revista geminis | ano 2 | n. 2 • jul./dez. 2011

P o lti ca E d ito r i a lRevista GEMInIS uma publicao online voltada para a divulgao de artigos, resenhas de obras e trabalhos sobre o contexto da convergncia miditica e da produo audiovisual em mltiplas plataformas transmidiaticas, realizados por pesquisadores do Programa de Ps-Graduao e do Curso em Imagem e Som da UFSCAR. A revista aberta aos interessados de outras instituies e pesquisadores que queiram submeter seus trabalhos ao Conselho Editorial. Nesta linha editorial, so tratados e incentivados temas geminados s linhas de pesquisa do nosso Programa de Ps-Graduao, tais como; o fenmeno da convergncia miditica e cultural; contribuies sobre a narrativa audiovisual e a cultura participativa; anlises sobre franquias de mdias, questes sobre a fico seriada, web marketing e, principalmente, os novos formatos de narrativa transmiditica; estudos sobre a web e os novos espaos de circulao da produo audiovisual, o mercado e a economia digital; produo cinematogrfica, televisiva e videogames. Dedica-se ainda, entre outros tantos assuntos, aos temas relacionados s mdias locativas e dispositivos mveis, desenvolvimento de aplicativos, Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) e as mdias colaborativas que fazem parte do ecossistema de comunicao audiovisual. A revista aceita contribuies em trs categorias: artigos cientficos, produo artstica e resenha de obras. Cada edio contempla um dossi especialmente preparado a partir de uma temtica especfica e duas sees. A primeira seo para artigos de abordagens multiplataformas, enquanto a segunda seo, denominada espao convergente, voltada para ensaios, entrevista e resenhas. Misso Divulgar artigos cientficos e produo artstica que busquem compreender, analtica e/ou teoricamente, o fenmeno prprio da convergncia miditica como objeto de estudo. Histrico A Revista GEMInIS foi criada em 2010, quando o Grupo de Estudos sobre Mdias Interativas em Imagem e Som, ligada ao Programa de Ps-Graduao em Imagem & Som - PPGIS/ UFSCar, completava seu terceiro ano de criao. A revista online e semestral, tem como objetivo reunir trabalhos cientficos e artsticos que tratem de fenmenos prprios da convergncia miditica. Para tanto, a revista GEMInIS se constituiu em trs sees: seo Estudos, seo Comunicaes, a seo Resenhas e Notcias dedicada a obras de interesse das diferentes reas que refletem sobre o processo de cultura da convergncia. A revista recebe tambm originais em espanhol e ingls. Submisso Online GEMInIS recebe artigos, produes artsticas e resenhas que sero, aps pr-avaliados pelos editores da revista, revistos e aprovados por Assessores ad hoc. As normas para publicao devem ser estritamente seguidas. Por ser um peridico semestral, apresentamos dois prazos limites de submisso (envio eletrnico): 31 de maro e 31 de agosto. Informao importante para os autores: a) Os autores possuem os respectivos direitos autorais (copyright), b) Os autores so os responsveis pelo contedo dos artigos.

E x P E d i E ntERevista GEMInIS | ano 2 | n. 2 jul./dez. 2011 Universidade Federal de So CarlosISSN: 2179-1465 www.revistageminis.ufscar.br [email protected] Reitor Prof. Dr. Targino de Arajo Filho Vice-Reitor Prof. Dr. Pedro Manoel Galetti Junior Diretora do Centro de Educao e Cincias Humanas Profa. Dra. Wanda Aparecida Machado Hoffmann Vice-diretor do Centro de Educao e Cincias Humanas Prof. Dr. Jos Eduardo Marques Baioni Coordenador da Ps-Graduao em Imagem e Som Prof. Dr. Samuel Jos Holanda de Paiva Comit Editorial: Alessandro Gamo Universidade Federal de So Carlos - UFSCar Arthur Autran Universidade Federal de So Carlos - UFSCar Antnio Amncio Universidade Federal Fluminense UFF Carlos A. Scolari Universidade Pompeu Fabra Espanha Derek Johnson University of North Texas Estados Unidos Daniel Bittencourt Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos Unisinos Gilberto Alexandre Sobrinho Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP Hctor Navarro Gere Universidade de Vic Espanha Hermes Renato Hildebrand Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP Jos Soares Gatti Jnior Universidade Tuiuti do Paran Maria Dora Mouro Universidade de So Paulo - USP Vicente Gosciola Universidade Anhembi Morumbi - UAM Editor Responsvel Joo Carlos Massarolo Universidade Federal de So Carlos - UFSCar Editora Executiva Maira Gregolin Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP Editor Assistente Dario Mesquita Universidade Federal de So Carlos - UFSCar Administrador do website Gabriel Correia Reviso Andr Sanches Francisco Trento Glauco Madeira de Toledo Rogrio Secomandi Mestriner Diagramao e Implementao Eletrnica Dario Mesquita Identidade visual Gilberto Pereira Capa Original Emyr Lima

