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Public Persona As Character in Film, Television, and Fandom Melanie Brooke Piper BA (Hons), University of Queensland

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Public Persona As Character in Film, Television, and Fandom Melanie Brooke Piper BA (Hons), University of Queensland Docucharacters: Public Persona as Character in Film, Television, and Fandom Melanie Brooke Piper BA (Hons), University of Queensland A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2017 School of Communication and Arts Abstract Screen characters function to personalise narrative actions for viewers, help us form judgements and understanding of moral points of view, and give us a way to make affective connections to media texts. This is true of both purely fictional characters in film and television narratives, and the real- life characters of the public figures that populate the news cycle. But how does character function when these two realms of fact and fiction merge, when the text of an actual public image is further fleshed out with speculation and fictionalisation in media ranging from Hollywood biopic to erotic fan fiction? Despite the centrality of characters in understanding media texts, there is a small body of scholarly work on fictional characters in screen media, and even less on real people as fictionalised characters. The latter has been touched on in studies of the biopic, historical literary fiction, and historical film, but we also see real people turned into characters in other media forms, such as sketch comedy, fan fiction, and celebrities playing fictional versions of themselves on screen. This thesis proposes the ontological category of “docucharacter” as a means of considering how public and private selves come together through the interpretive work of media producers and audiences across this variety of film, television, and fannish media forms. To define the docucharacter, I draw on celebrity studies approaches to the intertextuality of the public image, Erving Goffman's theories of self-presentation, and Murray Smith’s typology of character engagement. These foundational theories are used to articulate the divide between the public and private selves of prominent individuals and how this divide is broached in various manifestations of the docucharacter. I argue that the central process of adapting a public persona to a character is one of merging the public and private selves. By replicating what is known about the public figure, a plausible private self can be constructed in ways that permit simulated access to a version of the public figure, creating an illusion of the kind of access to celebrity that is unattainable without the frame of dramatization or fictionalisation. Working with texts that adapt still-living public figures to fictionalised and dramatized forms, the case studies in this thesis examine docucharacters that have been instrumental in shaping popular understanding of their subjects among audiences large and small. Through these case studies, I illustrate how the nuances of textual factors such as genre, medium, audience, and mode of production shape the end product, defining the docucharacter in its various forms. Chapter one focuses on the business celebrity of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and how it is adapted to the neoclassical biopic in The Social Network (Fincher 2010). Chapter two continues a consideration of The Social Network by looking at its fan audience and the real person fan fiction 1 written about the film's docucharacters and the actors who portray them. Chapter three focuses on the political celebrity of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and how it is adapted by both Saturday Night Live's (NBC 1975 - ) satirical sketch comedy and the HBO movie Game Change (Roach 2012). Chapter four looks at the performance of celebrities as fictionalised versions of themselves in film and television, with a primary focus on comedian Louis C.K. and his television series Louie (FX 2010 - ) as a means of authenticating his performance persona as a true self. Through the process of defining the docucharacter, this thesis proposes a character-based method for considering biopics and other fictionalised works based on true stories. I also argue that across different types of screen media, there are similar principles that underpin the creation of a character from a public persona. Perhaps, in illuminating these similarities, we can enhance our understanding of broader narratives of selfhood and the role of the imagination in the production and consumption of celebrity culture. 2 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. 3 Publications during candidature Peer-reviewed papers Piper, Melanie. "Real Body, Fake Person: Recontextualizing Celebrity Bodies in Fandom and Film." Transformative Works and Cultures 20 (2015): n.p. Piper, Melanie. "Louie, Louis: The Fictional, Stage, and Auteur Personas of Louis C.K. in Louie." Persona Studies 1.1 (2015): 13-24. Piper, Melanie. "Little Big Dog Pill Explanations: Humour, Honesty, and the Comedian Podcast." Philament 20 (2015): 41-60. Publications included in this thesis Piper, Melanie. "Real Body, Fake Person: Recontextualizing Celebrity Bodies in Fandom and Film." Transformative Works and Cultures 20 (2015). Incorporated in Chapter 2. Piper, Melanie. "Louie, Louis: The Fictional, Stage, and Auteur Personas of Louis C.K. in Louie." Persona Studies 1.1 (2015): 13-24. Incorporated in Chapter 4. Piper, Melanie. "Little Big Dog Pill Explanations: Humour, Honesty, and the Comedian Podcast." Philament 20 (2015): 41-60. Incorporated in Chapter 4. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. 4 Acknowledgements Thank you to my advisors, Dr Lisa Bode and Prof. Jason Jacobs. A particular debt of gratitude to Lisa, whose confidence in me has sustained me through both my honours and postgraduate research. Thank you for your time, patience, tolerance, and incredible ability to find sense in my various messes of word-like substance. Thanks also to the EMSAH/CommArts faculty who have offered their support, advice, and assistance throughout my time as both an undergraduate and a postgraduate at UQ. I’d particularly like to thank A/Prof Frances Bonner, Prof Tom O’Regan, A/Prof Jane Stadler, and Dr Melissa Harper. Thank you to my parents for their support, especially for being incredibly lax with film and television censorship when I was a kid. Mum, I’m sorry that my teenage obsession with ER let me to this, and not to being a nurse like you wanted. Thanks to my extended family for their support, as well as knowing when to stop asking “Are you a doctor yet?”. Thinking about using real people to do fictional things started out just being a hobby for me. My thanks to Sare, Max, Kris, Krista, Claire, and Liz, for helping fuel my interest long before I started my PhD candidature. Extra thanks to Emma and Riya, without whom I might never have known The Social Network even had a fandom. Additionally, I offer my apologies to the patrons of eating establishments across New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, London, and Brisbane who might have overheard any of our conversations. Thank you Greg Behrendt, Dave Anthony, and Jen Kirkman. I met them all when I was in the midst of trying to write about stand-up comedy persona, and they were all very patient with me in the brief time we spoke. I doubt any of them would remember it, but I will never forget their kindness. This thesis is dedicated to anyone who ever made a joke about Aaron Sorkin writing fan fiction. 5 Keywords biopic, celebrity, persona, character, film studies, television studies, fan studies, real person fiction, sketch comedy, stand-up comedy Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 190204, Film and Television, 80% ANZSRC code: 200212, Screen and Media Culture, 20% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 1902, Film, Television and Digital Media, 80% FoR code: 2002, Cultural Studies, 20% 6 Contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... 8 List of Abbreviations Used in the Thesis
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