Synthesis of Research

In studying the Tumblr “aoje” fandom, James Gee’s concept of affinity spaces is a helpful place to begin. Citing Gee, Curwood (2013) defines affinity spaces as “physical, virtual, or blended spaces where people interact around a common interest or activity” (p. 417). In the case of my project, the “aoje” Tumblr tag is an affinity space: fans of the series unite and contribute relevant thoughts, artwork, and news of AOJE narrative developments from multiple online platforms (YouTube, Twitter, and Tumblr). Fan attention to multiple platforms is central to my research. In his discussion of Lost and transmedia, Michael Graves (2011) sums up why:  “in order to engage with a transmedia story, viewers must search out paratextual extensions scattered across a variety of platforms” (p. 40).

Due to my interest in transmedia and AOJE, social media is another significant area of my project, particularly where social networking sites are concerned. In their early discussion of social networking sites (2004), Donath and boyd discuss the construction of identity on social networking sites; they point out the ease with which a false identity can be constructed in such an online environment:

There is often little or no verification of people when they sign up to join most networking sites. It is easy to create a false persona; the costs lie in building the network. The determined deceiver can create a series of false profiles and have them link to each other, creating the illusion of a network of well-connected participants. The cost here is the effort required to create these multiple personas. This cost is dependent on the registration requirements of the site and sites that make registration more difficult raise the cost and lower the likelihood of such deception. Today, most sites are free. Some require an invitation from an existing member, but it would be possible simply to invite the made-up profiles oneself. (p. 74)

Donath and boyd’s article is dated – in the conclusion, they question whether online social networking will remain in fashion – but there’s value in this (recent) historical awareness of the potential for deception in social media profiles. The “illusion” that they describe can be used for objectives other than deception.

Specifically, the “illusion” can be used for online works of fiction. Wood and Baughman (2012) explore this idea in their discussion of the television show Glee and fan role-playing Twitters; they study fans (unofficially) role-playing as Glee’s characters and examine how that activity interacts with the show itself. Their description of transmedia is very relevant to my project:

“Fundamentally, there is a specific form of participatory culture behavior that involves an active, collective audience that collaborates on a new, more intense level of fandom to create a deeper, more fulfilling experience from an existing produced media text” (p. 331).

Wood and Baughman describe unofficial fan activity on Twitter enriching Glee as a television series, even though there is no tie between the producers of Glee and the role-playing fans. It is a recreational activity on the part of the fans, rather than a decision on the part of Glee’s creators, to construct these additional narratives online. Wood and Baughman emphasize “how the fan-operated character role-play accounts interact with one another to create a stream of discourse meant to augment the narrative presented by the show itself” (p. 333).

But what about when the show itself uses character role-play accounts and interaction as an essential part of its narrative design? Such is the case with AOJE, where it is the creators of the show deliberately making these transmedia contributions, rather than the fans using the technique as a way of expanding the narrative. Nuances of AOJE’s narrative development are found in Jane’s Twitter and Tumblr accounts, as well as Twitter accounts belonging to other characters (Rochester, Blanche Ingram, Adele, Grace Poole ...). The creators of AOJE use transmedia as a means of authentically constructing identity for their fictional characters. However, there is often an element of mystery to these transmedia installments; they reveal about as much information as a person would when broadcasting themselves to the entire internet, and therefore often lead to rampant fan speculation.

Williams (2008) discusses how people construct identity through their pop culture interests on social networking sites, but "the pop culture content is almost always displayed without comment or explanation" (34). This tendency appears most often on Jane’s Tumblr (http://eyrequotes.tumblr.com), which often reblogs pop culture content, but without any further explanation. This in turn provides ample opportunities for fans to speculate over the significance of Jane’s posts. (During the arc where Jane returned to her miserable childhood home, for example, “she” posted gifs of Harry Potter at the Dursleys’ house.) In short, the AOJE creators display an inherent understanding of the type of digital literacy described by Williams. It has become common to have some implicit understanding of social media trends and discourse; AOJE is using these trends of online identity construction for purposes of fictional characterization.

The AOJE creators also show their digital literacy by maintaining a presence in the “aoje” tag outside the context of the fictional narrative. Occasionally, lead actress Allyson Hall or the show’s writers will post behind-the-scenes information about the series, discuss authorial intent, or thank the fans for their support. This creates a sense that fans’ voices are heard and appreciated by the AOJE production team.

Communication between AOJE’s fans and team are especially significant because AOJE is an adaptation of a much-loved literary classic, Jane Eyre. Adapting Jane Eyre creates a certain responsibility on the part of the production team to do the original justice. By reaching out to their fans, the AOJE team dissolves the more traditional boundary and power hierarchy between fiction producers and fiction consumers. Shefrin (2007) discusses Peter Jackson’s similar technique while creating the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Inviting fan input is “a technologically-inspired antidote to traditional demarcations between the production and consumption of cultural artifacts” (268). About Jackson, Shefrin concludes, “it is clear that the Lord of the Rings phenomenon portends a paradigmatic shift in producer-consumer affiliations—one that is grounded in new technologies and new participatory practices by active audiences” (279).

AOJE, created six years after this article, exemplifies the paradigmatic shift that Shefrin predicts. Not only do the creators of AOJE interact with their fans and acknowledge their input: they construct their narrative in the very same social media environment that their fans inhabit.

References

Curwood, J.S. (2013). The Hunger Games: Literature, literacy, and online affinity spaces.

Language Arts, 90(6), 417-427.

Donath, J., & boyd, d. (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal, 22(4), 71-

82.

Graves, M. (2011). "Lost" in a transmedia storytelling franchise: Rethinking transmedia

engagement. (Order No. 3489873, University of Kansas). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 289.

Shefrin, E. (2007). Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and participatory fandom: mapping new

congruencies between the internet and media entertainment culture. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 21(3), 261-281.

Williams, B. (2008). "What South Park character are you?": Popular culture, literacy, and online

performances of identity. Computers and Composition, 25, 24-39.

Wood, M.M., & Baughman, L. (2012). Glee fandom and Twitter: Something new, or more of the

same old thing? Communication Studies, 63(3), 328-344.