Transmedia Storytelling and Kim Kardashian
As technology and its effect on culture becoming greater each day, people as of constantly adapting to new ways of devouring different aspects of media. Through technology we develop things called multimedia and transmedia. Previously multimedia was the reigning champ in regards to how media is absorbed. Multimedia is a term that is much older than transmedia, dating back the beginning of the computer age. Multimedia is essentially telling one story with more than one form of media.
However, with multimedia, the story didn’t change when the medium changed, the only true change was the way in which the story was told. Transmedia is a story that “unfolds across multiple media platforms, which each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole” (Jenkins, 97). Transmedia transform a story, it adds something to it and should never feel like a rehash of something already experienced.
On October 14, 2007 E! Network launches reality show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians"
One of the biggest transmedia machines is none other than the Kardashians. “Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story”(Jenkins). Although the Kardashian family is not technically a fiction, they have done an overwhelmingly great job at taking over near every technological media method there is. Their fame rose in 2007 when the family w as awarded a reality show after the release of Kim Kardashian’s sex tape with then boyfriend, Ray J. As the family grew popular they each began appearing nearly everywhere.
Kimoji is released and 'breaks' Apple app store on December 21, 2015
Transmedia storytelling reflects the economics of media consolidation or what industry observers call “synergy.” Modern media companies are horizontally integrated – that is, they hold interests across a range of what were once distinct media industries.A media conglomerate has an incentive to spread its brand or expand its franchises across as many different media platforms as possible.” (Jenkins). While being able to expand to multiple genres and aspects of media, the Kardashians have remained loyal to the E! Network, the home of their reality show. All breaking news in regards to the family is always broke through the network and all spin off shows is aired through the network as well. The family itself has occupied nearly every type of media, focusing primarily on social media with each female having their own app equipped with tips and guidelines on practically all things Kardashian. Kim, the most notable of the bunch has garnered much of her millions through social media advertisement and groundbreaking personalized emoji app, appropriately titled Kimoji. With the addition of Kanye West to the family as Kim’s husband, the family now has a presence in music as well.
“Transmedia storytelling practices may expand the potential market for a property by creating different points of entry for different audience segments.” (Jenkins) The Kardashian family does a wonderful job at engaging different audiences through different outlets. Combined, the family are undeniably the queens of social media, thus engaging millennials. Their different business ventures such as the family clothing boutique chain engages women of all ages, as well as their perfume and makeup lines. Their relationships to the men in their family cause them to appeal to other audiences such as hip hop through Kanye West and basketball through, Lamar Odom. Most notably, they recently became connected to the trans community through Caitlyn Jenner.
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York UP, 2006. Print.
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