Until mere days ago, I saw transmedia storytelling as lucrative and brilliant, but I also (secretly) found it a bit overwhelming. I find this form of storytelling, which is telling a narrative over various platforms to create what go-to transmedia scholar Henry Jenkins calls a “coordinated and unified entertainment experience,” to be simultaneously fascinating and daunting. Last week, I wrote a blog post on the brilliance of the intricacy of the TV show LOST‘s transmedia franchise. And, I stand by that post. Still, the whole endeavor felt like “a lot.” I, personally, am not a fan of many transmedia franchise success stories, like LOST or Harry Potter.
I have friends who are avid fans of DC and Marvel, and I (being the quite selective superhero film fan that I am) was always shocked a how they seemed able to seamlessly go back and forth between mediums, consuming story lines from comics one minute, to a movie following the same plot the next. I feel like an elderly person in a 22-year-old’s body for saying this, but that didn’t seem like something I could do, or would even really want to do. I saw the benefits, and championed for them, but, to be honest, certain kinds of transmedia storytelling seemed a bit too intricate for me to seek out on my time, for simple enjoyment.
Then, I found myself watching “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries,” a modern day, transmedia recreation of the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, composed of a YouTube vlog and Twitter updates by characters that coincided with what was going on with the show in each episode that was released. Henry Jenkins, I believe, would classify this web vlog/fake Twitter retelling as an “extension” (i.e. a retelling that adds something to the existing story as it moves from one medium to another). The reason that I classify “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” as an extension, and not merely an adaptation (simply retelling a story in a different medium), is because the story of Pride and Prejudice (a novel) was not simply rehashed in a digital fashion with “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries”; it received an entire makeover.
From “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries”
First names remained (mostly) the same, as did the basic plot of the original Pride and Prejudice, in this revamped telling of the story. However, to not call “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” a retelling, a transmedia extension, would be entirely wrong. Everything is given a modern twist with the use of YouTube vlogging and tweeting. That is low-hanging fruit on the list of what is new and different about this endeavor. But, also, think about what these modern elements actually do to the story. For one thing, Lizzie Bennet gets to tell her own story, as opposed to having it narrated in the third person narrative, like in Pride and Prejudice. In addition, characters are extremely self-aware of the storytelling in itself, as they are speaking directly to viewers of the YouTube videos. There is no fourth wall to be broken. In this revamped extension of a Jane Austen classic, characters are doing the storytelling themselves. This gives the story an entirely new way of connecting to the consumer (in this case, a viewer instead of a reader).
“The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” do not just speak directly to the viewer, these episodes allow for a serial, episodic experience. Each video is less than six minutes at a clip. In my experience, this allowed the plot to fly by. Each episode is entertaining and humorous, making for easy viewing. This allows for individuals who would never dream of picking up a novel to experience the same plot at their own leisure. And, to assuage my own anxieties regarding feeling overwhelmed, the tweets that match up with each episode, and are meant to (ideally) be read in between videos, are just as swiftly satisfying. Die-hard fans of the original Pride and Prejudice might be initially put off by this modern day extension of the classic, but this new format invites a new sort of consumption, and therefore, a new type of consumer, to enjoy the classic plot, as well. Once again, I give a sincere thumbs up to transmedia storytelling, and the abilities it has to extend the reach of stories.
When the story goes digital... 