Sumrio

Apresentao.................................................................................................................................................. 4 d o S S i - tr a n S m d i a :E S t r a t g i a S E P r o c E S S o S d E co n St r u o d E m u n d o S

Lost in a Transmedia Universe Aaron Michael Smith................................................................................................................... 6 Marketing Digital Multimedia: nuevos formatos y tendencias Irene Garcia Medina.................................................................................................................. 37 Mad Men, Twittertainment e Fandom na Era Transmiditica Sheron das Neves........................................................................................................................ 46 A construo de micromundos narrativos na web-srie transmiditica Kirill Alan Mascarenhas...................................................................................................................... 65 Elementos da construo de mundo articulados em World of Warcraft Jonatas Kerr de Oliveira Joo Massarolo....................................................................... 90 Implicaes Transmiditicas do uso do RPG e do Wargame como ferramenta de apoio Vastas Narrativas de Fantasia Medieval Leonardo A. de Andrade Tiago E. dos Santos Diogo Augusto Gonalves Layla Stassun Antonio............................................................................................................ 103 Transmedias Implications of the use of RPG and Wargame as tools to support Vast Narratives of Medieval Fantasy Leonardo A. de Andrade Tiago E. dos Santos Diogo Augusto Gonalves Layla Stassun Antonio............................................................................................................ 135 As Narrativas Multissequncias e as Transnarrtivas Miditicas Encontradas nos Games e nos Advergames Patrcia Margarida Farias Coelho...................................................................................... 167

a b o r d a g E n S m u lt i P l a t a f o r m a S Interatividade na TV Digital Aberta: estudos preliminares em So Paulo/SP Alan Csar Belo Angeluci.................................................................................................... 180 Cinema Interativo: novas possibilidades de ambientes imersivos Natlia Aly Menezes.............................................................................................................. 198 Universos Flmicos Dinmicos: estratgias narrativas para novas mdias e televiso digital interativa Daniel Monteiro do Nascimento Eduardo Duarte Gomes da Silva............... 215 Tron e a construo de um mundo eletrnico Carolina Figueiredo............................................................................................................... 238 Notas sobre um curso de Arte Digital Jonas Federman........................................................................................................................ 249

E S P a o c o n v E r g E n t EEnSaio

Era Transmdia Rodrigo Dias Arnaut Fernanda Nogueira Solange E. Uhieda Daniel Zatta Blasczak Dimas Dion Leandro Hiplito Bruno Rodrigues Mrcia Regina Jordo Bueno Angelo Marzolla - Nelson Siena........................................................ 259

EntrEviSta

The experience of Story Worlds across Media - A conversation with Aaron Smith Francisco Trento........................................................................................................................ 276

a PrESEnta o

A

equipe editorial da Revista GEMInIS, uma publicao do Grupo de Estudos sobre Mdias Interativas em Imagem e Som PPGIS/UFSCar, tem a honra,o prazer e a satisfao de apresentar comunidade acadmica e ao pblico em

geral, a sua terceira edio. Esta edio traz novidades: as discusses temticas foram subdividas por reas de afinidades que incluem alm do dossi propriamente dito, as sees abordagens multiplataformas e espao convergente. O dossi desta edio dedicado explorao de um assunto relacionado diretamente ao futuro do entretenimento audiovisual: Transmdia: estratgias e processos de construo de mundos. Trata-se

