Jenkins uses 7 concepts. 7 Concepts weaken Jess. Jess uses Pokemon, Pokemon strengthens Jenkins. Jenkins uses worldbuilding. Critical Hit. Jess fainted.

Okay, so this is this weeks blog for uni. It is about transmedia storytelling. It's actually kind of cool how all this works... and everyone loves an excuse to write about pokemon!




Pokemon is an excellent example of Jenkins's concept of transmedia storytelling. It incorporates all 7 concepts used to define this theory.

Spreadability v Drillability- Pokemon comes in the form of the television series, multiple movies, video games, card games and there is even a side series. All of these build on each other, constantly introducing new characters, allowing fans to delve deeper and deeper in the fictional world of pokemon.

Continuity v Multiplicity -The Pokemon story is built on throughout all the various types of media. If you play the game, you will have a better understanding of the movie and similarly, if you watch the movie you will have a better experience when playing the game. In this sense, the better you master the material, the more rewarding the Pokemon experience is.

Immersion v Extractability-  Pokemon utilizes extractability. There is a lot of merchandise for Pokemon, ranging from clothes, to figurines, to candy. Consumers can take these things away in physical form.  There was also a pokepark. This was a traveling theme park based on the pokemon series. In this sense, immersion is also used in this transmedia story.

(Image from here)

Worldbuilding- Needless to say, Pokemon is a highly sophisticated world. The games particularly, give consumers the best grasp on these worlds as they allow users to explore them through game play. This then gives people a better idea on where things are happening in the movie and means that they know details that the movie may not explicitly provide.

Seriality- The Pokemon series broke the story up within that one medium, however, the story continued in the movies, and also in the games and cards. This is an excellent example of seriality.

Subjectivity- Although most characters remain the same through all the different mediums, minor characters are introduced sporadically through each medium. Different kinds of Pokemon are in fact still appearing, and there are rumors that new Pokemon will be included in the movie due to be released some time this year. 

Performance- This is perhaps the one area that is lacking within Pokemon. There has been much fan fiction about it, however, little fan produced performances.