Cult Media Is Defined By Leading Media Essay

hysteria Media Is Defined By Leading Media EssayThe term furore media is delimitate by leading frenzy media theorists, Sara Gwenllian-Jones and Roberta Pearson to mean any text that is considered off-beat or edgy, that draws a niche audience, that has a nostalgia appeal, that is considered emblematic of a particular sub deliriumure, or that is considered hip (ix). For over a century, cult media in the form of characterizations confine played an important role in our lives, entertaining us, often provoke conversation and debate. Joining removes in the cult media stakes was the bristle of idiot box in the 1950s which added to the spread of cult media. A pivotal signifi nonifyce in cult media was the release of the film, The Rocky repulsive force Picture visualize in 1975. This film alternated the publics perception of cult media and how people related to it. Since thusly the internet and online affable media fall in completely changed the focus cult media has evolve d and been received.My thesis statement is that eventhough there have been evidentiary changes that have impacted on the production, dissemination and reception of cult media since that pivotal moment of Rocky incompatibility it still remains extremely popular. This is because it often deviates from accepted societal norms. It touches on religion, sex, politics, ethnic backgrounds and separate topics that umteen people regard as debatable (Hills 21). These themes are all still today what Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson term off-beat and edgy. They allow cult media to transcend significant changes and generations and are the reason why cult media continues to incur in popularity (Jancovich, et al Mathijs and Mendik Stadler and McWilliam).Three significant changes that have impacted on the production, distribution and reception of films, television, and other new and emerging media was firstly the internet, secondly technological changes much(prenominal) as digitalisation (the stir up to digital cinema) and thirdly, the recrudesce of the cult media audience and the incredible rise in the fanatical loyalty to cult media texts (FANDOM) and the user-revolution of alternative films and TV shows cult media attracts a particular soft of devotional investment and fetishisation (Hills 511).The first change was the internet which has certainly changed the way cult media is viewed. Especially since the introduction in 2006-2007 of higher download gos on broadband internet. People can right away view and download films and TV shows through peer to peer file share, streamed from video tape and videodisk via sites like YouTube, bitTorrent and DixXCrawler. This has expanded the opportunities for potential audiences to gain entry to films which already have a cult reputation, as well as to discover and make believe new cult reputations. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, for example, it tended to be the case that cult reputations were forged within major metro politan areas it was in such areas that repertory theaters, for example, could be found. For those who did non have easy access to such areas the chances of finding films after-school(prenominal) of the mainstream was very difficult (Klinger Telotte Tryon).Now, however, with abundant data freely available on the Web, as well as the coarse number of films released on DVD and available over the Internet, many more(prenominal) people can gain access to a range of distinguishable cult titles wherever they are geographically located. This may make it increasingly likely that cult reputations are forged outside of a mental representation release. With the internet FANDOM and other devotees can more easily access the plant of current leading independent filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch, Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay and Victor Nunez.The second change was the introduction of different and multiple distribution streams which allow for more cult media to exist. Emerging technologies that fac ilitate the production, distribution and promotion of small, offbeat films. Traditional distribution models have been challenged by new media entrepreneurs and independent film makers, user-generated videos, film blogs, mash-ups, downloads, and other expanding companionable networks like Facebook (Klinger 13 Lavery). With a video or digital camera, a computer, editing software and an internet connection, anyone can make and transfer a film of virtually any length to a private Web site or a searchable public domain such as YouTube. There has been go on convergence between film and TV because of the advances in digital technology. Image and sound quality and even believe contexts and audience experiences are moving closer together in many instances with digitalisation having a significant impact on all concealment media (Hartley Klinger Stadler and McWilliam). New distribution models firstly video, then DVD, then high speed internet download have given an extra lease of life t o old horror and cringe-worth B-films that might otherwise have