de uma discusso importante tanto no contexto dos novos arranjos da economia digital quanto para um maior entendimento dos novos modelos de negcios geminados nas multiplataformas da produo audiovisual contempornea. Vistos em conjunto, os artigos reunidos para o dossi deste nmero da Revista GEMInIS oferecem uma perspectiva inovadora sobre as prticas transmiditicas, tomando-as como veculos por excelncia para a construo de mundos de histrias nas plataformas televisivas. O capitulo de concluso da tese de doutorado do pesquisador norte-americano, Aaron Michael Smith, analisa o universo transmdia do seriado televiso Lost. As implicaes das estruturas seriadas televisivas so tambm discutidas pela pesquisadora gacha Sheron das Neves em analises de Mad Man e Alan Mascarenhas (PPGC-UFPB) que analisa Kirill, uma web-srie de fico cientifica, produzida pela Endemol e a Microsoft para ser exibida no portal MSN.co.uk. Por outro lado, a pesquisadora Irene Garcia Medina, da Universidade de Vic / Espanha, discute as transformaes do marketing digital a partir da difuso das mdias interativas. Por fim, Leonardo Andrade (GEMInIS-UFSCar) aborda o universo expandido dos RPG (role-playing game) e Patrcia Margarida Farias Coelho (TIDD-PUC-SP) analisa a narrativa multisequencial encontrada tanto nos videogames quanto nos advergames. Na seo abordagens multiplaformas, configurada como um espao que privilegia estudos de carter interdisciplinar destaca-se os artigos sobre a televiso digital interativa, tanto nos seus aspectos tecnolgicos quanto de produo de contedo. Outro tema que aparece com destaque nesta seo so as possibilidades de produo de espaos imersivos no cinema interativo e as estratgias de construo de mundo a partir da

saga flmica Tron, estudada por Carolina Gomes. Para fechar o bloco, Notas sobre um curso de Arte Digital de Jonas Federman, proporciona um novo olhar sobre as relaes entre arte, tecnologia e cincia. A nova seo da Revista GEMInIS, denominada espao convergente, dedicada exclusivamente resenha de obras, analise flmica, ensaios para multiplataformas e entrevistas. Nesta seo, um artigo escrito de forma colaborativa pelo grupo de estudos da ESPM, coordenado por Rodrigo Dias Arnaut, discute o futuro da propaganda e do marketing na era da narrativa transmidia. Alm disso, Francisco Trento (GEMInIS-UFSCar), traz um bate-papo exclusivo com Aaron Smith. A terceira edio est no ar e nas nuvens graas ao trabalho generoso e rduo realizado pela Equipe de Editores, especialmente os pesquisadores do Grupo GEMInIS: Dario Mesquita, Maira Gregolin, Gabriel Correia, Francisco Trento e Andr Sanches. Os agradecimentos so extensivos tambm aos pareceristas e colaboradores pela leitura atenta e minuciosa, ajudando-nos na seleo dos artigos a serem publicados. Por fim, gostaramos de convidar o leitor, espectador, jogador e usurio das redes informacionais, para o debate nas plataformas transmiditicas. Joo Massarolo Editor Responsvel

loSt

in a

tranSmEdia univErSE

a aron michaEl S mithInteractive Media Planner at Wieden+Kennedy, where he works on both ABC Entertainment and Disney XD accounts. Smith helps coordinate digital, social, and mobile media initiatives to enhance television tune-in campaigns. He maintains strong ties to the academic world, speaking at conferences at MIT, USC, and Penn State University. Before W+K, Smith worked as a research consultant for Microsofts Entertainment Platforms Division and as a Multimedia Specialist for Penn State University. He is a graduate of Middlebury College, USA and a recipient of the International Radio and Television Society Fellowship. E-mail: [email protected]

rEviSta gEmi n iS

ano

2 - n . 2 | P. 6 - 36

rESumoEste artigo (previamente publicado como um captulo de minha tese) analisa os mecanismos transmiditicos de storytelling por trs da narrativa do seriado Lost, da ABC. Por ter sua narrativa sustentada em uma complexa mitologia, Lost faz um grande esforo para suplementar a narrativa de seu programa de TV atravs de valiosas e distintas extenses narrativas. Em um primeiro momento, eu examino como as tcnicas de construo de mundo em Lost encorajam os fs mais vidos a jogar com o espao narrativo. Eu ento fao avaliaes sobre as extenses que Lost oferece como opcionais, atravs de experincias convincentes em seus textos expandido. Ao ser muito bem-sucedida ao balancear seus fs mais vidos com os casuais espectadores, Lost representa o futuro de muitos programas de televiso que se propem a colocar os fs em situaes imersivas, usando um vasto universo transmdia, ao mesmo tempo prometendo um programa de televiso coerente em seu interior. Palavras-Chave: Lost, transmdia, construo de mundo, convergncia, televiso.

