Gerald Allen
November 18, 2015
With developments in technology,
humans are always finding new and creative ways to present stories. Multimedia
stories were ground breaking when they first arrived on the scene because for
the first time we were able to combine many different forms of media to tell a
single story. Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral
elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery
channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment
experience (Jenkins). An extremely common practice of online publications is to
include a video that coincides with the written story; before the advent of the
internet, writers were not able to include videos with their articles.
Transmedia takes multimedia to new heights, authors are able to tell one story
in an eventful way.
 |
| BTI Album Cover |
One of the most creative ways that
transmedia has been used to tell a story was done by entertainer Donald Glover.
Glover is an accomplished screenwriter turned rapper (under the stage name
Childish Gambino) and his creativity and knowledge about media were on full
display when he released his Grammy-nominated album Because the Internet in December 2013. Before the album’s release,
Glover wrote and starred in a short film called Clapping for the Wrong Reasons in August—approximately four months
before the release date. Though the film was met with positive reviews, it was
definitely not something that a typical rapper would do—the film depicted
Glover and his friends during an ordinary day in Los Angeles mansion, however,
there were many strange occurrences in the film that left viewers confused.
Around the same time Glover inexplicably started to wear the same outfit every
day and his typically upbeat demeanor changed to a somber one.
The album was released and it was
actually accompanied by a 72-page screenplay, in which the album was supposed
to serve as a soundtrack to. In fact, the screenplay and album answered a lot
of the questions that fans asked. It turned out that Glover, an actor, was
playing a role in real life. He was playing a character known as the Boy in the
screenplay and everything he had done up until that point was him getting in
the role. The Boy was a young man who spent his time smoking marijuana with his
friends and partying in his mansion. One day, he receives a phone call from
someone saying his father died, which was his main source of income. This
prompts him to start selling drugs and the story ends with him getting involved
in a shootout with the cops.
The album, itself, explored several
themes that are relatable to the younger generation, like how prevalent the
internet is in our daily lives, how the internet allows people to be connected
but not connected at the same time, and how people have dealt with these
changes in communications. In a review of the album by Phillip Cosores, the
Glover’s goal is further explained. “With the announcement that there is
actually a script based on the songs of Because the Internet (or,
more likely, vice versa) and the convincing theory that Glover has been living
the plot over the course of the last year (creating a “concept world” rather
than a mere concept album), Childish Gambino fans now have all the more reason
to proclaim his genius. Likewise, his detractors now have all the more reason
to question everything about him. When, as has been suggested, Glover is using
interviews, social media, and every other public communication to actually
create the multimedia concept art, there has to be a reason for it” (Cosores).
 |
| Clapping for the Wrong Reasons Scene |
Most musicians are aware of the
benefits of using social media to connect with their fan base, however, Glover took
this idea to the next level during the album’s release. On his website, Glover
also used strategically-placed computer code to alert fans of upcoming concerts
and other pertinent information. Essentially he used a web-based scavenger hunt
to help promote his album. He connected with fans on various levels, although,
he had hidden messages encoded in his website, he still utilized Twitter and
Instagram to his advantage.
Henry Jenkins sums it up perfectly
in Convergence Culture: Where Old and New
Media Collide, he says that “you pitch a world because a world can support
multiple characters and multiple stories” (Jenkins Pg. 116). Glover took a
major risk by taking a transmedia approach to releasing his album, however, he
did successfully manage to create a world where fans can experience and
speculate about the story in many different ways.
Although the album’s release was met
with varying degrees of acceptance, it’s hard not to commend Glover on his
successful attempt to create something more than a rap album. Because the Internet was an extremely
immersive project that allowed fans to follow the story of the album in many
different ways and most of the different components of the story can be
consumed by themselves but when viewers/readers/listeners combine all the
different stories together it really creates an experience that has not been
done in hip-hop before.
Works Cited
Cosores, Phillip.
"New Childish Gambino Album’s Fatal Flaw: It’s Just Not Cool |
TIME.com." Entertainment New Childish Gambino Albums Fatal Flaw
Its Just Not Cool Comments. Time, 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Jenkins, Henry.
"Transmedia Storytelling 101." Confessions of an AcaFan.
N.p., 22 Mar. 2007. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence
Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York UP, 2006.
Print.
