Harry Potter and the Concept of Transmedia Storytelling

Index
Introduction……………..… p. 2
Method and theory…... p. 3
Twitter…………..……..…….. p. 6
Daphne Lubbes,

Pottermore………..………. p. 8
Conclusion…………….…… p. 11
Bibliography………………. p. 12
 Harry Potter and the Concept of Transmedia Storytelling

Introduction

onvergence is described as ‘the dissolving distinctions between media

C systems, media content and the resulting trade between systems’.1 It has

proven to be an extremely successful phenomenon in the consumer

society, enabling creative businesses to make money and gain popularity. 2 A great

example can be found in the success of the Harry Potter series. With eight highly

popular movie adaptations, countless items of merchandise, and the well-visited Harry

Potter Studios and US based theme parks, Harry Potter can be seen as an extremely

successful product of media convergence. Interestingly enough, the Harry Potter 2

phenomenon uses another popular framework that came from the increased use of

Internet and active audience consumption, namely transmedia storytelling. While media

convergence has proven its success, transmedia storytelling provides fascinating

potential and plays with active audience participation in an interesting way. I will

therefore look at the concept transmedia storytelling in combination with media

convergence. The Harry Potter fan platform Pottermore and author J.K. Rowling’s

Twitter messages will serve here as central case studies. To give a clear understanding

of the research, an explanation of the method and a description of the used theories

can be found in the next paragraph. Subsequently I will explain how J.K. Rowling uses

1
John Hartley et al., Key Concepts in Creative Industries, (London, UK: SAGE, 2013), 36.
2
Ibid.
Twitter to continue the storytelling of the books and how this changed the relationship

between the author and the audience. There after I will elaborate on why Pottermore

was a positive addition to the Harry Potter convergence. The two case studies are

interesting, both in their own way, because they push the audience to be actively

involved in the story telling. The Harry Potter –series started out analog as books and

then premiered as films but the story and the role of the audience was basically the

same. The internet gave a whole new dimension to this. This essay will lastly answer the

question how Twitter and Pottermore are being utilized to keep the audience actively

involved in the Harry Potter storyline and what are the effects of using a digital

interactive medium?

Method and theory

The review on Twitter and Pottermore has been done through a discourse analysis,

using the following terms: (media) ‘convergence theory’, Lev Manovich’s ‘language of

new media’, Roland Barthes’ ‘death of the author’, Michel Foucault’s ‘discourse’ and

‘power’, and Jason Mittel’s ‘drilling’. These notions can be considered the most

important terms of the research. Both primary and secondary sources have been

studied for the literature review. In the next paragraphs the terms will be explained,

where after they will be applied to the chosen case studies.

Media convergence is a frequently returning term in this essay. Convergence is

the coming together of two or more things, although not all academics agree on the
definition of “coming together.3 For example, it can be explained by the ‘coming

together of different equipment and tools for producing the news’ 4

but also as the

‘flow of content across multiple media platforms’.5 It is also possible to make a

distinction between horizontal integration and vertical integration of media

convergence. Horizontal integration can be achieved by expansion through merging

and buying other firms. On the other hand, vertical integration can be used to control

the distribution of products. For example by owning products and services to cover the

6
so called industry pipelines. In this case we use the term media convergence in the

context of ongoing processes of different media (plat)forms interacting with each other.

J.K. Rowling uses different platforms to distribute narrative content.

The second notion I would like to elaborate on is the ‘language of new media’.
4
As Lev Manovich describes it, there is a contrast between the role of the audience in

new media in comparison to for example cinema where most “users” understand

cinematic language but not speak it. On the other hand, he says, all computer users can

speak the language of the interface (which is the computer). Therefore they are active

users of the interface whereby they employ it to perform many tasks. Where Manovich

7
uses sending e-mail, organize files and running applications for examples we can say

that the online social media like Twitter also belong to the language of the interface.

Jeff Wilkinson, Converging Communication, Colliding Cultures: Shifting Boundaries and the Meaning of ‘Our
3

Field’, (Utah, USA: Provo, 2005) 3.

