The New Collaborative Cinema: Fan Labor in Contemporary Film Franchises
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The New Collaborative Cinema: Fan Labor in Contemporary Film Franchises A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Fine Arts of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Natallia Yeloshyna April 2021 © 2021 Natallia Yeloshyna. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled The New Collaborative Cinema: Fan Labor in Contemporary Film Franchises by NATALLIA YELOSHYNA has been approved for the Film Division and the College of Fine Arts by Ofer Eliaz Associate Professor of Film Matthew R. Shaftel Dean, College of Fine Arts 3 Abstract YELOSHYNA, NATALLIA, M.A., April 2021, Film Studies The New Collaborative Cinema: Fan Labor in Contemporary Film Franchises Director of Thesis: Ofer Eliaz This paper reviews recent attempts of contemporary media franchises to include fan labor in the development of commercial entertainment cinema. By examining Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Fifty Shades and the Wizarding World franchises, I argue that socially and historically unique characteristics of contemporary Western culture allow contemporary franchises to encourage and reinforce audience involvement into franchise development. In particular, the Fantastic Beasts film series resets hierarchical relationships between the creators of J.K. Rowling’s franchise and the imput of its fans. This makes the film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald the most progressive example of a producer-consumer relationship in contemporary cinema. This paper provides an overview of strategies of producer-consumer communication in fantasy film franchises that can help film theorists to better understand the specifics of the contemporary media environment and filmmakers to avoid mistakes in communications with their fans. 4 Dedication I am dedicating this thesis to my greatest inspiration - J.K. Rowling. Her fictional world is always there to welcome me home. I simply cannot imagine my life without my wizarding mom. Everything I am now is because of her. 5 Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank my tutors and thesis committee: Professor Ofer Eliaz for dedicated involvement in every step of my education at Ohio University, believing in me from day one, listening to my endless discussions of the Wizarding World and providing valuable feedback even during weekends and even on holidays as well as for watching all Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films, of course; Professor Erin Shevaugn Schlumpf for always encouraging me to write about my passions and supporting me with her academic expertise; and my outside reader – Professor Edmond Y. Chang – for his passionate participation in my research and sharing my desires to bring Harry Potter to academia. Here, I also would like to thank Professor Louis-Georges Schwartz for his understanding of my unhealthy passion regarding “big, scary things.” Thank to these people this thesis looks like an academic work and not just a fannish conversation. Second, I want to thank the Director of the Film Division - Steven Ross – for the enormous amount of seen and unseen work that he does for all film students. Third, I would like to thank my classmates for being open to my ideas and reading countless pages of my thesis as well as for our numerous formal and casual conversations about media franchising. Thanks to them, my thesis was supported with fascinating examples of fan- auteurs from other popular franchises that diversify my original ideas. 6 Table of contents Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................ 5 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1: Contemporary Film Franchises as Generational Mirrors ............................................. 11 1.1. Film Authorship Theories: A History ..................................................................................... 13 1.2. From Millennial Marketing to Zoomer Marketing ................................................................. 23 1.2.1. The Cauldron Is Leaking ........................................................................................ 24 1.2.2. Pop-Sociology and Contemporary Commerce ....................................................... 28 1.3. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 34 Chapter 2: An Easy Muggle Solution for A Serious Wizarding Problem ..................................... 37 2.1. Fantastic Fans and Where to Find Them ................................................................................ 38 2.1.1. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: The Example of Peter Jackson ................. 39 2.1.2. Star Wars: The Example of J.J. Abrams ................................................................. 42 2.1.3. Twilight and Fifty Shades: The Example of E.L. James ......................................... 46 2.1.4. Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts: From J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World to a Shared Universe ................................................................................................................ 47 2.2. “Fan”-tastic Business Model for Contemporary Media Franchises ........................................ 58 2.3. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 62 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 64 Works Cited .................................................................................................................................... 68 Appendices ..................................................................................................................................... 75 Appendix 1: Segmentations ........................................................................................................... 75 1.1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (P. Jackson, 2013) ..................................................... 75 1.2. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019) .......................................................... 77 1.3. Fifty Shades of Grey (S. Taylor-Johnson, 2015) ..................................................................... 81 1.4. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (David Yates, 2018) ...................................... 83 Appendix 2: Business Model Canvas – The Wizarding World Franchise ..................................... 86 Appendix 3: Budget and Communication Strategy for Legal Commodification of Fan Labor in The Wizarding World Franchise .................................................................................................... 87 Appendix 4: Terms and Conditions Agreement ............................................................................ 89 7 Introduction When people say that they like Harry Potter more than Fantastic Beasts, The Lord of the Rings more than The Hobbit, Twilight more than Fifty Shades, and the original Star Wars films more than the expanded universe of Star Wars Legends, I ask them to explain these preferences. In most cases, they say that they do not like prequels and sequels because these films depart from their canons. Then I ask them about something that they like in those films. As a response to this question, I almost always hear a fascinating speech about the very parts of new films that refute canon. Paradoxical, isn't it? In one way or another all media have been interested in an active audience. However, this interest reached its peak with the emergence of the so-called new media phenomenon at the end of the 20th century. The distinctive characteristic of the new media marketplace is that it sells content to audiences so it can later sell these audiences to advertisers. This affects the structure of contemporary films, by bringing fans, and their labor onscreen. It has become a commonplace, at least since the French New Wave, to interpret films as expressions of a director’s subjectivity. The lack of a clear marker of authorship is, I contend, at the heart (whether explicitly or not) of much criticism of contemporary film franchises. However, today’s audience wants not only to follow brands but also to interact with them. That is why contemporary entertainment cinema has become increasingly interested in engaging the audience. The most innovative examples of interactive cinema can be found in short forms. However, feature films also experiment with giving their audiences the power to steer the narrative. The assumption that the audiences may expect to see certain things onscreen changes the product integration from simply being a covert marketing ploy into a form of data collection that leads to the commodification of fan labor. Besides questions regarding legal issues as well as technical difficulties associated with harnessing fan-created materials, this tendency actualizes an issue of fan-sourced authorship in the film industry. The phenomenon of fan labor in contemporary film franchises shows a new direction of collective