abStractThis article (previously published as a chapter of a thesis) analyzes the transmedia storytelling behind ABCs Lost. Because its narrative hinges on a complex mythology, Lost struggles to supplement a stand-alone television show with distinct and valuable narrative extensions. First, I examine how Losts worldbuilding techniques encourage hard-core fans to play within its narrative space. I then evaluate the extent to which Lost offers an optional, yet compelling experience through its expanded text. However successful at balancing casual and hard-core fans though, Lost represents the future of many television shows in that it strives to immerse fans within a vast transmedia universe while also promising an internally coherent television program. Keywords: Lost, transmedia, world building, convergence, television.

1. Introduction1

A

BCs Lost has been hailed as one of the most innovative and thrilling shows on television. In many ways, Lost represents entertainment in the convergence era, embracing new technologies as tools for discovery rather than threats

to intellectual property. In 2005, Disney set a new precedent by offering Lost on iTunes and streaming episodes from ABC.com. Within a year, Lost sold more than six million dollars worth of downloads.2 William Brooker observes how these delivery formats encourage close scrutiny and analysis.3 Just as VCRs helped hard-core fans unravel the Twin Peaks mythology, DVDs, DVRs, and file downloads make it possible to re-watch episodes, freeze-frame Easter Eggs, and easily investigate hidden clues with other fans. Brooker predicts that a television shows overflow, or supplementary textual material, will soon play an integral role in the overall experience.4 But what should that role be? Losts bold experimentations in the transmedia space, though not always successful, provide valuable insights into how television producers might expand the scope of their story and venture into the multiplatform environment. When Lost first premiered, viewers expected the premise to be quite simple:

a plane crash on a remote island causes 48 survivors to fight for survival. Yet after a rampant smoke monster, a polar bear running through the jungle, a sequence of numbers causing unimaginable bad luck, and a secretive group called the Others populating the island, no one knew exactly what Lost was going to do next. Nearly every episode focuses on a single character and reveals their back-story through flashbacks nested within the events on the island. Over and over again, Lost resists a conventional1 This article is an excerpt of a undergraduate thesis Transmedia Storytelling in Television 2.0: Strategies for Developing Television Narratives Across Multiple Platforms submitted May 8th 2009 to Film and Media Culture Department of Middlebury College, advised by Jason Mittel. A complete and a discussable version of the thesis can be found at http://blogs.middlebury.edu/mediacp/. 2 Lowry, Tom. Network finds marketing paradise with Lost. BusinessWeek. 24 July 2006. 3 Brooker, Will. Television Out of Time: Watching Cult Shows on Download. Reading Lost: Perspectives on a Hit Television Show. Ed. Roberta Pearson. London: IB Tauris, 2009. 4 Ibid.

formula, toying with seriality, shifting perspectives, and utilizing frequent time jumps. There are many appealing aspects to the show: an international cast, compelling performances, exciting action sequences, clever dialogue, romance dramas, and of course, plenty of puzzles and mysteries. With its lengthy narrative arcs and multiple character storylines, both Steven Johnson and Jason Mittell have observed that Lost satisfies viewers hunger for complex, intellectual, and quality entertainment.5 Due to its complexity, however, Lost faced serious challenges as the writers strike loomed and the hiatus between seasons grew longer. How could the show maintain its buzz and momentum in the off-season? Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the showrunners on Lost, decided they would offer hard-core fans more insights into Losts mythology through alternate reality games, mobisodes, novels, and a videogame. Ideally, this transmedia content would amplify the voice of Losts evangelists and keep the shows mysteries fresh. As Damon Lindelof puts it:Lets say I go to a Bruce Springsteen show, and he plays for four hours instead of two hours. Why? What is he getting out of it? Your ticket price is exactly the same. But what happens is, you go to work the next morning, and you say, I just saw the greatest fucking show of my life.6

