Week 9

Hills (2004) lists a number of defining characteristics of cult TV that contain
similarities to the defining characteristics of pop genres (e.g. fantasy, science fiction)
discussed earlier in the Pop Genres paper. Can you identify these and discuss why
you think that these characteristics are repeatedly viewed as underpinning popular
genres.

Cult TV and other successful forms of fan empowered media, share several unique characteristics that I would say almost wholly account for their immense popularity and success.
Often cult TV (and some cult movies) contain massive, immersive fantasy worlds; according to Hills(2004) “cult texts can be distinguished by their extended, expansive narrative worlds (Hills 2002:137)”. In these worlds, the strange and alien can become and feel real, helping to craft a vast fantasy and a form of escapism within the viewer, hooking them for future viewing. These strange worlds have circumstance and relations similar to our everyday world; simple human relationships, (Hills 2004) “Cult TV also repeatedly represents particularly close, though usually non-sexualised, character relationships.” When major characters of both sexes  in cult tv, have a romance; it is usually resigned to posturing and courting rather than any rocksolid relationship, they defy something that Hills describes as “surburban domesticity”, the settling down of the characters into more complex and entangled relationships is almost strictly forbidden, for this would easily get in the way of the divergent storylines, or the calls to action that are constantly required of the main characters. Can you imagine if Picard from Star Trek had some rugrats and a wife to worry about? It's safe to say we'd never see him on another away mission again, thats for sure.
Some small forms of surburban domesticity can occur in particular episodes, but it is usually resolved (or dissolved) by a plot element, or otherwise by revealing the particular event or situation to have actually occurred in an alternate reality, parallel to the canon of the main story (very easy to accomplish in fantasy genres).
 Obvious enemies or antagonists also usually crop up, along with the usual forming of social groups associated with ”good” or neutral goals and aims. In this way, cult TV appeals to the base structure of human society, and the inner desire to associate oneself with the side of “good”, or the dominant (usually good) faction that are the main characters of cult TV. Hills (2004) “Cult TV also characteristically depicts trusting relationships within a close-knit community,”
Its a fantasy that mixes the bizarre and mysterious with elements from the viewers everyday life, as well as making the characters who carry the fantasy, superior and justified in their actions and moral platform. Hills (2004)  states “...transformation from exotic or extraordinary into homely/ordinary is, I would argue, one of the key ways that cult TV appeals to its audience over time.”
Because of the similarity between elements of everyday life and elements within the cult fiction, fans find themselves accepting the bizarre as part of normality. As the world is expanded and reinforced, the dominant character group is the rock that we anchor our imaginations to; the only constant that allows to accept this consistently bizarre world. Hills (2004)  reinforces this notion “by reiteration and by accumulation of detail, to make fantastic worlds appear normal within a format and narrative structure.” I would also argue that the accumulation of knowledge and our curious nature has always been one of our biggest drivers in real life; so this easily translates to the fantasy world. Because it is fiction and expansive, there can be no end to the discovery and knowledge within the universe, any conclusion or fact drawn could be upturned at any  moment, crafting infinite possibilities, and denying the rationale that we accept in our real world life. A point I find ironic, since many cult tv programs use some form of scientific basis (Star trek, Lost) in their storylines.

Finally, Hills (2004) posits “Cult TV programmes often fail to resolve their major, driving narrative questions, these questions thus remaining open, and narrative closure being indefinitely deferred.”
This is perhaps the most classic of TV show techniques that cult programs employ and in line with other fan driven media such as soaps; the never ending storyline, hooking the viewer in to a group of main characters with an unspecified or perpetual goal; or a goal that is constantly out of grasp; unattainable. If the goal seems attainable, but is allusive, the creators will usually use alternate reality scenarios to satisfy the viewer need for closure, but thus return to normality upon the episodes completion. On some occasions, when the show has had its run, the series reaches its final episodes, the resolutions maybe sloppy and unsatisfying (LOST), since the creators never intended or planned for an ending; or in cases of the shows sudden cancellation, the creators may use a mechanism within the narrative (similar to alternate reality) where the show suddenly flashes forward to its conclusion and/or the conclusion of the characters original goals.

What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How
is new media central to this?

What is, or is not cult TV, is literally decided solely by the passion of  its viewership. “Cult TV can be neither made nor promoted as such by the media industry, but instead hinges vitally on audience take-up and devotion.” Hills (2004)
It is the secondary texts that defines cult TV. The articles, the analyses the contemplation of the issues and storyline involved, fanfiction, conventions; all of these things constitute what drives the idea of cult tv. "Cult TV is not predominantly a matter of programmes themselves or audiences; rather, it is constructed through intertextuality that is through secondary texts that activate the meanings and associations of “cult” for audiences by attaching this label to certain programmes.” (Hills 2004)

Other factors sometimes help decide or guide what becomes cult tv. One thing ive noticed (especially in the movie world) is that ”cult” is almost never associated with anything that is highly commercialized or mainstream. Transformers Ive pondered, occupies a unique place within this idea. The original cartoon could definitely be defined as a cult product, yet it was the product of a highly commercialized Japanese marketing company. The shear fact that it was Japanese may have been enough for the international audience to ignore its marketing background and latch on to it, BUT, more recently with the highly commercial and extremely popular Transformers movies; noone could dare call these films “cult”, or perhaps call anything to do with transformers "cult" ever again, all due to that tiny shift from the cult and fringe, to ultra mainstream.  Hills (2004) on cult TV suggests that sometimes “They are set apart from the mainstream by virtue of initial commercial failure, and are adopted by audiences who perceive otherwise unseen value in them.”
I do not entirely agree. Hill seems to be insinuating that some cult media is taken up merely because it is not taken up by the mainstream, or successful. I have a slightly different view, for there have been some recently critically acclaimed movies, that in their day were  commercial failures. I believe these types of movies perhaps had themes or storylines that most movie viewers find unsatisfying, or strange; but which niche audiences would perhaps have appreciated from the onset, had they had exposure to it. This accounts for the slow increase in viewership that cult media enjoys, as the intended fans slowly find their way to these narratives that more identify with their own fantasies. And of course, some movies and series simply fail at the time because of very poor marketing. Its extremely hard to make a movie or series financially successful, if the intended audience never knew of its existence.

As for the question of new media, I do not believe it is fundamental to the idea of Cult television, it is more a facilitator for the passionate fans to form in groups and discuss their passion more effectively. Before the internet, classic mediums such as cult magazines and fanclubs would have assumed the operations that new media has now almost taken over. So, the internet has merely changed the way in which Television and movies assume cult status (much like the internet has changed every other facet of our lives); it is still the fans and the secondary texts associated with the fanbase, that decide and guide the inner workings of cult TV. Whether that advancement occurs on or offline is irrelevant in some ways,  the speed with which internet has sped up all communication, may have consequently affected the rate at which what is "cult", is decided.

References

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.