Storytelling industries : narrative production in the 21st century

This book shows how the unique characteristics of traditionally differentiated media continue to determine narrative despite the recent digital convergence of media technologies. It argues that media are now each largely defined by distinctive industrial practices that continue to preserve their identities and uniquely condition narrative production. It furthermore demonstrates how a given medium’s variability in institutional and technological conditions influences diverse approaches to storytelling. By connecting US film, television, comic book and video game industries to their popular fictional characters and universes, including Star Wars, Batman, Game of Thrones and Grand Theft Auto, the book identifies how differences in industrial practice between media, and between contexts within a given medium, inform narrative production. Storytelling Industries, by revealing how 21st century media industries shape storyworlds and steer the techniques by which they are conveyed, enhances our understanding of media and narrative