The Lecture Series:
first semester
second semester: you're soaking in it.


Jimmy, is that a six pack?

"Yeah, Prof."
[*cshk*]

Well, I guess I taught you something last term. Did you bring enough to share with the class?

"Hell, no."

I suppose I should be glad you're not planning to sleep through my lectures this semester. Though it remains to be seen if this latest development will elevate your contributions to the class.

"Um, Professor?"

Ah, so you're back as well, Miss Fisher? What's your question, Sally?

"I suppose that's just coffee in your coffee mug?"

So. You learned something as well. We could call this Irish coffee, except it doesn't have any coffee in it.

"Why haven't they fired you yet, sir?"

That's a fairly pointed question, Sally. Let's just say the Dean and I have a new [beat] understanding. Yes. So I can continue to collect my pay check and other benefits as a tenured member of the faculty, while certain hypothetical documents and photographs--which I am not admitting to possessing, mind you--will never see the light of day, and thus Dean Chambers can avoid getting to know Judge Solomon in the same way that, say, Jimmy and I have.

"Cheers, Prof!" [Laughing] "You know, I only have to pass three more of your classes before my suspended sentence is commuted entirely."

[sigh] Yes, Jimmy. Though after a year of this already I have to wonder just which one of us she is punishing.

Well, today is the first day, so let's go over the syllabus and the other crap.

"Is this going to be like your last class?"

Hm. Well, Sally, all I can say to that is yes and no. We are still going to cover topics at the intersection of psychology, sociology, and myth, but as might be apparent from the new course description in the catalogue,

"Sir, the catalog description..."

Yes, let's see [reading] 'Modern Psychology and Comparative Mythology, in context'

"That's not really a new description, though..."

Sure it is. I added two whole words to it.
[beat]

We'll be exploring new topics. And since this is the next course in the sequence, this class will be more than just a survey of the archaeological and historical sources-- we should also have opportunities for some relevant field research and analysis.

"Shit, Prof, now you've got me worried. That sounds like work."

You think so, Jimmy? [small smile] Well, perhaps. You'll have to wait and see. It's not like I want to grade papers or anything, so I think we'll depend more on in-class discussion. So a fair chunk of this semester's grades will depend on class participation.

Excuse me a moment. [grabbing a bottle from inside the podium, adding more Bushmills to his 'coffee'] [long, slow sip]

Ah, yes, much better. Obviously, a few of you took my class last term. I also see a few new faces out there. Let's go over what you can expect: I'm going to stand here and talk for an hour or so, twice a week. There will be a final exam, because the administration says I have to give you one. Your midterm grades will be based solely on attendance, because it's bad enough I have to come up with and score the one damn test-- I can't be bothered to do it twice a semester.

[beat]
[stare]
That doesn't mean this class is an 'easy A'. I'm lazy, not generous. You'll earn whatever grade you get. If I'm not careful, quite a few of you will also learn something, though that's not my primary concern.

[stunned silence]
[beat]
"How did you get hired in the first place, sir?"

In my impetuous youth, I wrote quite a few books on the subject. Nothing quite like having a published author on the faculty. And I think if you stop and think about it, at least I'm offering you a fair deal, and being upfront about my expectations. Most professors at this school share my apathy toward students, only they'll lie to you, and themselves, about it.

Say, Jimmy? Could I have some of that ice?

"Sure Prof."
[clink]

Hmm. Perhaps you do have something to contribute this term.

##

So, has everyone signed the roll? If you want credit for showing up, remember to print your name as well, I can hardly read the chicken scratches some of you claim for handwriting. The clipboard will always be at the back of the lecture hall; from now on just sign in on your own.

Today's lecture topic

[collective groan]

Now, students, you didn't think I'd let you out early, did you? Don't worry, it's a short lecture. I need to get you to change a few mental gears, and start thinking about familiar things in new modes.

Let's take a look at participatory culture.

"What's that, Professor?"

And you are?

"Fairbanks, sir. Ryan Fairbanks"

Well, Mr. Fairbanks, I'll ask you a question, who would win in a fight, the Enterprise-D or a Star Destroyer?

"Huh?"

Did you understand the question, Mr. Fairbanks?

"uh, yeah. Well, I'd have to say the Star Destroyer, if only because of it's size, and the fact that most have a complement of TIE Fighters. The Enterprise would be out-massed, out-gunned, and out-numbered. It might last, say five minutes"

[beat]
You've argued this point before, I think.

So, our Mr. Fairbanks demonstrates at least one form of participatory culture, that of geek fandom. The fact that he could come up with not just an immediate response, but a coherent argument just goes to show that not only is he familiar with with mythic constructs of the two independent stories, he has to some extent internalized them.

