Transmedia storytelling in the detective genre : analysing reader and viewer experience

Abstract

The history of storytelling is a history of change and transformation across time and space. Henry Jenkins’ theory of digital platform storytelling, and Manuel Castells’ theory of Real Virtuality show how readers and viewers experience detective genre stories through transmedia. Case studies from the storyworld of Sherlock Holmes including canonical works, as well as fan-made material, help to contextualise the argument. This is important because fan contributions shed more light on how transmedia platforms influence their experiences through fanfiction writing. Stories cross from the imaginative and virtual storyworlds to the reality of readers and viewers through transmedia platforms. A look into Marie-Laure Ryan’s discussion of how modification, expansion, and transposition transform a story allows for a better understanding of reader and viewer experience. The role of these methods is also discussed, through the way Christy Dena links secondary authors to the original storyworld. This dissertation also looks at the possibility of having a unified theory of narrative. As opposed to one model, a discussion of the way different theories of narrative work together towards reader and viewer experience features in this work. The way Wolf Schmid looks at the text as the only thing that can be observed leading to the semiotic model is crucial. Comparing Schmid’s theory to that of other scholars contextualises the argument that different narrative theories come together to enrich the storytelling experience.