Mark Deuze, ‘Convergence Culture in the Creative Industries’ in: International Journal of Cultural Studies (vol.
4

10 no. 2, 2007) 245.

5
Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, (New York, USA: New York University
Press, 2006) 2.
Mark Deuze, ‘Creative Industries, Convergence Culture and Media Work’ in: Media Work, Digital Media and Society
6

Series, (chapter two, Sage, California 2013) 60.

7
Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media, (Massachusetts, USA: The MIT Press, 2000), 79.
Digitalization allows for greater levels of control and participation on the part of the

audience and because of this the power of the author is eroding. A more democratic

system of communication has arrived.8 This means that everybody can participate as an

author of a story. The ‘death of the author’, as explained by Roland Barthes in 1977,

connects to this perfectly. Barthes claims that the author has died. In other words, once

the author pens the words, he or she is no longer of relevance to the meaning that the

text contains. It is the audience who became the author of the meaning.9

From this paragraph on method and theory we can conclude that the audience

plays an important role in this essay since the audience allows the process of content

creation but also strongly influences what is created, when it is created and, above all,

gives meaning to the content.10 This can be related to Michel Foucault’s ‘power-
5
knowledge functions’; according to Foucault, meaning is a process and not a fixed

entity. It occurs through discourse: 11

‘practices that systematically form the objects of

which they speak. They enable, they constrain and they constitute what we do.

Discourses can be social practices in which we engage, which makes them social

scripts.12 Some discourses are provided with a so called “author-function” in which one

person is given the status as author. However, the concept of author serves a power-

8
David Hesmondhalgh, The Cultural Industries: 3rd Edition, (London, UK: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2013), 315.
9
Victoria D. Alexander, Sociology of the Arts: Exploring Fine and Popular Forms, (Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing,
2003) 258.
10
Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media, (Massachusetts, USA: The MIT Press, 2000), 79.
11
Victoria D. Alexander, Sociology of the Arts: Exploring Fine and Popular Forms, (Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing,
2003) 258.
12 th
John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an Introduction, 5 edition, (Essex, UK: Pearson Education Ltd,
2009) 128.
knowledge function, which limits the possibilities in creation of meaning. 13 This means

14
that whoever has the knowledge in a certain discourse also has the power. This may

change the role of the author as well.

The last term that needs explanation is ‘drilling’. Jason Mittels’ poses this

metaphor in his article To Spread or to Drill. It means that the audience goes beyond

the main narrative: “[it] encourages viewers to dig deeper, probing beneath the surface

to understand the complexity of a story and its telling.”15. This notion only returns in the

Pottermore case and it might seem the least related to the other terms. However, I will

argue how this is nevertheless the case.

6
Twitter

When looking at transmedia storytelling, it is audience participation that allows for a

certain narrative to be successful. A great example is the Harry Potter series. The novels

and the movie adaptations were incredible successes, but after J.K. Rowling told the

audience that she would not release more books the audience still wanted more.

Rowling responded to this need by randomly giving more information about characters

and happenings via Twitter. For example, in September 2015 she tweeted that we have

all been pronouncing the evil Lord Voldemort’s name wrong, as the ‘t’ should be silent,

13
Victoria D. Alexander, Sociology of the Arts: Exploring Fine and Popular Forms, (Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing,
2003) 258.
14 th
John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an Introduction, 5 edition, (Essex, UK: Pearson Education Ltd,
2009) 130.
Jason Mittel, “To Spread or to Drill?” Just TV, Last modified on February 25, 2009,
15

https://justtv.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/to-spread-or-to-drill/.
or the time she tweeted about how Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia Dursley met. Both

facts were not mentioned in the books Rowling wrote. But one of the most controversial

tweet came from 2007, when she tweeted to reveal that Hogwarts school headmaster

Albus Dumbledore was gay.16 This tweet led to many reactions from fans, among others:

“Thank you so much for writing Harry Potter. I wonder why you said that Dumbledore is

gay, because I can’t see him in that way.” This was the reaction of Ana Kocovic on

March 24, 2015. (Noticeable is the time between the release of the information by

Rowling and Kocovic’s reaction.) Rowling replied immediately: “Maybe because gay

people just look like…people?”.17 Here she has become approachable for her audience.

