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

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

Jonathan Gray
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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.

  • 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
Citable Link
Published: 2017
Publisher: New York University Press
ISBN(s)
  • 9780814731949 (hardcover)
  • 9780814731956 (paper)
Subject
  • Cultural Studies
  • Media Studies

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A photograph showing a set of 12 action figures, still in their plastic packaging, from the Star Wars franchise. Each action figure is included on the bottom left-hand side of the packaging with a large photograph of the actor or character taking up the majority of the package. Each package also includes the words "Star Wars" written in silver letters at the top center of the package accompanied by the gold starwars logo and the characters' name in a colored box beneath. Each package is also branded with the manufacturer name: "Kenner." The top row includes 4 action figures: Luke Skywalker wearing a white tunic, brown pants, and a black belt (with a black and orange color scheme), Princess Leia Organa wearing a white dress (with a black and blue color scheme), Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi wearing a brown robe (with a black and yellow color scheme), and Han Solo wearing a white shirt, black pants, and a black vest (with a black and green color scheme) from left to right. The middle row also includes 4 action figures: See-Threepio (C-3PO), a gold-encased robot (with a black and blue color scheme), Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2), a white, silver, and blue robot (with a black and blue color scheme), Darth Vader wearing a black cloak and black helmet (with a black and yellow color scheme), and a Stormtrooper in a white, plastic full body suit with a helmet (with a black and red color scheme) from left to right. The bottom row also includes 4 action figures: Chewbacca, a brown, hairy creature with a machine gun slung over his shoulder (with a black and yellow color scheme), Jawa, a small creature with a brown cloak (with a black and yellow color scheme), one of the Sand People wearing brown robes and a green-ish face mask (with a black and green color scheme), and a Death Squad Commander wearing a gray suit, black gloves, and a black helmet (with a black and blue color scheme).

1978 Star Wars 12-Backs, image

From Chapter 6: In the World, Just Off Screen: Toys and Games

Complete set of 1978 Star Wars 12-Backs, the first twelve figures released. From the collection of Gary Wines. Photograph by Gary Wines.

A video trailer for the video game based on the film The Golden Compass that mixes scenes from the movie and animated images from the game. The trailer first shows the main character, a young red-headed girl named Lyra, receiving the golden compass, then flying in a mechanical blimp-like device above a city, then fighting wolves and other creates in a snowy mountain region, then on a ship, then in a castle-like building, then riding a polar bear, and fighting other various dark creatures, including what look to be hunters, witches, etc. While these shots quickly move from one to the next these words flash across the scene in yellow: "A dangerous mission--to the edge of another world--a new hero emerges--explore--forbidden lands--uncover--a mysterious prophecy--defeat--brutal enemies--The Golden Compass."

The Golden Compass game, video

From Chapter 6: In the World, Just Off Screen: Toys and Games

A trailer for The Golden Compass video game based on the film.

A video trailer for the video game The Simpsons Hit and Run, in which there are various scenes from the video game depicting the members of the Simpson Family driving cars, crashing into things, running away from things, and causing general mayhem.

A trailer for The Simpsons Hit and Run game, video

From Chapter 6: In the World, Just Off Screen: Toys and Games

A trailer for The Simpsons Hit and Run video game.

A screengrab from the webpage titled "What Happened in Piedmont?" On the main part of the page (dominating the left 3/4ths) there is a blog-like post titled "Dr. Jeremy Stone." Beneath this title there is a line of text that reads "May 21st, 2008 10:33pm by Andrew / 8 comments / Trackback." There is then an image showing a picture of the fictional Dr. Jeremy Stone, several lines of official-looking text, a set of fingerprints, and a signature. Beneath this image are several lines of text that read: "Found another new access code for the Wildfire intranet... and this one unlocks the file on Dr. Stone himself: Jest or Enemy. Most of this information was already available on the website, but it's interesting all the same. It's also interesting that the government knew all about the ill will between Stone and Keene, though I'm not sure why they'd make a specific note of that in the Wildfire files. Unless, of course, Keene is also involved in this somehow. Based on this access code, it also seems clear that the personnel files, at least, are protected with anagrams... so the next thing is to figure out possible access codes for the file on Tsi Chou, the only remaining scientist on the team. Suggestions? Tags: wildfire, access codes, stone." The final 1/4th of the screen includes links to pages "Home, About Me, Access Codes," a section that reads " What's Going On? The government quarantined the town of Piedmont, UT in order to contain a deadly aliened virus codenamed Andromeda. The virus was stopped, but not before claiming a lot of lives. To read the short version of what happened, start here," an "email me" button, and links to various facebook accounts.

What Happened in Piedmont? blog, image

From Chapter 6: In the World, Just Off Screen: Toys and Games

A page from the What Happened in Piedmont? blog.

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