9rEviSta gEmi n iS |ano

2 - n. 2

By dispersing Losts narrative across media platforms, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse hoped hard-core fans would not only gain a greater appreciation for Lost, but they would also hype up the show and encourage non-fans to catch up. (which would not be too difficult given that every episode is still available on ABC.com) As Carlton Cuse told EW.com though, the Lost producers have learned from the pitfalls of previous mythology-driven shows:What worries us about X-Files as a modelis that the show ran for nine years. Sustaining the mythology of that show ultimately led to it being frustrating for the fans. [Losts] mythology has to be accessible enough to casual fans, but also involving enough so loyal viewers feel like theyre being fed.7

The X-Files, as discussed in Chapter 1, attempted to balance casual and hardcore viewers by combining episodic tendencies (with a monster of the week format) and5 Rauch, Peter. Is Popular Culture Good for You? 6 October 2005. 6 Poniewozik, James. Why the Future of Television is Lost Time Magazine. 24 September 2006. 7 Jensen, Jeff. What to do? Lessons from Cult TV Shows. Entertainment Weekly. 11 April 2005.

serial threads (with an over-arching conspiracy). Lost attempts a much more ambitious strategy. Rather than trying to alter the narrative structure to please everyone, the producers aim to satisfy casual fans with a coherent television show while feeding hard-core fans deeper insights through ancillary content.8 This chapter will evaluate the extent to which Lost achieves this balance. By examining the development of Losts transmedia universe, I will build on my proposed model in Chapter 3 and offer more specific strategies for applying transmedia storytelling to television. 2. The World of Lost Though one could imagine Lost as a fictional version of Survivor, the producers went a step further by incorporating worldbuilding strategies. For one, Lost gradually and masterfully expands its hyperdiegesis. After much of the shows action was limited to the Losties9 on the beach and in the caves, viewers were shocked when Sayid, an ex-Iraqi communications officer, stumbles into a trap set by Rousseau, a woman living on the island for sixteen years. This revelation that the Losties were not the only humans on the island introduced a larger mythology to the show. Rousseau reveals that she lives in isolation to avoid the dangerous Others, thereby expanding the world of fourty-eight survivors to become a world complete with scientific expeditions and native, hostile people. Later in season 1, Rousseau discovers a British trading ship located inland on the island, introducing a history dating back to nineteenth century. And yet, Losts world continues to build. When Locke blows open the hatch in season 2, he also opens Losts world to encompass the underground scientific bunker of the Dharma Initiative. The man who lives there, Desmond, has been pushing a button every 108 minutes for 3 years in order to save the world. Finally, at that moment, Losts world was more than the events on the islandit was about all of mankind. This gradual world progression has the powerful effect of stimulating viewers imaginations. Lost begins with a small, contained hyperdiegesis and slowly expands outward to create a sense that the island has an extensive geographical, environmental, cultural, and chronological history. A useful analogy might be a roleplaying computer game like Baldurs Gate or Diablo, where players can only see the immediate terrain in front of them amidst an abyss of darkness; that is, until the player moves forward, and slightly more of the spatial environment is revealed. Crucially though, Lost does not expand its world with definitive answers. It would have been8 The producers say the only true canon is the show itself. In Jensen, Jeff. 'Lost': Mind-Blowing Scoop From Its Producers. Entertainment Weekly. 20 February 2008. 9 A term for the 48 passengers of Flight 815.