languished in obscurity. It is Hollywoods sport of the long tail where the web fuels endless small cults that add up to a massive audience (Lavery, 20).Thirdly, there has been a dramatic shift from viewing in a picture theatre to viewing in small, private groups in a hall or function get on or at home alone. Devotees do not have to go to the cinema anymore. This shift has significant ramifications for cult viewership. There is the loss of sharing the particular cult media with others in a cinema. Now it has been replaced by online gossip rooms and Facebook sites (Scone Stadler and McWilliam). Its hard to imagine the Rocky Horrorcult develop the way it did with its outlandish costumes, spirited shout-outs and dancing in the aisles in the absence seizure seizure of communal showings in a theatre (Lavery Telotte). Home consumption of the cult film or cult film-in-embryo may allow for the proliferation of interpretation s in the absence of the disciplining presence of other cultists. What is diminished are possibilities for engaged spectatorship a broad of creative and communal participation in the life-world of the cult film (Hills, 41).Now, with the rise of digital cinema, audiences often encounter films outside the theater and even outside the home on their way to work or at the beach. The cult media audience can now utilise all manner of slipway to access films and TV shows. The FANDOM audience has become interactive as social media allows for DIY (do-it-yourself) film criticism and analysis. Film blogging is a very important outlook of the production, distribution and reception of cult media. Devoted fans are continuing in greater numbers to use DIY production activities such as uploading reviews and videos. This is promote on participation in alternative cult media (Caldwell Hills Lavery).Finally, there is the continuing convergence between cult film and cult television. Cult media exper ts profs Ernest Matijs and Xavier Mendik make do that the fanatical devotion by fans to film franchises like champion Wars, manufacturer of the Rings and, Pirates of the Caribbean have made them both mainstream and cult classics. As stretch Jane Stadler and Kelly McWilliam contend the label cult media covers such a broad dominion that it cannot be distinguished as a clear category or genre (274). To be acultfilm, it must have a particular variety show of audience who display a particular kind of behavior behavior which is oftenritualistic.The Rocky Horror Picture conveyis the archetypal example of a film which, regardless of any painterly or formal filmic features it may display, developed a dedicated audience following, who would go to tremendous lengths to attend a screening of their worshipped film (Klinger Mathijs and Sexton). It can be argued that Rocky Horror was the first cross-over film that spanned the intermission between cult and mainstream. With Rocky Horror an d a successful semiconsciousness TV show such as dextral there is not always a clear difference between cult media and mainstream media. dexter has an extremely trace side to it and covers controversial topics such as incest and concomitant killers. In the same vein as Rocky Horror, Dexter can also be regarded as cult media. Going back to what Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson utter it is offbeatand it is edgy. It may not have the call and response of Rocky Horror or its music and costumes and dancing in the aisles of the theatre. It is a different genre within cult media with Rocky Horror being a dark musical fantasy and Dexter being a horrific comedy. angiotensin converting enzyme of the main differences that distinguishes cult television like Dexter from cult film like Rocky Horror is seriality, where a show like Dexter can develop characters and story lines over many hours (Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson Klinger). The show has now run for over 70 episodes and is into season 7 compa red to the 100 proceedings of Rocky Horror.In summary, even though there have been significant changes to the production, distribution and reception of cult media and despite cultists perceptions that their offbeat and edgy goal choices have become too accessible to mass-market audiences, cult media has grown in popularity. It has become more culturally diffuse, especially over the past decade, earning not only a place as a popular selling term, but also blurring with mainstream entertainment like Hollywoods cult blockbusters like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean(Klinger Mathijs and Sexton Peary Stadler and McWilliam).As leading media expert Professor Barbara Klinger has observed, the gradual transition of cult media as a result of constant, on-going changes from public, social rituals at cinemas to private, individualistic collectorship in the home viewing environment has popularised cultish use such as repeated screenings, reciting dialogue, and other viewing rituals. This has all resulted in taking cult media beyond marginal subcultures and allowing it to become more connected to countless types of media and an ever-increasing world-wide fan base.