I have been thinking about this weeks readings Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence, Fans bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture and Indigenous, ethnic and cultural articulations of new media in terms of my remediation project. The TV series Gavin and Stacey was created in the UK for a UK audience so what is it about the show that had drawn me – an Australian, to the show? Who will my remediation project be aimed at? And are my interpretations of the shows themes, when viewed in the Australian context different from the intentions of the original producers?
Why am I drawn to the show?
In the terms of Jenkins – I guess you could say I was originally introduced to the show by a “Grassroots intermediatory” (Jenkins 2006)
– My husband who was born and raised in Wales (which is where part of the show Gavin and Stacey is set) and now lives in Australia. He not only keeps up to date with the goings of friends and family at home, but also likes to keep up to date with music, TV shows and news. Gavin and Stacey was a hit in Wales and box sets promptly posted over to us upon release in the UK.
One of the themes of the show is based on the idiosyncrasies of different cultures – that being of the English and the Welsh or to be more precise of Barry in South Wales and Essex in England. I can in some ways relate to the humor based on these idiosyncrasies as I compare my own experiences of living in Wales, being married to a Welsh man and becoming part of a Welsh family and as such also recognize the character traits and stereotypes presented. This would then make me part of what Srinivasan describes as an “imagined community” (Srinivasan 2006) made up of not only U.K. viewers who inherently understand the humor, but also of other cultural outsiders who have joined families from these two parts of the world, and so too can relate the humor based on cultural difference.
I initially chose to remediate Nessa’s storyline due to time constraints but after this weeks topic I think it could also be because I understand the character. She is an over exaggerated welsh stereotype that I can recognize more easily than other stereotypes presented in the show such as Smithy from Essex. I have learnt about Smithy’s stereotype through others telling me about it but can see elements of Nessa’s persona in people that I have met or worked with in the past and as such feel I am better equipped to retell her story than other characters in the show. Nessa also in some ways appeals to my sense of “Pop Cosmopolitanism” (Jenkins 2006)
- My ties to Wales now see me wanting to keep up with the current affairs of the country, and a lot of Nessa’s stories tie into current day events. Nessas stories are littered with UK pop culture references and to piece them together is something like a treasure hunt.
Who will my remediation project be aimed at?
As an understanding of Nessas stores and humor comes from an understanding of UK popular culture and current media events - my remediation project will be aimed at those who are not up to speed on such things. Using blog to recreate Nessas little black book (a list of all the people Nessa claims to have had a relationship with throughout the show) allows me to link the real life media stories to the stories Nessa tells. In other words when she claims to have slept with John Prescott I can hyperlink his name to real life press articles about John Prescott – linking the story to the pop culture reference.
This media format also works within the current day context of viewing the show. Gavin and Stacey is no longer being produced – so if one was to watch the show today the pop culture references will all be old, and possibly forgotten even by those residing in the UK – they will be old news so to speak. Therefore the little black book will not only inform those who were out of the loop in the first place, but will refresh the memories of those who are watching or re-watching the series again – appealing to my entire “imagined community” (Srinivasan 2006).
Does this change of context change the meaning?
Having never met the writers and producers of the show I cannot say what the original intention of this part of the story line was, but in creating an online hyperlinked little black book I will not be changing it. I will merely be changing the way in which the story is presented. Time itself has changed the context of this storyline, but the recreation of it in an online media form will bring it back closer to its original time, preserving rather than altering the meaning.
Jenkins, H. 2006. Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence, Fans bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture: New York University Press.
Srinivasan, R. 2006. Indigenous, ethnic and cultural articulations of new media. International Journal of Cultural Studies 9: 497. http://ics.sagepub.com/content/9/4/497 (accessed 15/10/11).
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