What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?

Cult television can be defined to a genre of media that pertains to a specific type or area of a culture (Booker, 2011).

The nature of cult television has undergone a dramatic transition over the years. In the initial stages of cult television development it was largely synonymous with the single forms of genre types (Abbott, 2010). According to Abbott (2010), arguably, some may debate over the fact that cult television has always been a genre that varies greatly both culturally and generically.

It is perhaps a fair assumption to state that the audience and the ever-changing media, broadcast and communication platforms play a central role in the construction and progression of cult television.

Hills (2004) for instance, suggests that the creation of fandom discussions external debates without the direct influence of the actual directors and producers allows an audience to engage in personal interpretative conversations with other fans. He also stresses on the fact that this can in turn result in the audience obtaining an in-depth understanding of other narratives, reviews and individual character analysis (Hills, 2004). According to Hills (2004), These types of audience interactions can be extremely reliable generating a positive speculation to promote cult programs through various fandom practices. He stands strongly on the notion that new age media such as the internet, is responsible for forming present contemporary cults - Fans are freely enabled to create their own definitions and perspectives to their favourite cult television program (Hills, 2004).

Let us take the tv series ‘Buffy the vampire slayer’ as an example. Despite being described by David Lavery in 2004 as a “rare example of a bad movie that became a superior television series”, it is perhaps significant to note that its popularity roots mainly from the support received by the fans of the show (Buffy as cult television, 2009). As Hills (2004) has mentioned, the popularity of a cult television series allows deriving a huge market for selling merchandise and props, even long after it has ended or been cancelled. Buffy perhaps demonstrates itself as a solid example of this.

In conclusion, it is probably fair to say that the outbreak of new media methods and more convenient, collaborative ways for fan interaction has made cult television an extremely competitive genre. 

References:

Abbott, S. (2010). The Cult TV Book. New York, United States: Edward Brothers.

Booker, M. K. (2011). Historical Definition of American Cinema. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press.

Buffy as Cult Television (2009). Retrieved 9 September, 2009 from: http://culttvbuffy.wordpress.com/2009/06/0 3/buffy-the-vampire-slayer/

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.

What does Dick (1995) himself theorise about the 'I Ching'?

The ‘I Ching’, also known as ‘The Book of Changes’ can be defined as an ancient Chinese manual that is construed according to the fundamental terms of the ying and yang (Rieder, 1988). According to Rieder (1988), the book is said to have aspects that lead to predicating certain events of the future.

The concept ‘I Ching’ is famously and significantly implemented in many of Philip K. Dick’s work, including ‘The Man In The High Castle’ – where multiple characters in the novel are depicted to have referred to it for as a periphery to generate an appropriate outcome.

Although Dick has admitted his great interest in the ‘I Ching’ concept, it is perhaps fair to say that he utilised a rather realistic approach in literary structuring rather than a predictive one. He seemed to be very much aware of the fact that he needed to place the reader under a situation in which he/she is on their own, able to interpret the likely future outcome based on actuality – despite the nature of it being either positive or negative (Dick, 1995). According to Dick (1995), although for instance, a schizophrenic somewhat escapes from reality to a world of their own, “this,while almost true, is not quite correct.”; as he says it, this is because reality only contains an attribute that points you towards a realistic perspective. Thus, while he values the principles of ‘I Ching’, it almost seems like he implements it in a way that e feels is more comprehensible to his audience (Dick, 1995).

The predominant theme in ‘The Man In The High Castle’ for instance, battles and questions the perception of what is true reality and false reality. True reality here being Dick’s strong influence on the notion of audience interpretation and false reality being one that is perhaps predictive, subject to change and in some ways reflecting that ideologies of the ‘I Ching’ (Dick, 1995). This can be observed in several contexts of the novel.

Consider for example, the fact that The Grasshopper Lies Heavily is basically the complementary historical alternative to the High Castle – where the characters who are actually based in a fictional sense believe that The Grasshopper Lies Heavily is what is fiction to them. Here, Dick is trying to make the reader understand the framework of true false realities implying that there can be multiple realities dependent on the circumstance (Campbell, 2004). At the end of this novel however, through consultation of the ‘Ching I’  some of the characters are able to realise that their world is, in fact fictional – thus leaving room for personal interpretation.

In conclusion, it is perhaps fair to state that in order to understand the implementation of ‘Ching I’ and how Philip K. Dick utilises its beliefs, a clear distinction between the metaphysical and ethical understanding of truth is needed (Rieder, 1998).

References:

Campbell, L. (2004). Dickian Time in The Man in the High Castle. Etraploation, 33(3), 1-9.

Dick, P.K. (1995). Nazism and the High Castle. In Sutin, L. (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of  Philip K. Dick (pp.112-117). New York: Vintage

Dick, P.K. (1995). Schizophrenia and the I Ching. In Sutin, L. (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of  Philip K. Dick (pp.175-182). New York: Vintage

Reider, J. (1988). Science fiction studies. The Metafictive World of "The Man in the High Castle": Hermeneutics, Ethics, and Political Ideology , 15(2), 214-225.