A conversation through the digital medium Twitter can lead to discussions about

narrative elements of Harry Potter such as the sexual preferences of a character. What
7
we can conclude from this specific conversation between fan and author is that media

convergence is more than a simple technological shift because, it also alters the relation

between technologies and audiences that already exist.18 As Lev Manovich described it

in The Language of New Media (2000), all computer users speak the language of this

interface and are therefore active participants with a certain control. This shift leads to

eroding of the author’s power.19 In the case of the fan that doubted Rowling’s opinion

on Dumbledore’s sexual nature we can also cite Roland Barthes’ earlier mentioned

16
Mirror.com, accessed on April 1, 2016, http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jk-rowlings-biggest-bombshells-harry-
6913068.
17
Upworthy.com, accessed on April 1, 2016, http://www.upworthy.com/a-fan-asked-jk-rowling-how-she-knew-
dumbledore-was-gay-and-she-replied-with-something-obvious.
18
Henry Jenkins, Pop Cosmopolitanism, Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence, (New York,
USA: New York University Press, 2006), 155.
19
Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media, (Massachusetts, USA: The MIT Press, 2000), 79.
‘death of the author’.20 Kocovic challenged Rowling’s knowledge of a certain character;

she had read the books or seen the movies and had her own opinion about a part of

the material and thus projected his or her own meaning on it. Initially Kocovic disagreed

with Rowling because of this but later on came to the conclusion that knowledge that

she created was not based on the story as Rowling had written. She became conscious

of her role as an author of meaning. And as Foucault argued, meaning is a process and

not a fixed entity, which occurs through discourse.21 In the discourse of books, written

material on paper it was quite impossible to start a dialogue with an author about story

elements but in the discourse of online media such as Twitter it became a possibility.

Beside this I would also like to argue that Kocovic challenges Rowling’s knowledge of

the story and thus her power by questioning how Rowling knows about Dumbledore’s
8
sexual preferences. Rowling then comes up with an answer that Kocovic can agree with

and thence she restores her power.

Pottermore

The second platform where the need for more information on the wizarding world and

interaction was satisfied was the website Pottermore. This website created digital

content, was a platform for fans to interact, but most importantly it explores the

20
Victoria D. Alexander, Sociology of the Arts: Exploring Fine and Popular Forms, (Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing,
2003) 258.
21 th
John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an Introduction, 5 edition, (Essex, UK: Pearson Education Ltd,
2009) 130.
unknown of the franchise in a uniquely interactive way.22 Moreover it is used as a

platform for J. K. Rowling to publish new relevant insights about the series. Jeff Gomez,

Starlight Entertainment CEO said to Forbes when the portal launched, back in 2011:

“If the site’s producers are clever - and I think they are - what they’ve done is

created a communal storytelling engine, a battery that will continue to grow and

nurture the Harry Potter brand for many years to come. They’ll be doing what most

movie studios have yet failed to do, which is to office alise and galvanise a massive fan

base into a single location, and then service their wildest dreams.”23

And they did. In fact, the author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, launched the website to 9
extend the Harry Potter convergence by selling digital versions of the existing books,

but more so to create a platform to extend the storylines, just like Rowling preliminary

did on Twitter. The so called online reading experience reveals background details on

settings and characters that are not yet mentioned in the books or movies. But unlike

Twitter Pottermore is a great example of what Mittell called ‘forensic fandom’.24 Rowling

encourages viewers to dig deeper in the story and therefore creates engagement for

the readers, who are urged to explore unknown territory within the realm of the books.

Fans have to search the new stories themselves and therefore have to do some ‘drilling’

22
Pottermore.com, accessed on September 9, 2015, http://www.pottermore.com/.
23
Forbes.com, accessed on September 9, 2015, http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/.
Jason Mittel, “To Spread or to Drill?” Just TV. Last modified on February 25, 2009,
24

https://justtv.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/to-spread-or-to-drill/.
25
. This gives the author of the texts power in the way Foucault explained. The fans can

gain more information on the story but they have to work for it, according to rules that

the author made up. They have to find the information first. Beside the online reading

experience there is also space for readers to interact directly with the ‘wizarding world’

by using the game-like features of the portal, that enable them to get sorted into

houses and attend classes. Also, they can post their own interpretations of the story.

