The Neo-Network Era

Some historical factors that contributed to the neo-network era are: synergy, fairness doctrine, and globalization. These contributions lead to shows connecting more with the audience, the creation of fandoms and their impact and the different narratives produced. The audience are key when it comes to the post network era. Shows like American Idol have given the audience power. The show lets audience vote for their favorite contestant. The structure of the show illustrates a democracy, this makes the audience feel like they have a say in the show. “Audience participation is a way of getting more viewers deeply invested, shoring up their loyalty and its sponsors” (Jenkins 70). Basically the post network is highly concerned about getting a ton
of ratings, which result in more money. American Idol is one of the few shows that makes the audience feel like they are a part of the show. The show quickly grabs the viewer’s attention because they are impressed with the talented performers and the celebrity judges. In addition he viewer can make a connection with one of the performer’s stories or the music. The show’s interaction with the audience creates a stronger loyalty, which lead to more views. Jenkins talks about three types of audience members: zappers, casuals, and loyals. All these types of viewers are all valuable to the shoe and can participate in voting, games and quizzes. To sum up, the audience in the post network era are very valuable and a key element when it comes to: sponsors, ratings and money. Another element is the fandom, basically a fandom is a community of people who share the same interest regarding a movie, artist, book or show.
Fandoms are very important when it comes to the post network era. The people in the fandoms are the most loyal fans that a TV show can ever ask for. It is a notion of community and commitment because these people can connect physically and emotionally. In Trekkies it showed the trekkies fandom and how passionate and dedicated they were to the show. Many fans would spend thousands of dollars to go to the conventions to meet other fans, the actors and creators. Society see’s fandoms as freedom of expression and eventually as a normal thing because fangirls and boys are seen to be “crazy”. An example of a fandom is the Trekkies, they are loyal, which results the show Star Trek in high rating and more money. The fans feel like they are a part of the show, by going to conventions and writing fan fiction. “Fan writers seek to satisfy these demands through their own Star Trek fiction, to write the kind of stories that they and other fan desires to read” (Jenkins 50). Through fan fiction fans gain some power and sometimes the show fulfills their fantasies. The fandom is a way distraction from reality and a way to dive into fantasy. After a show many fans go to website or their blogs to critique or analyze the show and share their thought with other fans. As a result, the fandom is another key element when it comes to post network TV shows, which allows the creators of a show create a community that results in more rating, loyal fans, and more successful
shows. Another element is the narrative of a show, many shows in the post network era have very interesting and unique narrative. One main reason for the different, but interesting narrative is the mixing of genres. Glee is a perfect example of genre mixing: romantic comedy, drama, and musical and the different narrative structure on TV. The main genre that makes Glee’s narrative unique is the musical because the show is creating an imaginary world associated with the fictional universe. The episode “The Power of Madonna”, illustrates how TV shows shifted from original music to popular and main stream music. The show makes many references to iconic celebrities like Madonna in this episode. The show recreates the Madonna “Vogue” music video, which illustrates Madonna’s symbol of empowerment and power of sexuality. Due to the recreation of Madonna’s music video it illustrates how the show adapted the music into a TV show. The musical element unfolds the narrative in a different way that makes the show entertaining. The episode also demonstrates a narrative of teen losing their virginities. Each character’s story is relatable and the viewer can make a connection. Many shows before the post network era would not explicitly portray sexual topics. In addition, cast is very diverse and that helps develop the narrative in a more relatable way because more viewers from different sexual orientations or race can feel like they can connect to the show. In conclusion, the narrative is an important element when it comes to post network TV because the networks want to create different shows that are unique and capture people’s attention.