What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime?

'Shojo' in Japanese terms refers to ‘young girl’. With regards to anime, its function pertains to aiming the content at a female demographic (Treat, 2009).

There are a few elements that habitually resonates with the concept of shojo - The plotline usually puts a strong focus on aspects such as character development and the prominence of relationships on a rather broad and complex scale (Napier, 2001).

The distinctive features of a typical shojo girl is illustrated and presented in a way that depicts dynamics that represent femininity, fragility, innocence, passiveness and attractiveness (Napier, 2001).

However, if we look at Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘Princess Mononoke’ for instance, it introduces a different perspective into the typical shojo representation. True, it can be said that the dominant female characters San, Lady Eboshi and Moro depicts the mentioned generalised characteristics to some extent – Nevertheless, it is virtually impossible to assume and state that these characters do not deviate from the stereotype (Napier, 2005). In fact, perhaps it is fair to state that they illustrated what majority assumes as typical male hero model – They are made of strong focal characteristics of aggression, ambition and action that creates a certain level of intrigue and thoughtfulness towards these them because they are women (Napier, 2001).

It is probably important to look into the possible reasons as to why there is such a distinction in character presentation.

Perhaps one of the biggest contributors to this is the fact that ‘Princess Mononoke’ targeted to provide a counter account to some of the central historical myths and traditions addressed with regard to Japanese culture and society (Napier, 2005). According to Napier (2005), the audience is acquainted to the concept of defamiliarisation with regard to explaining the myth of Japanese society consisting of long-term feminine struggle.

Let us for instance take the character of San’s wolf mother, Moro as an example. Despite her general dislike and distrust for humans, her motherly instincts were able to take over when it came to raising San as one of her own. However, it is important to note that although she appears to be nurturing toward San in some ways, majority of the time she remains somewhat distant. Moro seems to be unpredictable in nature as she resorts to outbursts of rage from time to time while sporting an angry facial expression throughout the movie. Moro, declaring herself as the protector prevails her hatred even in death as she bites off Lady Eboshi’s arm in aggression.

Thus, this alone shows the film’s ability to portray females as the strong initiators but at the same time is able to integrate a sense of feminine appeal makes for a reasonably engaging plot (Napier, 2005).

Another relevance to ‘shojo’ genre could be the implementation of the themes of spirituality, purity and respect for nature in the film – all of which help in showing Miyazaki’s purpose of illustrating “transformation and transfusion” within the plot (Wright, 2005).

In conclusion, it is my opinion that Miyazaki was able to justify Princess Mononoke as being of the ‘shojo’ genre, mostly because of the significance of the symbolism he utilised throughout the storyline.

References:

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Napier, Susan J. (2001) “Confronting Master Narratives: History As Vision in Miyazaki Hayao’s Cinema of De-assurance.” Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique. 9.2: 467-493. Print.

Treat, J. W. (2009). Yoshimoto Banana Writes Home: Shojo Culture and the Nostalgic Subject. The Society for Japanese Studies, 19(2), 353-387.

Wright, L. (2005). Nature Spirits, Giant Insects and World Trees: the nature vision of Hayao Miyazaki. In the Journal of Religion of Popular Culture. Volume X: Summer 2005.

Reality TV defined by Hill.

How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.

Hill (2005, p. 420) comments, “The most traditional industry term for reality TV is factual entertainment.” He continues to explain that the genre combines factual programming with factual-entertainment, forming a hybrid genre sometimes referred to as popular factual, a term Hill describes as the linking of popular audiences with a variety of factual television genres and formats. Reality TV historically was defined under a small umbrella general or specialist factual programming. However due to the changing nature of factual programming networks such as the BBC resolved to adjust their structure to reflect the evolution of reality television to be what Hill (2000, p. 42) describes as being a “more flexible and fast moving system.” Out of this adjustment we have the emergence of a clearer and more distinctive Popular factual television, which Hills (2000, p. 42) says in theory can “come from any category within factual and learning.” 

There is a debate between television scholars around the true nature of Reality TV. Hill (as cited in Bondejerg, 1996) says this discussion highlights the blurred boundaries between fact and fiction. It is suggested tabloid journalism has influenced the range of genre described as reality TV, described as infotainment and human interest documentaries. The discussion brings to light that reality TV is now moving away from being about what genre it is? To be more about how reality is treated, and how that boundary between fact and fiction is treated.  In the docudrama Cathy come home, these lines a crisscrossed frequently through the film, where you’re not always certain of what is real and what has been dramatized, however the end product is effective you, are left with no doubt to the authenticity of the film and its message.   

Resources

• ·      Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television (pp. 14 – 40). Oxon: Routledge.