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USES OF FANTASY Finnish sub-project of The World Hobbit Project University of Jyväskylä, Department of Art and Culture Studies, Research Centre for Contemporary Culture Presentation at Finncon 3.7.2016 http://2016.finncon.org

Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

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Page 1: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

USES OF FANTASY Finnish sub-project of The World Hobbit Project

University of Jyväskylä, Department of Art and Culture Studies, Research Centre for Contemporary Culture Presentation at Finncon 3.7.2016 http://2016.finncon.org

Page 2: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

• The World Hobbit Research Project is a global research network

● https://globalhobbitca.wordpress.com/home-a/

● https://www.facebook.com/WorldHobbitProject

• The World Hobbit Project survey (Barker et al. 2014–2015), an international internet survey on audience reception of The Hobbit films

● in 46 countries, in 38 languages, 36 000 responses ● data collected and cleand at the University of

Aberystwyth

THE WORLD HOBBIT RESEARCH PROJECT

Page 3: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

THE USES OF FANTASY – FINNISH SUB-PROJECT

• Funding by the Finnish Cultural Foundation • Research questions:

● What is the meaning of fantasy to the respondents, and what does fantasy bring to their lives

● How are questions of identity, fandom and cultural consumption visible in the meaning-making processes of the respondents

● What kinds of transmedial strategies of media use can be found through the practices of media use as reported in the data

● How do conceptions of national, territorial and cultural identity affect the processes of meaning-making as well as strategies of reception within the audience of the Hobbit trilogy?

Page 4: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

PhD Irma Hirsjärvi (University of Jyväskylä, responsible researcher) PhD Aino-Kaisa Koistinen (University of Jyväskylä) PhD Jyrki Korpua (University of Oulu) PhD, Professor Raine Koskimaa (University of Jyväskylä) PhD Urpo Kovala (University of Jyväskylä) PhD student, MA Maria Ruotsalainen (University of Jyväskylä) PhD student, MA Tanja Välisalo (University of Jyväskylä) Research affiliate PhD student, MA Minna Siikilä (University of Jyväskylä)

PROJECT TEAM

Page 5: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

THE FINNISH SURVEY

• Finnish survey organized by the Research Center for Contemporary Culture

• The Finnish survey: N = 1614

● “Female” 1078 ● “Male” 536

Page 6: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONDENTS

Page 7: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONDENTS

Page 8: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

EDUCATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONDENTS

Page 9: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

TRANSMEDIAL USER PRACTICES Koistinen, Ruotsalainen, Välisalo

Page 10: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

TRANSMEDIAL USER PRACTICES

• Transmedia storytelling (Jenkins 2006):

● Telling a story via different mediums ● Each expansion contributing to the overall

storyworld

• Transmedial User Practices

● Engaging “the Hobbit” via different mediums ● Also practices that are not directly tied to a

medium, such as visiting filming locations - understanding of medium

● Focus on user experience instead of storytelling

Page 11: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

HAVE YOU TAKEN PART IN ANY OF THESE OTHER ACTIVITIES CONNECTED WITH THE HOBBIT FILMS?

The respondents were able to choose as many options as they wished. The options were:

• Producing fan art • Blogging • Role-playing • Writing fan fiction • Collecting merchandise • Seriously debating the films* • Commenting online • Gaming • Making fan videos • Visiting filming locations

In the global data: participated 66,7 %, not participated 33,3 %

Page 12: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

THE ACTIVITIES TRANSMEDIA USERS PARTICIPATED IN

Respondents were able to choose several options.

Page 13: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

TRANSMEDIA USERS

• Most of the transmedial users were 16–35 year old women who had completed secondary school and were currently students

• Different meanings/uses of fantasy:

● personal

● societal

Page 14: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

TRANSMEDIAL MODE OF READING Hirsjärvi, Korpua, Kovala

Page 15: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

TRANSMEDIAL MODE OF READING

● Transmedial mode of reading:

approach to reading that radically draws on

the resources associated with several

mediums

● Transmediality is becoming more salient,

due to technological and cultural factors –

can we say that a specific transmedial mode

of reading texts is emerging?

Page 16: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

TRANSMEDIAL MODE OF READING

● The Hobbit as a transmedial cultural text?

● Editions of the book, adaptations on theatre, radio,

television and cinema, re-imaginations,

transmedial practises (computer and console

games, internet debates, fan fiction, role playing

games, live action role playing games, board

games, cosplay, etc.)

● ”The Hobbit phenomenon”

Page 17: Uses of Fantasy - The World Hobbit Project in Finland

• Is there a transmedial mode (or modes) or

reading to be identified in the Finnish data?

• The Hobbit book, media texts: animations,

trailers, LOTR trilogy, Oscar gala

presentations - It seems to be impossible to

watch films without these contexts and

other media texts?

TRANSMEDIAL MODE OF READING