Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Jun 17, 2018 20:21:57 GMT
I recently read Henry Jenkins's Convergence Culture and was intrigued by the chapter on the Matrix franchise, which he uses as a case study for what he calls "transmedia storytelling." Jenkins describes how the franchise encourages viewers to act as "hunters and gatherers" by tracking down bits of information spread across multiple media channels (the computer game, animated shorts, etc.) to get the full experience of the world the Wachowskis created and to fill in story gaps in the films. Essentially, he explains how the Matrix franchise "integrates multiple texts to create a narrative so large that it cannot be contained within a single medium."
I definitely subscribe to the idea that films should stand on their own and be internally coherent in terms of storytelling and shouldn't require excessive "homework" (this is especially a problem with film adaptations of books that alienate non-readers). I was inspired to revisit the Matrix sequels (which I hadn't watched in probably a decade) with this idea of transmedia storytelling in mind, fully aware of their negative reception. Back when they first came out, I was in my early teens and was mostly into them because of the elaborate action scenes and didn't really care all that much about the convoluted mythology that the Wachowskis had established.
Watching the sequels now, I made more of an effort to engage with the mythology (had to read some shit on Wikipedia) and, as a result, was more aware of the information gaps than when I saw the films years ago. Of course, there's the stock criticism of emphasis on spectacle over story and character when you're looking at just the films themselves, but I find the Matrix sequels to be rather interesting in how they're basically failed experiments in storytelling. It's weird to me how the Wachowskis--who've clearly put a lot of effort into developing this mythology--would choose to NOT take the time to coherently flesh out the backstory and characters cinematically. I don't really buy that they created a narrative so large that it couldn't be contained within a single medium. Most of the sequels are spent on action scenes that seem like they're straight out of a video game (and they go on for far too long in some cases). Scenes of glib, clunky dialogue explaining the bigger picture occasionally break up the scenes of spectacle, but they're not woven into the narrative in a consistent way, creating a strangely uneven, patchwork thing that doesn't let the audience really absorb what they're supposed to learn about the world.
Other thoughts on these films?
I definitely subscribe to the idea that films should stand on their own and be internally coherent in terms of storytelling and shouldn't require excessive "homework" (this is especially a problem with film adaptations of books that alienate non-readers). I was inspired to revisit the Matrix sequels (which I hadn't watched in probably a decade) with this idea of transmedia storytelling in mind, fully aware of their negative reception. Back when they first came out, I was in my early teens and was mostly into them because of the elaborate action scenes and didn't really care all that much about the convoluted mythology that the Wachowskis had established.
Watching the sequels now, I made more of an effort to engage with the mythology (had to read some shit on Wikipedia) and, as a result, was more aware of the information gaps than when I saw the films years ago. Of course, there's the stock criticism of emphasis on spectacle over story and character when you're looking at just the films themselves, but I find the Matrix sequels to be rather interesting in how they're basically failed experiments in storytelling. It's weird to me how the Wachowskis--who've clearly put a lot of effort into developing this mythology--would choose to NOT take the time to coherently flesh out the backstory and characters cinematically. I don't really buy that they created a narrative so large that it couldn't be contained within a single medium. Most of the sequels are spent on action scenes that seem like they're straight out of a video game (and they go on for far too long in some cases). Scenes of glib, clunky dialogue explaining the bigger picture occasionally break up the scenes of spectacle, but they're not woven into the narrative in a consistent way, creating a strangely uneven, patchwork thing that doesn't let the audience really absorb what they're supposed to learn about the world.
Other thoughts on these films?
