Nowadays, in order for a successful story to be made, the creator must include such aspects in the story on which both hardcore fans and regular viewers can enjoy and relate. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy captures this method very efficiently, both the methods of spreadability and stickiness are clearly represented within the story.
‘Lord of the Rings’ manages to portray these qualities by introducing viewers to many events that are interpret-able in entirely different ways. For example; some viewers may find the ‘one ring to rule them all’ just as a symbol of power that the villain controls, like in any other standard story. However, some viewers may interpret the ring to be a vessel for the corruption that power brings, as it is displayed in the story, the person that controls the ring (power) inevitably becomes corrupt. Such is generally the case in reality. These types of different views show how the story is open to interpretation.
The story could be experienced in two ways; the viewers may just watch the movies/read the books and absorb all the information provided whilst not delving deeper inside and just witnessing the obvious. Another type of audience might be very keen to learn more, explore the possibilities, create fan-theories, interpret things differently than the average viewer and all-round delve deeper into the story and the meaning of the material.
The people that do not delve deeper into the story are known as spreaders, these type of people tend to, after experiencing the story, share their views and opinions with their friends with their own views. Viewers who dive deep in the story are people affected by the stickiness of the given story. These people are likely to be more involved in any kind of debate or theory crafting regarding the material, maybe even set up a fanbase to find like-minded people as themselves.
If we were to think about and perceive both of these perspectives at the same time, we would be able to experience to the full extent, the decisions that the creator has made in order to appeal to both of these types of viewers, as well as the obvious differences that these two types of storytelling express.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Spreadable Media.” NYU Press, nyupress.org/books/9780814743508/.
Jabar, Cynthia. “Sticky Vs Spreadable: If It Doesn’t Spread, It’s Dead by Henry Jenkins.” TransmediaKids.com: Multi Platform Storytelling, 1 Jan. 1970, www.transmediakids.com/2011/09/sticky-vs-spreadable-if-it-doesnt.html.
admin, Author. “Spreadable Media – Stickiness vs Spreadability.” MediaPedagogy, www.ralphbeliveau.com/uncategorized/spreadable-media-stickiness-vs-spreadability/.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Print.