10loStin a

tranSmEdia u nivErSE

a aron m ichaEl S mith

very easy for Rousseau to know exactly who the Others were and why they were on the island. Instead, much of the Lost universe remains unseen and unknown, promoting the audience to do much of the world-building in their imagination. The technique does more than open up a myriad of possibilities for narrative extensions as discussed with Geoffrey Longs notion of migratory cues (see 3.2) - it creates a safe space that is connected to the show, but not crucial to it. For example, Lost frequently references off-island institutions, such as Widmore Industries, the Dharma Initiative, Oceanic Airlines, and even a candy brand named Apollo. When Hurley, the comic-relief character, finds an abandoned Volkswagen van in the jungle, he notices that its filled with beer cans marked by the mysterious octagonal Dharma Initiative symbol. Derek Johnson notes that this fictional institution enables a type of reverse product placement whereby a fictional brand is promoted in the real world.10 While this may represent a new branding model, Ive argued that institutions lend themselves to transmedia extensions, especially alternate reality games, because they enable hard-core fans to participate in a space without interfering directly with the shows characters or events. In essence, once the Dharma Initiative carries over into various narrative extensions (such as The Lost Experience), the audiences activities take place in the hyperdiegetic world of Lost, rather than primary television narrative. Lost also invites exploration by mirroring the conventions of videogames, a media form known for its worldbuilding strengths. Geography and topography play a huge role on the island. There are multiple levels below and above ground, in bunkers, and on top of mountains. Man-made structures, statues, and stations are scattered throughout the spatial dimensions and temporal dimensions of the island. All of this encourages viewers to map out and navigate the space. One blogger even created extensive iconographical maps of events and structures on the island.11 But whereas casual fans might be satisfied without knowing where the Black Rock wreckage is located in relation to the beach, hard-core fans crave more narrative information that would help them analyze the islands domain. In his book The Meaning of Video Games, Steven Jones argues that Losts on-island narrative structure resembles a video game in the way characters embark on quests to unlock new action and plot developments. 12 Jeff Pinkner notes on the special features of the season 1 DVD: the island would be a dramatic version of a videogameyou could find the hatch but it could take you several weeks before you had the proper tools to open the hatch.13 Indeed, Locke, a paraplegic before crashing on the island who is10 Johnson, Derek. The Fictional Institutions of Lost. Reading Lost. 11 ADKINS, Jonah. The World of Lost. Mapping Lost. 27 January 2009. 12 JONES, Steven E. The Meaning of Video Games: Gaming and Textual Strategies. New York: Routledge, 2008. 13 Quoted in JONES, Steven E. The Meaning of Video Games: Gaming and Textual Strategies.


2 - n. 2

miraculously healed after the crash, obsesses over opening the hatch in season 1. Then in Deus Ex Machina, Locke kneels over the hatch and expresses a similar frustration as many gamers who cant seem to find a way to get to the next stage of the game: Ive done everything youve asked me to do! Whyyyyy? Turns out, just like a video game, Locke and the Losties must go on a journey to find the key. They salvage dynamite from the Black Rock and blow open the hatch, moving on to the next level. Throughout Lost, rarely do major events of one season happen in the same place or time period as another season. The characters are constantly traveling to a new location, often with a new goal in mind. Whether the Losties are moving to the caves, following Rousseau to the Black Rock, tracking the Others, getting back to the island, or planting a hydrogen bomb to change the future, they always seem to be navigating the narrative space in order to complete a mission. Thus, Lost masterfully employs gradual world progression and borrows structural conventions of video games to create an environment that encourages exploration. This environment propels hard-core fans to seek out more information, draw connections, and gain a better understanding of the fictional world. If the Losties could discover new information by exploring new territories, fans could glean new insights by scouring the realms of transmedia extensions. 3. The Hierarchy of Mystery As discussed in Chapter 3, narrative gaps leave room for transmedia expansion. But fans are often skeptical of endlessly deferred narratives. In his article, Do you even know where this is going? Ivan Askwith discusses one of the major debates surrounding Lost whether or not the writers know where the show is going.14 Exwriter David Fury, in an interview with Rolling Stone, confirmed Lost fans worst fears when he insisted that Lost had no master plan.15 In response, Lost writer Javier GrilloMarxauch explained that television narratives are an ongoing, complex process:The truth about all television shows arc-dependent or otherwise, is that they are slightly amorphous living beings. They develop over time and things that work or dont work are used or discarded accordingly We allow ourselves the freedom to incorporate new ideas that improve and enhance our story.16

12loStin a



14 ASKWITH, Ivan. Do you even know where this is going? Reading Lost. 15 Ibid. 16 This excerpt is from an interview with Grillo-Marxauch, who responded vehemently to David Furys claims that is no master plan to Lost. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=23814082&postcount=45

Grillo-Marxauch points out that the Lost writers plan a road map of the series from the very beginning, but leave many unanswered questions to be addressed later. For example, while the writers knew who the Others were early in the first season (Grillo-Marxauch claimed this was the case), they did not know who would be their leader until Michael Emerson delivered an impressive performance as Ben Linus.17 Unlike films and novels, television is not the product of a single creative vision and thus certain elements must be left open for future development. Nevertheless, after Twin Peaks and The X-Files, fans worried that they were being duped and misled into following the shows mysteries without any set resolutions. Lost, fundamentally, is a show about mystery. Cuse describes Losts uniqueness in its ability to maintain the power of the question in the age of the Internet where answers are often readily available:What weve been able to do, which I think is different than most network shows, is leave certain things ambiguous and open to interpretation. And that allows people to get on the boards and theorize about whats meant by a given story or scene, or move in the shows direction. It allows people to feel participatory about the process.18


