Media Convergence: Argumentative Analysis

With recent pop culture trends, people are becoming more and more involved in the media that surrounds them. From movies, television shows, books, games, fan fiction, apparel and toys, it is becoming apparent that people are immersing themselves within these many types of media. This is particularly evident in the world wide sensation known as Star Wars. After the success of the first film Star Wars – now known as Episode IV: A New Hope - (George Lucas, 1977), the franchise has grown into a global phenomenon, stretching across generations and countries. This essay will deconstruct how this franchise has effectively used ‘Media Convergence’ and ‘Transmedia Storytelling’ to its advantage to become one of the most beloved, but also profitable,

‘Media Convergence’ is the integration or merging of media communication such as television or movies, with technologies such as the internet, to become more interconnected with the information and media (Jenkins 2007). With the upcoming release of the new film The Force Awakens (J.J Abrams, 2015) social media platforms have been integrated and used effectively to gain attention and generate hype for the new movie with its official trailer having been watched 58 million times on Youtube alone (Youtube.com 2015). Star Wars uses Media Convergence proficiently, but it is its use of Transmedia Storytelling that is almost without

A textbook example of this is the animated television show The Clone Wars (Dave Filoni, George Lucas 2008-2015). This show fits chronologically between the second and third ‘prequel’ movies Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002) and Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005). The show bridged the time gap between the two movies, allowing dedicated viewers to fill in the gaps that the original story left and learn a more detailed story. It also bridged the generation gap for viewers, as Star Wars fans are typically older, or young adults, as that is when the movies originally came out. This show is animated and intended for children, allowing the franchise to hook younger viewers, as well as providing more engaging narrative for the very active audiences who tend to consume all the content they can find (Loads 2014). By tying the two movies together with a television show that appeals to a completely different audience, Star Wars is able to continually expand and reach new audiences through effective use of Transmedia