Weeks 10 and 11 – Buffy.
1) Q. Wilcox and Lavery
(2002) identify 9 defining characteristics of 'quality TV' - can you apply any
of these to other television series that you have viewed recently? Are there
any other characteristics that you could add to their list?
2) What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans
play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?
3) Hills (2004)
lists a number of defining characteristics of cult TV that contain similarities
to the defining characteristics of pop genres (e.g. fantasy, science fiction)
discussed earlier in the Pop Genres paper. Can you identify these and discuss
why you think that these characteristics are repeatedly viewed as underpinning
popular genres?
Blog Post Week 9-10: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Cult TV)
ReplyDeleteThe gothic genre arose in the 18th and 19th centuries. In a time of great discoveries and exploration in fields of science, religion and industry. (Marinaro, n.d.). Common characteristics of gothic novels include “gloomy and/or decaying settings, supernatural beings, curses and prophesies, damsels in distress, heroes, romance, and intense emotions” (Marinaro n.d).
Buffy the vampire slayer (BtVS) displays many characteristics of the gothic genre. The show revolves around supernatural beings. You can see little influences from the gothic genre at surface level through the setting of the show. Such as, the cemetery, secret passages and dark gloomy places. However, BtVS delves much deeper in the gothic genre and provides a contemporary critique on it too. According to Rose (2002) “Buffy herself presents a postfeminist version of the romantic hero – she is a tough, powerful demon fighter who acts alone when she must but retains strong and important ties to the community” as opposed to the damsel in distress which is one characteristic of the gothic genre.
Rose (2002) also drew comparisons of BtVS with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which is a classic gothic novel. One example which she talks about is “the role of the community in Frankenstein and BtVS”. Victor Frankenstein chooses to do his mad scientist, meddling with nature, “filthy” work in seclusion. Nobody really ever found out about what he had done (Until Victor told the whole story to Walton) and innocent people died because of it. “In Frankenstein [Shelley] implies that this idealistic solitude is both a strength and the curse of the hero”. And so, “the creators of BtVS suggested an alternative outcome”. I noticed right at the beginning in season one Buffy was afraid to tell anyone about her ‘work’ in fear of harming them. But when she made friends with Willow and Xander they became her allies and became a source of strength for her (Literally, when it came to defeating Adam). So, you can see how the creators of BtVS critiqued this concept of the romantic hero.
This leads me to another quick example of gothic genre influence. The creator and his creation. Victor Frankenstein and his monster; Walsh and Adam. Walsh is first of all a female unlike Victor who was a man. Unlike Frankenstein’s monster who seeks acceptance and love. Adam actually ends up killing his creator and “by serving ties with his creator so definitively, Adam rejects that scenario” (Rose, 2002). Adam, unlike Victors monster ends up being a creation and a creator. This was a concept from the gothic genre the creators played around with and it made for an interesting story line.
Reference:
Mainaro, F. (n.d). Gothic novels: characteristics and examples. Retrieved on 9 October, 2017. From http://study.com/academy/lesson/gothic-novels-characteristics-examples.html
Rose, A (2002) Of creatures and creators: Buffy does Frankenstein, in R. Wilcox & D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.
Hi Rayna ;)
DeleteGood secondary sources used here, makes the content more in depth! Also good to see that you pulled out Frankenstein as an example. And talking about gothic genre in both this two shows, is there anything in common or differences between them?
Good luck on your upcoming work!
Merriam-Webster . (2017, October 16). Dictionary Definition - Cult. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cult
ReplyDeleteWhat role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?
ReplyDeleteNew media has been a major platform now to connect between the fans and TV itself. Its multiple functions enable fans to comment and give feedback on their favorite shows and express their thoughts. K-drama fans are a symbolic group here, as particularly due to Korean wave, k-drama becomes very popular worldwide since early 21st century. And in terms of this, new media has became a great channel to let K-drama fans voice their opinions as well as interacting with other fans who have the same interest around the world. Fanfic, comics, Facebook, Instagram are some of the most trendy new media platforms, In the meantime, producers of the K-dramas are able to get feedback from new media platforms according to the fan commentary, they could know what they need to improve and what kind of plot that fans keen to see in their dramas. As many of K-dramas are filming and broadcasting at the same time, the playwrights sometime would consider fans' thoughts and add some highly-request elements into the upcoming episodes to in order to satisfy their audiences. According to Hills (2004), he states that avoid such a producer/audience or text/audience stand-off, attempting more adequate definitions of cult TV. This negative answer would reflect that the relationships between the audiences/producers and audiences/text are somehow affecting the accuracy of defining "cult status". So people should be aware of that "cult TV" is not only defined by the audiences, there are many more factors to define a TV show to be "cult". Also as Jostein Gripsrud notes, that 'proper fandom exists when an enthusiasm for some cultural object or other takes on… a totalizing, defining role in people's lifestyles and identities. The term "cult" is also related to such instances'. (Grisprud 2002:119)
However, because of the significant development of new media channels, it somehow provided more opportunities for those "internet trolls" to be able to be pretty “cynical”, they would take advantage of the "internet mask" and spread harmful words to others. Hills (2004) suggests that "being a fan of cult TV doesn't mean just displaying subjective enthusiasm or a 'special devotion'. It also means, at the very least, being able to attempt to account for and defend one's fan passions; being able to analyze and critically appreciate one's favored text; and attempting to ward off negative portrayals of fan cultures." Some people would not be aware of their behavior on the internet, therefore misunderstanding and conflicts would happen sometimes. Remember that respect show be showing to anyone at any time no matter where we are and who we are talking to, this is the appropriate way to be a real fan.