2 - n. 2

Askwith points out that unlike Twin Peaks, Lost provides adequate satisfaction by resolving some of the many mysteries, thereby assuring viewers that there are answers to the larger mythology.19 The promise that everything happens for a reason propels casual viewers to tune in each week and assures hard-core fans that it is, in fact, possible to figure everything out. It is a promise based on the logic that not all questions have equal narrative weight. Lost carefully plays with a hierarchy of mysteries made up of four types: endlessly deferred, lingering, implied, and hidden. Some mysteries are meant for all TV viewers, while others can only be detected by forensic fandom.20 Im not suggesting that all mysteries can be applied to this hierarchy. Some fans may be more interested in the Others than the secrets of time travel. Though it is impossible to explain what types of mysteries appeal to a particular audience, these categories are useful when deciding how to present the narrative-pay off for a transmedia extension. Before examining this further, I must first provide a description of each type of mystery. It is worth noting that mysteries can move from one category to anotheras17 THOMAS, Rachel. An Interview with Michael Emerson (Ben Linus/Fake Henry Gale, Lost) About.com. 18 HOEY, Matt. All who wander are not Lost. Written By: The Magazine of Writers Guild of America, West. September 2006. 19 TV 2.0: Reconceptualizing Television as an Engagement Medium 20 Jason Mittell uses this term to describe the way that Lost encourages a hyper-attentive mode of spectatorship, where hard-core fans become detectives, seeking out clues and assembling evidence. In Mittell, Jason. Lost in a Great Story. Reading Lost.

the television shows narrative changes, some mysteries are emphasized, while others take a back seat. The most important and tantalizing questions, as discussed in Chapter 3, are endlessly deferred mysteries, the essential mysteries of a show that are prolonged across seasons. What is the smoke monster and why is it terrorizing the island? What is the Island and why is it important? Who are the Others? Whereas Twin Peaks was tied down by one large-scale mystery, Lost incorporates multiple. Thus, in contrast to Twin Peaks, which collapsed after resolving its endlessly deferred narrative, Lost can afford to answer one or two major enigmas without hurting the shows appeal. Lingering mysteries are mysteries that are important and memorable for casual viewers, but do not carry the same narrative weight as endlessly deferred mysteries. Crucially, casual viewers cannot use their imagination to satisfactorily fill in the gaps of lingering mysteries. Traditional television viewers may be distracted by new mysteries and plot lines, but they still expect answers to such questions as, What are the whispers in the jungle? Why do the Others refer to Walt as special? Who are Adam and Eve, the two corpses in the cave who had a small bag containing a black and white stone? The producers of Lost have admitted that some lingering mysteries will be left dangling, such as why Libby, Hurleys romantic interest, was in the same mental institution as him before they met on the island. Carlton Cuse told Lostpedia:Everything is graded in terms of importance for us, and, as we are doing the last season of the show, its not going to be sort of a didactic, you know, heres a list of a thousand questions that were going to answer. That would not make for a very entertaining showWe are focusing on what we consider to be the main questions of the show and the main narrative. Its impossible to tie up every loose endLibbys story is incredibly tangential to the principle action on the show.21

14loStin a



Indeed, not all lingering mysteries can be answered in the television show. But transmedia storytelling can explore tangential stories and provide answers to those fans who really want them. Of course, as I will discuss in 4.3, explicitly answering a lingering mystery in a transmedia extension is risky because casual fans expect such major questions to be addressed solely on the core television show. But because Libbys mystery is relatively trivial compared to the wealth of other enigmas, one could imagine her back-story presented in at least a web series. Implied mysteries are less detectable to casual viewers. They are passing references to external people, places, or events, similar to Longs use of potential21 Interview with The Ama1. Lostpedia. 17 April The_Lostpedia_Interview:Carlton_Cuse_%26_Damon_Lindelof> 2009.

revista geminis | ano 2 | n. 2 • jul./dez. 2011

Documents