Just Outside The Zeitgeist

Post #2 – Imagined Communities and Transmedia

Television is a cultural generator, its purpose is to entertain and spark conversation about the events depicted on screen. Narrative programs rely on an audience becoming invested in the story they are telling to ensure they come back to the show as soon as the next episode is available.

The concept of imagined communities is central to narrative television as fan appreciation helps to keep a series on the air. It gives the sense in media audiences that they exist within a large group who share a common interest for instance, an appreciation for a television show. Members of an imagined community “will never know most of their fellow members, meet them, or even hear of them” (Anderson, 1983) yet they feel that they are a part of a larger force.

Created by Dan Harmon, the sitcom Community centres on a diverse group of community college students who attended the fictional school Greendale. It first aired on NBC in 2009 and was met with critical acclaim but garnered rather low ratings for a network comedy. It cultivated a cult following and fans of the show felt as if they belonged to a community that was considered meagre yet rather zealous. In November of 2011, NBC announced it was removing Community from its schedule and this news united the fans to rally support for the show. In this day and age the increased amount of communication technologies, such as social media, has allowed niche audiences to easily find one another. The fan response to NBC’s decision is evidence of this, as the community came together to save the show. Under the hashtag #SixSeasonsAndAMovie, they ensured their voices were heard and in the process found the other members of their imagined community.In addition, Community was cancelled after season five and the fandom showed their support for the show yet again and helped it get picked up by the online streaming service Yahoo! Screen, thus allowing audiences free access worldwide.

Transmedia is the use of various types of media to tell a story, engage an audience and grow a brand. This strategy “allows for the opportunity to create deeper, stronger, and more varied connections between story universes and audiences” (Daryoosh Hayati, 2012). As Community continued to evolve, it began to distance itself from sitcoms by incorporating a ‘meta’ quality to its story telling, often commenting on the conventions of television and appealing to the small its small but devoted fan base. Transmedia was utilised in many ways, one of those being releasing of ninety second clips that were filmed specifically for the internet and were not from the main show.

While these were promotional material for the DVD release, they added to the reality of the world by allowing the audience to see into the lives of the characters that inhabited it. Dan Harmon’s dedication to the fans was shown through his commitment to having audio commentary for every episode on the DVD release.

The link between television shows and their audiences is vital for the longevity in this day and age as the television landscape is awash with choices, content creators must engage with their viewers in as many ways as possible to keep them coming back.

References

Anderson, Benedict (1983), “Imagined Communities”, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism”, Vol. 2, pp. 48-59

 Evans, Elizabeth Jane (2008) “Character, audience agency and transmedia drama Media” Culture & Society, Vol. 30(2), pp. 197-213

 Hayati, Daryoosh (2012) “Transmedia Storytelling: A Study of the Necessity, Features and Advantages” International Journal of Information and Education Technology, Vol. 2(3), pp. 196-200

 Sony Pictures DVD (YouTube Channel) (2010) “Community Season 1 – Mini Episode Study Break – “Generation Gap”, video, viewed 11 August 2015, Found at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skYis9qPgVE>

 Sony Pictures Television (2009) “Community”, television show

Post #1 – Female Relationships Representation in Broad City

Created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, Broad City is a sitcom adapted from a web series of the same name, centred on two female friends in their mid-twenties living in New York City. Hailed by critics and viewers alike, the driving force of the show is the core relationship between the two main characters Abbi and Ilana, as it showcases a genuine friendship between women the likes of which have rarely been seen on television. This legitimacy is cemented through a number of aspects, such as the aforementioned creators themselves, as they play characters who share their real life names. Glazer and Jacobson help to pen the scripts which adds a depth to their onscreen friendship as a sense of history is easily identifiable within their interactions. Elaine Blair of the New Republic magazine wrote in her review of the series that “They have so many inside jokes that listening to them can be like trying to decipher a code.” During the first episode of the show, Ilana asks her friend “Can I talk to the Abbi who stole a van?” and Glazer and Jacobson do not elaborate on this piece of history as these inside jokes and pieces of backstory inform the audience of the depth of their relationship outside of what is shown on screen. An example of this can be seen in episode four of season two as Abbi is faced with the choice of ‘pegging’ Jeremy, the man she has a crush on.

In her review for this episode, Caroline Framke of the A.V. Club states that Abbi and Ilana ‘know and accept each other inside and out’ and this conversation is a perfect encapsulation of their friendship. Ilana is not jealous of Abbi for experiencing something she has always wanted to try, she celebrates it and doles out advice and encouragement. Throughout the series, the girls support each other in every endeavour without hesitation and Framke’s proclamation that Broad City is ‘one of the best and most touching depictions of female friendship’ stems from instances like these.

Glazer has been quoted in YES Magazine as saying that ‘the characters on the show are only “15 percent exaggerations”’ of their real life counterparts which illustrates that the events depicted on screen have roots in real life experiences. A situational comedy is centred on characters sharing a common environment and the humour stems from the hyperbolic aspects of the situation. Setting Broad City in New York places the women in the midst of countless other millennials suffering from similar post-college problems. The humour of the show stems from the personalities of the women, allowing them to be fully realised people and not just caricatures whose role it is to make an audience laugh.

Abbi and Ilana are regular working class people with cramped apartments and low income jobs who face problems that are common for people in their twenties. Audiences are able to connect with them on a social level because their lives mirror the ones they view week to week.

References:

Aronoff, Kate (2015) “Why “Broad City” Is the Perfect Comedy for the Student Debt Generation” YES Magazine. <http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/why-broad-city-is-the-perfect-comedy-for-the-student-debt-generation>.

Blair, Elaine (2014) “The importance of being dirty” The New Republic, Vol.245(9), p.7(2). <http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117702/broad-citys-post-feminist-sensibility-tvs-best-comedy>.

Comedy Central (YouTube Channel) (2015) “Broad City – To Peg or Not to Peg?”, video, viewed 10 August 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5uI_-mnojs>.

Framke, Caroline (2015) (Review) “Broad City: Knockoffs” The A.V. Club. <http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/broad-city-knockoffs-214781>.

Paper Kite Productions (2014) “Broad City”, television show.