now it's the viewers' problem if they don't know what's going on. And all of a sudden, a world has opened up to us as writers." (qtd. in Martin). This refers to the freedom that creators and writers currently have to push narrational complexity to its limits. Web 2.0. not only offered access to paratexts, but additionally enabled streaming services like Netflix to release entire seasons of serials at once, resulting in a new mode of watching television— with the possibility for binge-watching. Therefore, gap-time decreased, leading to a reduc- tion of hypothesizing what might happen. Moreover, this development has led to a more passive audience, due to occurrences that are still fresh in the audience's memory. On the other hand, it is exactly the decreased gap-time between episodes that has resulted in an increase of narrative complexity. The challenge of narrational complexity for its creators, is to find an accurate balance between just enough narrational complexities for its audience to make sense of the narrative. What differs now, is that this balance is suddenly moving towards more and deeper complexity, due to heightened audience engagement and the emergence of Web 2.0. This is why so many differences in narrational complexity can be found between the House of Card Trilogy and House of Cards. The main conclusion of this thesis is that, in the beginning of the era of complex television, the creators had to choose between different features. They had to choose between the use of many characters or the use of complex plot lines. Furthermore, they had to choose for one main character with inward-looking psychological depth or many — more shallow — characters. If they wanted to use ex- traordinary temporality, they had to shorten on complex narrational clues, and so forth. Due to technological advancements, in particular of Web 2.0, which created an engaged audience, creators are now free to use these features more creatively and to combine different features. This is what

52 Mittell means with 'unconventionality' being the main feature of complex narrative (Mittell, Com- plex 18).

4.2 Limitations, recommendations for future research and contribution to the scientific debate

Even though this research provided insights in how narrational complexity and audience activity complement each other, and how they were influenced by technological advancements, it was analysed solely in the light of two serials. Even though the analysis of both serials provided interesting results regarding the shift in complex narrative, since they are set at the beginning and end of the era of complex television, this research it is limited in terms of variation of for instance genre. Also, excessive use of non-chronological storytelling could not be analysed properly, since both serials are mainly chronologically structured. In order to provide a more accurate and complete research of the shift in complex narrative, it would be interesting for further research to include more serials in the analysis. Also, it may be interesting to study complex narrative around the development of Web 2.0, as this was the major turning point. Finally, one should consider to delve into the features of complex narrative again in a few years since it is an ever-evolving concept.

However, more important is to evaluate the successful contribution of this study to the scientific debate on the shift of the concept complex narrative. First of all, this research enabled the definition of the major features of the concept complex narrative. It builds upon the concept of complex narrative and showed how these different features have changed over the years due to technological advancements. Based on the analysis, this study shows that the features of complex narrative, audience activity and technological developments form a triangular relationship with one another, which influences the concept complex narrative. This thesis proves that over the years more narrational complexity has been created and demonstrates in which terms it did: it is highly related to a more creative use of the features of complex narrative and a major audience participation.

53 5. References

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57 6. Media List

"A Study in Pink". Season 1, episode 1. Sherlock. BBC. 25-07-2010.

"Chapter 1". Season 1, episode 1. House of Cards. Netflix. 01-02-2013.

"Chapter 2". Season 2, episode 2. House of Cards. Netflix. 01-02.2013.

"Chapter 14". Season 2, episode 1. House of Cards. Netflix. 14-02-2014.

"Chapter 26". Season 2, episode 13. House of Cards. Netflix. 14-02-2014.

"Chapter 29". Season 3, episode 3. House of Cards. Netflix. 27-02-2015.

"Chapter 33". Season 3, episode 7. House of Cards. Netflix. 27-02-2015.

"Chapter 34". Season 3, episode 8. House of Cards. Netflix. 27-02-2015.

"Chapter 40". Season 4, episode 1. House of Cards. Netflix. 04-03-2016.

"Chapter 46". Season 4, episode 6. House of Cards. Netflix. 04-03-2016.

"Episode 1". Season 1, episode 1. The House of Cards Trilogy. BBC. 18-11-1990.

"Pilot". Season 1, episode 1. Breaking Bad. AMC. 20-01-2008.

"Pilot". Season 1, episode 1. How I met your Mother. AMC. 19-11-2005.

"Pilot". Season 1, episode 1. How to Get Away with Murder. ABC. 25-09-2014.

"Shoot". Season 1, episode 9. Mad Men. AMC, 13-11-2007.

"Slap Bet". Season 2, episode 9. How I met your Mother. CBS. 20-11-2009.

"The End of the Aisle". Season 2, episode 22. How I met your Mother. CBS. 20-11-2014.

"The Platinum Rule". Season 3, episode 11. How I met your Mother. CBS. 10-12-2007.