Here the audience becomes to author of the story literally. Nobody can disagree

because the rules in this discourse determine that in this kind of storytelling one does

not have to follow the official storyline.

But there is another issue that the makers have to deal with, which is also power

based. Pottermore illustrates how stopping giving information can decrease power. Of
10
course, the content that J.K. Rowling posts requires a certain amount of time to be

developed, and new therefore material has been added periodically. According to

Charlie Redmayne, Pottermore’s CEO in 2013, already two years after the launch

Pottermore was suffering from oscillating user base: every new update brought fans

back, who didn’t “spend enough time coming back to the site until we have a new

content release”26. The portal has been revamped during Fall 2015, with a focus on new

original content about the Harry Potter world and a limit on interactivity.27 Susan

Jurevics, the new website CEO, says that only “a small audience was very devoted to the

Jason Mittel, “To Spread or to Drill?” Just TV. Last modified on February 25, 2009,
25

https://justtv.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/to-spread-or-to-drill/.
26
Pottermore-news.com, accessed on September 9, 2015, last modified on February 9, 2013, http://pottermore-
news.com/2013/02/09/an-exclusive-interview-with-pottermore-ceo-charlie-redmayne-part-1/.
27
Pottermore-news.com, accessed on September 9, 2015, last modified on September 12, 2013, http://pottermore-
news.com/2015/09/12/pottermore-tease-phase2/.
gaming elements within the previous site.”.28 This confirms that the audience has a lot of

influence on the content of the website and therefore gained power. If the audience

dug all the way to the bottom of the content, renewal is required to keep the audience

tied to the website.

Conclusion

This essay handled how Twitter and Pottermore are being utilized to keep the audience

actively involved in the Harry Potter storyline and what the effects are of using a digital

interactive medium. Both Twitter and Pottermore are examples of transmedia

storytelling and media convergence. They were used by author J. K. Rowling to provide
11
her fans with information about Harry Potter that she has never mentioned in her

books. The question now rises who the real author is: Rowling has written the text but,

according to Manovich, the audience is the author of the meaning. Twitter enables the

fans to actually contact the author because they know the language of new media. They

can challenge the author’s knowledge of the story with their own interpretations. This is

new in relation to the discourse of printed books and could give the fans power. The

website Pottermore gives fans the new information in another way by providing them

with the opportunity to dig deeper into the Harry Potter story line themselves. This

gives the author more power, but when all the information has been found the

Philip Jones, “Pottermore readies radical relaunch” The Bookseller. Last modified on September 10, 2015,
28

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/pottermore-readies-radical-relaunch-312036.
audience loses interest and disappears. This leads to a decrease in power of the author.

It shows that the system became somewhat more bottom-up: the role of the audience

gained more importance. It stays difficult to manage the phenomenon of the

transmedia narrative. Even though the story of the wizard scholar has a fan base of

millions, the platform Pottermore appeared to serve a niche market, and it is therefore

difficult to make a profit of such a fan-dependent phenomenon. Convergence appears

to be a better way to do reach as many people as possible though. The Internet gave

the cultural industries the possibility to reinvent itself, but in the future their audience

will probably have a greater influence in shaping the media landscape than ever before.

Bibliography
12
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Forbes.com. Accessed on September 9, 2015.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/.

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on
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Mirror.com. accessed on April 1, 2016. http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jk-

rowlings-biggest-bombshells-harry-6913068.

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https://justtv.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/to-spread-or-to-drill/.

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Pottermore-news.com. Accessed on September 9, 2015. Last modified on

February 9, 2013. http://pottermore-news.com/2013/02/09/an-exclusive-
interview-with-pottermore-ceo-charlie-redmayne-part-1/.

Pottermore-news.com. Accessed on September 9, 2015. Last modified on September

13
Daphne Lubbes,

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jk-rowling-how-she-knew-dumbledore-was-gay-and-she-replied-with-
something-obvious.

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and the Meaning of ‘Our Field’. (Utah, USA: Provo, 2005).