CFP: Transmediality and interactivity in the fantastic, monographic issue coordinated for Brumal by Miguel Carrera Garrido (CIESE-Comillas, University of Cantabria)
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/cfp-transmediality-and-interactivity-in-the-fantastic-monographic-issue-coordinated-for-brumal-by-miguel-carrera-garrido-ciese-comillas-university-of-cantabria/
February 12, 2020
Transmediality and interactivity in the fantastic, monographic issue coordinated for Brumal by Miguel Carrera Garrido (CIESE-Comillas, University of Cantabria)
Deadline: June 15, 2020
One of the characteristics that define fictional production in the
21st century is its tendency to distribute itself among numerous media
of expression: television, cinema, literature, comic-books, theater,
video games, role-playing games, etc. Far from leading to dispersion or
to the proliferation of watertight compartments, such inclination – also
present in other communicative practices – has led to the convergence
of all these areas. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult,
even inappropriate, to limit the focus of attention to a single medium
and ignore the rest: stories expand to two, three or more of these
environments, aspiring to preserve the unity of sense in heterogeneity.
Thus, to get to a thorough and complete understanding of the message,
the recipient – and, there-fore, the critic – has to consider different
creative domains and apply several reading codes. This agent is
simultaneously endowed, in contemporary creation, with a much more
active and decisive role than he/she used to possess. Expected to
interact with fictional products, as a member of a participatory and
empowered culture, his/her intervention – often essential – oscillates
between the interpellation and analysis from various discussion forums –
especially the Internet and social networks – and direct participation
in the imaginary universes, either expanding them in media different
from than the one where they originated, or immersing themselves
effectively in those worlds and influencing – either as an avatar, or
playing a character – the course of the action.
These two complementary trends point to the terms on which the
proposed monograph is based: transmedia(lity) and interactivity. Its
goal: to trace the importance of these realities in the fantastic genre
or mode, both in theoretical formulations and practical realizations.
Widely addressed in akin modalities such as science fiction or medieval
fantasy (think, for example, of successful franchises, and recurring
objects of analysis, such as Star Wars, A Song of Ice and Fire or Lord
of the Rings, which transcended their original medium long ago, and
where the interference of fans has become the norm), the concept of
transmedial, or transmedia, has not had, to date, much repercussion in
studies on the fantastic, at least as Brumal conceives it (that is, as
the irruption of the impossible into a world in appearance similar to
ours, in tune with Caillois’s and Roas’s theories). As for
interactivity, it also has not received the due attention yet, despite
the interest raised in recent years by expressions rarely considered
artistic in the past, like video games, haunted attractions, fan
fiction, “choose your own adventure” novels, etc. That is why it is
urgent to undertake a project like the current one, in which we analyze,
among other things, how speeches and stories have migrated from one
medium to another – if that was not designed like that from the
beginning –, to what extent inter-dependence be-tween the different
media has been promoted, and how, in this process, the community of
readers, spectators, players or, in general, fans has played an
increasingly active and crucial role. It is at this junction, or
convergence, between the transmedia(l) and the interactive towards which
we want the participants of the issue to look.
Some of the proposed thematic axes, with which we want to cover both extremes, are:
• Originally, or strategic, transmedia(l) narratives of the fantastic.
• Expanded universes of the fantastic (or tactical transmedia).
• Appropriation, reworking and expansion of figures, motives and other references of the fantastic at the hands of fans.
• Theoretical relations between the concepts of transmedia(lity), intermedia(lity) and multimedia(lity) in the fantastic.
• Reflections on the concept of authorship in the fantastic transmedia(lity).
• New interactive modes of the fantastic (video games, haunted
attractions, role-playing games, escape rooms, etc.) and their
relationship with other media.
• Interactions, in social networks and in other forums, between fictional productions and fans of the fantastic.
For more information on submissions, format, length and so on, please visit the journal’s webpage or contact the coordinator on mcarreragarrido@gmail.com.
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