Star Wars and Star Trek fans have had endless debates, with each other and also amongst themselves, and in fact I think those arguments were why the internet was invented back in the 70s. It's not the issues or their merits of the arguments that I wish to call to your attention, however. Instead let's consider the fact that millions of people participate.

Fandom is nothing new. And neither are fantasy stories. However, we see today an odd confluence of the two. People who enjoy the stories also feel compelled to add to them. The prevalence of media in the modern world may be a major contributing factor: millions of people can be exposed to a new story, a new mythology, all at once. The hyper-realism of film, even when dealing with the fantastic, is also a contributing factor. The goblins and bugbears of story are no longer just imagined creatures lurking just beyond the shadows, they jump and move about on the screen in front of us.

The old stories and tropes of myth are still there, but we have a marvellous new way to experience them. Telling a story has become more than just nice way to pass the time while sitting around the fire. While we know it is a story, it impacts us as real on a visceral level because we can see what was once only described to us.

Some who see and hear the new myths feel a need to add to them. For them it has become so real that they know what should happen next. A smaller fraction will write these ideas down, or draw them if they have the skill. An even smaller portion might have the ability and inclination to film their new stories-- and this is the start of something very big.

To the fervour of fandom and the desire to create, we have two multipliers. First, even though the fraction of fans who become new creators is very small, the original stories were told to millions of people. The mathematics is easy: even considering just one tenth of 1%, out of every million we have 1000 people, and a thousand new stories set in a shared universe.

The other multiplier to consider is the ability of people to share the new stories with others. The development of shared culture from photocopied fan magazines to the plethora of personal websites that can be found today might be a good topic for a graduate thesis. I'll gloss over that today; let's just say that the internet allows what might have been a passing trend to develop rather quickly into a self-contained, self-defined, self-perpetuating phenomenon. This is the origin of a participatory culture: new mythologies based not on a single historical tradition, but multiple living traditions continually growing and expanding. The small fraction that creates new myth are supported and justified by the remaining fans, the bulk of the herd, who contribute in their own way merely by consumption.

And that is just the fan side of the equation. If a participatory culture is also supported by the original creator, or by a large corporate entertainment entity, things will expand even more quickly. Even if later contributions are inferior, they still add incrementally to the 'official canon' and validate the continuing participation of old fans, while also creating new ones. One example might be something like Battlestar Galactica, which languished for decades until it was remade for cable television. The remake inspired debate among older fans, certainly, with some angry at the changes to 'their' beloved myth, but the new show also brought in new fans, new voices. Eventually the two stories will be integrated by their fandom, and both will stand as valid interpretations of the same mythology.

Battlestar Galactica is perhaps a 'small' example. Star Wars and Star Trek are arguably the largest fan communities, though I might argue that the multiple mythologies that are being built in Role-playing communities are even larger, though their public profile is much smaller. Without a major flagship, like the cinema and TV shows, it is easy for franchises such as Dungeons & Dragons to slip under the radar, largely unnoticed-- though the real impact might best be gauged by how many paperback books are published each year under the D&D banner.

I'll wrap up here for today. A few things to consider before our next meeting:

First, even though a lot of popular culture is pitched as 'science fiction', it is more appropriately classified as fantasy. The 'science' involved is so fantastic, it is little more than a modern re-packaging of old magic. And that may be why sci-fi inspires the most fervent fandom: while many types of stories are popular, and sci-fi and fantasy are often quite far from the mainstream, it is this element of the fantastic that makes the difference. The new myths are growing because they echo the old.

That segues into my second point, even though we might consider ourselves to be more sophisticated than the peoples that have come before, there is little that is 'new' in our new mythologies. The emotions and relationships are always the same. There is the classic example of George Lucas consulting with Joseph Campbell, but even when there are no intentional parallels, there is still a lot of myth to be found just beneath the surface.

The third point I might call to your attention is how little source material we need to create our new participatory cultures. A single motion picture can do it-- one story, told over not quite two hours. The length of piece is not the biggest factor; it need only capture the imagination. At that point, the multiplying factors of mass media and mass communication kick in, and a new participatory culture is created.

Your homework is to go out and watch something. Find a new story, one that you have had no exposure to yet, but may not have heard of. Then try and draw parallels between it and something you already like. Any sort of sci-fi or fantasy will do, just think of it as a new mythology and analyse it from that angle.

[edit 6 Jul 2006: of course we all know the internet was actually invented to efficiently distribute PORN, but I guess no one clued the prof into that fact yet]