Reference:
Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.
Gripsrud, Jostein (2002)'Fans, Viewers and Television Theory' in Philippe Le guern (ed.) Les Cultes Médiatiques, Presses Universitaires De Rennes: Rennes.
Blog Post 5: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
ReplyDeleteWhat role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?
Matt Hills describes a fans construction of cult as ‘romantic’. He asks 2 questions; what activities do fans engage in and how do fan activities produce cult status. As much as fans give special devotion, they also defend ones’ fan passion and attempt to ward off negative portrayal of fan cultures by appreciating one another’s favoured texts (Hills, 2004). Hills suggests that fans have a part in generically re—organizing tv programs into the category of ‘cult’.
Fans have collectively joined ‘appreciation societies’ (Hills, 2004). This is a gradual process that happens long after the initial airing of a show as it may not have even intended to be categorized as ‘cult’ as most things aren’t but have over time it has gained that kind following making it cult tv. Fans of cult also gather at annual conventions where they share their interests, sustaining a fan culture (Hills, 2004). In addition, they write fan fictions and purchase/sell merchandise, props and memorabilia.
Besides just meeting annually at conventions, they are able to communicate online (Hills, 2004).. This creates a sense of belonging where they can relate to one another. With the amount of people on the internet, it expands the boundaries to places that a convention could not reach, allowing others to join and experience cult tv making media a big part of the cult tv culture. However, in accordance with Hills, for the already devoted fans, the newer fans may lack serious knowledge leading to a quiet separation between the 2.
Even though fans created the term ‘cult’, it is still open to later co-optation and tactical use by media producers. Fans, therefore become a possible target. According to Hills, this is why the media producers may construct ‘cult’ since they are sensitive to what fans count and what they read as cult tv. This would make new media central to the creation of ‘cult’ tv.
Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.
Interesting blog Shayen :)
ReplyDeleteIt does feel like any show that comes out these days end up becoming cult shows because of the fans and the internet plays such a big part of it. Have you ever used tumblr? that is basically the site where all cult show fans unite haha
Thank you :)
DeleteI agree, a lot shows can be considered 'cult' because of the following it has. Yeah haha I have.
What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?
ReplyDeleteCult TV programs are shows with a small and dedicated audience. It is composed of text itself, inter-text and audience. According to Hills (2004), “a group of texts, often hailing from the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror”. However, it is evident that fans are the most important factor to Cult TV. Hills (2004) states that fans play a crucial role in the construction of cult television. He indicated that cult TV is “created by fans rather than media producers”, meaning that the fans are the ones responsible for keeping the programme running.
Cult TV programs such as ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, often succeed after a troubled start because of the campaigns by devoted and loyal fans, the fans play a significant role in giving a show its ‘cult’ status as they are the ones who create the fandom or ‘fan culture’ that supports the TV show and its creators (Hills 2004).
The Fans build their own ‘intertextual network’, which sustains the popularity of cult TV, even if TV is over. The intertextual network is where cult TV fans discuss and share their opinions with each other freely, usually about the fandom. They described themselves as “Cult” and which also defined those kind of intertextual networks also (Hills 2004).
Fans use new media as an interactive tool to communicate, share and connect to other people. Hills (2004) mentioned that fans organised themselves socially into ‘Appreciation Societies’, which is a convention where fans can gather and share their interests. New media has given fans the ability to share their commentaries, fan fiction, episode guides and production histories to the fandom community online. According to Hills (2004), new media has impacted the formation of cult shows as it makes it easier for fans to contact other like-minded individuals devoted to the various fandoms and “the web increases the possibility of small-scale fandoms emerging around a variety of TV shows.” New media is a both a gateway and a tool for these fans to participate in fan culture as it engages them more in their fandom societies.
Hills, M. (2004) Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-Texts, and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader. In R.C. Allen and A Hill. London and New York. Routledge.