Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture and faith from the Antipodes.

Comics, Science & Technology, Science Fiction

Why the Matrix Matters

Henry Jenkins’s writing on the Matrix films talks of transmedia storytelling. The interweaving of cinema, home video/dvd, tv, the internet, video games and books to create narratives that go beyond a single, static portrayal. In fact, stories get added to by the individuals and communities that hear/watch them and then are spurred into creative response. In a consumerist sense he says,

In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling, each medium does what it does best–so that a story might be introduced in a film, expanded through television, novels, and comics, and its world might be explored and experienced through game play…. Reading across the media sustains a depth of experience that motivates more consumption…. Offering new levels of insight and experience refreshes the franchise and sustains consumer loyalty.

I found it interesting in that in effect a community hermeneutic is developed where internet communities comment on, adapt and critique the Matrix world in its various incarnations, developing their own interpretations and reinterpretations of the story.

It doesn’t seem new to me in the sense that people of faith have been doing this sort of thing ever since we could tell stories. However it may have some useful ideas for interacting with contemporary culture.

Technology Review: MIT’s Magazine of Innovation – Why the Matrix Matters