OTW Fannews: Killing authors

[otw-staff.livejournal.com]

• A post at eConsultancy placed fanworks among other examples of the 'death of the author'.“While the barriers to entry for authorship have declined, the ability to remix and distribute content has dramatically increased. The ability to publish to the web, combined with applications that allow content remixing (Adobe Premiere, Wordpress, Instagram) has meant that original authors now find themselves with significantly more challenges to their intellectual property. Remix culture can completely change narratives to the intentions of the remixer. This is most clear in the remixing of television shows into vignettes that have normally satirical intentions.”


• The New York Times described How to Make a TV Drama in the Twitter Age. Gathering together various show runners, they spoke about how audience perception was increasingly understood as shaping the narrative. "Robert King: Sometimes there are lapses of storytelling not even in the script. But when you get to the execution, either in the editing or in the acting, a bead is lost. When you realize when 50 people on social media are misunderstanding that in the same exact way, that’s something we have to correct. Carlton Cuse: When you’re telling a story, no matter how rigorous you are with yourself and your collaborators as to the clarity and intention of the story, you’re still in a bubble. The moment that the audience becomes involved, that bubble dissolves. Perception is reality. So, however they perceive it, is actually what it is."


• Indie Wire featured Austenland as an example of what fans have taken from Austen's works. "'Q: You were saying that girls look to Jane Austen to learn about love, and because they want to be romanced. What do you think the moral of "Austenland" is with regard to love and what to expect from love?' A: I think the moral...is 'Girls, get your crap together, because it's not real.' And that's the whole thing, reality versus fantasy. [Keri Russell's character Jane] had to figure it out herself and stand on her own two feet, and not be so dependent on this fake world, and at that point she finally can find love. Because she took it to the nth degree and she needed a reality check...to my young daughter, I will say...[g]o for the Mr. Bingley. You need to go for that sweet boy. He seemed more real, in that the girl didn't have to change him."

What stories about changing authorship and audience do you know of? Write about them in Fanlore! Contributions are welcome from all fans.

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