In
Chapter five of Show Sold Separately, Jonathon
Gray embarks on a mission to explore the paratexts that fans create surround TV
shows and movies, and the impact that this self-created image of the text for each
individual fan has on the shaping and framing of the text on a personal and
network based level. In order to see
this concept at work, I will examine the popular TV series, The Walking Dead, and some of the fan
paratexts that are currently circulating the internet. Each of these individual paratext are
examples of how each fan (or the creators) are able to fully interact with the
text, and it shows the key elements that they pick up on in the show in order
to individually interpret it.
The Walking Dead is a relatively new
series on AMC that follows Rick Grimes, a sheriff’s deputy who wakes up from a
coma to find that his city has been overrun by “walkers” (or zombies). The show then focuses on Rick attempting to
make sense of the changing world around him while he searches for his family
and other survivors. The TV series is based
off of the comic book series The Walking
Dead. Since the TV series is a spin
off from the comic book, fans already have an idea of where the show will go,
and what the plot will be based off of. Producer
Frank Darabont does however, do an excellent job of incorporating his own
vision into the text and alters the script and plot of the TV series so that
the audience will always be kept guessing.
As the series has just finished
its second season with the season finale being the most watched cable drama in
history, it is reasonable to delve into the fan paratext surrounding this
widely popular show.
As Gray
explains, “the products of fan creativity can challenge a text’s industry-preferred
meanings by posing their own alternate readings and interpretive strategies”
(144), I believe this is most clearly seen through fan fiction for The Walking Dead. A simple Google search for “The Walking Dead fan fiction” leads the
curious to a website called “FanFiction.net”, where 898 relevant fan stories
were found in which fans were able to take which ever elements from the TV
series they enjoyed or were dissatisfied with and alter them, including adding
themselves to the story. The first fan
fiction story that appears is titled “Accident of Grand Design?” and has a
brief synopsis that states “All Leah wanted was a nice little road trip & a
chance to heal, but she got way more than she bargained for, Walkers, drama,
rednecks and one beaten down Winnebago that they now all call home.“ This fan fiction created by user “ChooseJoy”
incorporates the fan’s other personal interests outside of the show,
namely a love for country music, and
merges it with a brand new storyline in which the author has inserted herself
into The Walking Dead. She also focuses on character Daryl Dixon who
is seen as the quiet, reserved, misunderstood, and self sufficient character on
the TV series. Her story centers on an
adventure dealing with “walkers” and a love story with Daryl. Through her fan fiction, user “ChooseJoy” is
able to “contribute, augment, and personalize a textual world” (Gray 165).
Fan fiction stories are just one type of paratext that allow the individual
to put their own opinion in about a certain text. They allow the viewer to partially become a
producer, which influences their understanding and interpretations of the texts
around them.
Story:
Fan Fiction Site:
FanFiction.Net
FanFiction.Net
A second
way that fans use paratexts to create their own pathways through texts is
through fan videos (Gray 143). These “viddings” that Gray discusses allow
the fans to show the rest of the world their understanding of the text, and
what seems important enough to them to be focused on almost in an academic and
critical thinking challenge. “Many of
the better vids send us ‘deeper’ into and ‘back to the text,’ having said
something of substance about it,” (159).
The fan video “The Walking Dead – Ain’t No Grave” takes the official TV
series trailer and adds Johnny Cash's music to it, which sends the viewers on a reflective
journey as the song chorus sings “There ain’t no gave that can hold my body
down”. Interestingly enough, Johnny Cash is infamously known as "the man in black", which makes this song more appropriate to pair with the trailer because he wanted to represent the hard working, unsung hero, who in this case would be Rick. These words, along with the
knowledge that the TV is based on a post-apocalyptic, zombie infested world in
which Rick Grimes is seen as a leader, leads the audience to associate Rick
with a savior-like figure. “Ain’t no
grave that can hold my body down” is a message that conveys the force Rick will
bring – there is no obstacle that can stop him or hold him back from saving his
loved ones and finding a cure for the “walkers”. The fan who infused the music onto the
trailer created a paratext that interacts with the network’s preferred reading
of the TV show, and adds a twist to it.
The song is a powerful indicator that allowed the fan to show their
close reading of the text and share it with other fans. This video is so easily accessible thanks to YouTube
that it is influencing the way fans and anti-fans are understanding and
internalizing the text.
The
third paratext that fans use to express their ideas about The Walking Dead is what I believe is complete internalization
of the text. Similar to fan fiction in
which fans write themselves into the story, this example shows how the fan
becomes a producer and is lured into captivity with the show through strategic
paratext. “The Walking Dead Forums” is a space where fans of the show gather
and post different blogs about spoilers, episodes, plot development, and all things
related to The Walking Dead. One fan posted a blog entitled “Map of the
Dead Helps You To Survive The Walking Dead” in which an elaborate Google
Map-based map of the United States is set up to highlight key resources in
cities, in case an outbreak of “walkers” were to hit. The map would basically be the only key to
survival in such a situation. From the
brief glancing at the map that I did, the areas and resources are personalized
and I believe somewhat accurate. This
type of paratext clearly demonstrates Gray’s idea that “audience members are
involved in this fashioning … as creators of their own paratexts” (173). The fan who created this paratext is sharing
an elaborate entryway into the text because it allows the audience to directly
identify with the characters in the TV series.
This paratext is interesting because it repeatedly reminds the viewer
that they must print out the map because when a zombie apocalypse happens,
there will not be internet access.
This kind of dedication to
paratexts and the actual text testify to the pull that fans have on
networks. Since The Walking Dead is a huge success and wildly popular TV series,
the third season has been renewed and will have more episodes than the previous
two seasons. The interpretations of the
fans are also seen through paratexts because they serve as creative outlets for
individual fans to get their voice, opinions, and thoughts on the text heard. The widespread accessability of these
paratexts also helps to frame the actual text for viewers because they begin to
focus on pieces of the TV series that are presented in fan fiction, forums,
blogs, and fan videos.
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I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this work and am unaware of anyone who has not.
Lizette Villarreal
I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this work and am unaware of anyone who has not.
Lizette Villarreal
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