Skip to main content
NYU Press
Fulcrum logo

Share the story of what Open Access means to you

a graphic of a lock that is open, the universal logo for open access

University of Michigan needs your feedback to better understand how readers are using openly available ebooks. You can help by taking a short, privacy-friendly survey.

  1. Home
  2. Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts

Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts

Jonathan Gray 2017
Read the book on NYUP's Open Access Books portal

It is virtually impossible to watch a movie or TV show without preconceived notions because of the hype that precedes them, while a host of media extensions guarantees them a life long past their air dates. An onslaught of information from print media, trailers, internet discussion, merchandising, podcasts, and guerilla marketing, we generally know something about upcoming movies and TV shows well before they are even released or aired. The extras, or “paratexts,” that surround viewing experiences are far from peripheral, shaping our understanding of them and informing our decisions about what to watch or not watch and even how to watch before we even sit down for a show.

Show Sold Separately gives critical attention to this ubiquitous but often overlooked phenomenon, examining paratexts like DVD bonus materials for The Lord of the Rings, spoilers for Lost, the opening credits of The Simpsons, Star Wars actions figures, press reviews for Friday Night Lights, the framing of Batman Begins, the videogame of The Thing, and the trailers for The Sweet Hereafter. Plucking these extra materials from the wings and giving them the spotlight they deserve, Jonathan Gray examines the world of film and television that exists before and after the show.

Read Book Buy Book
ISBN(s)
  • 9780814731956 (paper)
  • 9780814731949 (hardcover)
Subject
  • Media Studies
  • Cultural Studies
Citable Link
  • Table of Contents

  • Resources

  • Stats

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Film, Television, and Off-Screen Studies
  • 1 From Spoilers to Spinoffs: A Theory of Paratexts
  • 2 Coming Soon! Hype, Intros, and Textual Beginnings
  • 3 Bonus Materials: Digital Auras and Authors
  • 4 Under a Long Shadow: 117 Sequels, Prequels, Pre-Texts, and Intertexts
  • 5 Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts
  • 6 In the World, Just Off Screen: Toys and Games
  • Conclusion: “In the DNA”: Creating across Paratexts
  • Notes
  • Index
  • About the Author

Search and Filter Resources

Filter search results by

Section

  • Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts
Filter search results by

Format

  • video5
  • image2
Your search has returned 7 resources attached to Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts

Search Constraints

Filtering by: Section Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts Remove constraint Section: Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts
Start Over
1 - 7 of 7
  • First Appearance
  • Section (Earliest First)
  • Section (Last First)
  • Format (A-Z)
  • Format (Z-A)
  • Year (Oldest First)
  • Year (Newest First)
Number of results to display per page
  • 10 per page
  • 20 per page
  • 50 per page
  • 100 per page
View results as:
List Gallery

Search Results

This video edits together footage from the Lord of the Rings trilogy of a beautiful blonde-haired character, "Éowyn," and her uncle, an older long-haired character, "Théoden." The video shows many tender moments as she tends to her uncle, leaning over his dying body, stroking his old, wrinkled hand, bringing him drink, etc. The video also shows her mourning her dead brother and various scenes in which she is alone and upset. We also see her preparing to battle, unsheathing a sword, riding into battle, and killing another character by thrusting the sword into his helmet. The video ends with a shot of a falling white flower.

Winter, video

From Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts

Winter by Wolfling and Magpie.

This video edits together footage from the Star Wars films that involve Obi-Wan Kenobi's relationship with both Luke and Anakin Skywalker. Such clips involve both a young Obi-Wan and the older version of him talking and fighting with Anakin (later Darth Vader), Luke, and other villains. There is also a compilation of death scenes from several of the films.

Sick Cycle Carousel, video

From Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts

Sick Cycle Carousel by Wolfling.

This video combines many clips from the end of the first season of the television show Dexter. Important clips include a man in a hazmat suit entering a hotel room that is covered in blood, he then falls down and splashes into a pool of blood on the floor, multiple people being murdered, Dexter solving criminal cases, various disembodied Barbie-doll body parts found in random places (a drawer attached to a set of keys, in a fridge, etc.), someone's chopped off fingers, a child covered in blood screaming and crying, male friendship, and blood falling as rain.

Blood Fugue, video

From Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts

Blood Fugue by Luminosity.

This video combines moving-sketch animation and film clips from famous movies and television shows to play with movement, colors, and video. The clips come from movies and shows such as The Matrix, Startrek, Pirates of the Caribbean, Batman, Lord of the Rings, V for Vendetta, and others.

Us, video

From Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts

Us by Lim.

This video combines scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies that depict various characters' obsessions with the ring, mainly Gollum, and the lengths they will go to obtain the ring, including diving into volcanoes, killing others, attacking others, etc.

Hopeless, video

From Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts

Hopeless by Luminosity.

A page from the Wikiality website dedicated to Fox News. The page includes a lot of satirical, fictitious information about Fox News, including describing Fox News as "Our Leader's Glorious Official Republican Government News Network," stating that it was founded "one day after Rupert Murdoch became a US citizen," and that the CEO is "the holy ghost." The Wikiality logo also features a circle made out of puzzle pieces that form Stephen Colbert's face.

Wikiality website, image

From Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts

A page from the Wikiality website featuring Fox News.

An advertisement for the television show Friday Night Lights displayed in three panels, top to bottom. In the top panel a a young, dark haired woman (on the left) is about to kiss a young man (on the right) wearing a blue and white letterman jacket. Both have their eyes closed and their mouths slightly open. In the second panel a black young man in a blue and white football uniform and helmet looks into the camera. His jersey has the number 20 on the shoulder pads. In the third panel four men wearing football uniforms and holding football helmets appear to be walking out of a dark, tiled tunnel and onto a football field. They face away from the camera and 3 of them have visible numbers on their jerseys: 20, 6, and 7. In between the second and third panels the title "Friday Night Lights" is written in yellow letters on a black background.

Friday Night Lights advertisement, image

From Chapter 5: Spoiled and Mashed Up: Viewer-Created Paratexts

An ad for the television show Friday Night Lights.

5,583 views since September 07, 2017
NYU Press logo

NYU Press

Powered by Fulcrum logo

  • About
  • Blog
  • Feedback
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Accessibility
  • Preservation
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Service
  • Log In

© NYU Press 2021

x This site requires cookies to function correctly.