Where Story Resides: New applications of enduring concepts

Abstract

This paper argues that by re-thinking our conception of story and narrative, particularly in light of emerging transmedia practices, we can better understand what it is that happens when we create or engage with a work. The emergence of such practices has created new opportunities for original research, allowing us to revisit and challenge previously held notions of story and narrative as fixed and determined concepts. Far from being ‘the lowest and simplest of literary organisms,’1 I argue that story is not found within the narrative structure of a work, but is instead its vital aesthetic function: the result of a user engaging with a narrative. With examples from The Wire and The Matrix, I will demonstrate how ‘drillability’ and ‘spreadability’ (concepts from the broader praxis of transmedia) can enhance the story experience, and how a cross-disciplinary approach is best suited to enhancing scholarly knowledge in this field