Thesis Format
Integrated Article
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Hispanic Studies
Supervisor
Suárez, Juan Luis
Abstract
From creating elaborate fan-worlds to driving large amounts of revenue into the economy, popular culture has proved to be the motivation behind, as well a reflection of, large scale acquisitions of conglomerates that have governed popular interests since the mid-20th Century. If its movements across geographic space, time, and media can be traced, popular culture production is an apt subject of research into how a cultural entity is conceptualised, transported and appropriated within another. In this study, adaptations of fictional products in the 20th and 21st Centuries are considered as manifestations of neobaroque forms of culture production and consumption. Some key questions that drive this research are: what makes a product popular; what are the significant markers of its popularity; who is the audience, and how does the product reach its audience; how does a product evolve from the original to its adapted and vastly popular entity; and, what does this evolution entail? Online platforms like Wikidata.org and Reddit serve as resources for case studies in popular television, namely Betty, la fea and its adaptations, and the Star Trek franchise. Angela Ndalianis’ neobaroque theories of seriality that have emerged from synergies of modern economics and culture production form the theoretical base for my thesis. The evolution of a story into different cultures, media formats, and indeed, hybrid formations as a new type of narrative, are explored as the multiple ways adaptation and seriality occur. The gap between the producer and consumer of a cultural entity is seen to blur, with every instance of popular culture production explored here.
Summary for Lay Audience
From creating elaborate fan-worlds to driving large amounts of revenue into the economy, popular culture has proved to be the motivation behind, as well a reflection of, large scale acquisitions of conglomerates that have governed popular interests since the mid-20th Century. If its movements across geographic space, time, and media can be traced, popular culture production is an apt subject of research into how a cultural entity is conceptualised, transported and appropriated within another. In this study, adaptations of fictional products in the 20th and 21st Centuries are considered as manifestations of neobaroque forms of culture production and consumption. Some key questions that drive this research are: what makes a product popular; what are the significant markers of its popularity; who is the audience, and how does the product reach its audience; how does a product evolve from the original to its adapted and vastly popular entity; and, what does this evolution entail? Online platforms like Wikidata.org and Reddit serve as resources for case studies in popular television, namely Betty, la fea and its adaptations, and the Star Trek franchise. Angela Ndalianis’ neobaroque theories of seriality that have emerged from synergies of modern economics and culture production form the theoretical base for my thesis. The evolution of a story into different cultures, media formats, and indeed, hybrid formations as a new type of narrative, are explored as the multiple ways adaptation and seriality occur. The gap between the producer and consumer of a cultural entity is seen to blur, with every instance of popular culture production explored here.
Recommended Citation
Dutta, Nandita, "The Networked Fictional Narrative: Seriality and Adaptations in Popular Television and New Media." (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7287.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7287
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Digital Humanities Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Other Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons, Television Commons