Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Dissertations Department of Communication 1-6-2017 Narrative Change in Professional Wrestling: Audience Address and Creative Authority in the Era of Smart Fans Christian Norman Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_diss Recommended Citation Norman, Christian, "Narrative Change in Professional Wrestling: Audience Address and Creative Authority in the Era of Smart Fans." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2017. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_diss/77 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. NARRATIVE CHANGE IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING: AUDIENCE ADDRESS AND CREATIVE AUTHORITY IN THE ERA OF SMART FANS by CHRISTIAN NORMAN Under the Direction of Nathan Atkinson, PhD ABSTRACT This dissertation project provides a methodological contribution to the field of critical rhetoric by positioning narrative theory as a powerful yet underutilized tool for examining the power dynamic between producer and consumer in a participatory media context. Drawing on theories of author and audience from rhetorical narratology, this study shows how producers of media texts provide rhetorical cues to audiences that allow them to reassert their power in the form of creative authority vis-à-vis consumers. The genre of professional wrestling serves as an ideal text for examining such power dynamics, as WWE has adapted to changing fan participatory behaviors throughout its sixty-year history. Focusing on pivotal moments in which WWE altered its narrative address to its audience in order to reassert its control over the production process, this study demonstrates the utility of narrative theory for understanding how creative authority shows power at work in media texts.