THE ROAD SO FAR
The boys are entering their final ride. An angry deity has emptied all the souls of hell, and the Winchesters need all the help they can get to put them back where they belong. Spoilers ahead.
metanarrative
S05xE12: “Remember”
After spending so much time out in the wilderness, fighting for their lives against walkers and the living, the Tribe has finally come across a civilized town that may allow for them to settle down, establish roots and create a home. Alexandria has potential to be a safe haven for Rick and his group, and yet, they are not just on the defensive, but on the offensive; already thinking ahead to what they may have to do if the people of Alexandria and the Tribe do not share the same values. In a post-apocalyptic world where survival is the only thing that matters, will these two very different factions learn to work together?
Spoilers ahead, Sweetie…
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So5xE11: “The Distance”
We have come across all types in the Walking Dead universe, from cannibals to crazies, but no one as clean and downright suspicious as Aaron. The Tribe is weary and in desperate need of redemption from the foot travel lifestyle they’ve been leading since the prison was overrun. Starvation, dehydration, shelter and safety are basic needs that they struggle to meet, and what Aaron represents (peace, comfort, friendship) feels foreign and difficult to comprehend for Tribe members. Trust and hope are hard emotions to wield in a post-apocalyptic society in which individuals are often out only for themselves. For the Tribe, decisions have to be made and barriers must be broken in order for everyone to survive.
Spoilers ahead, Sweetie…
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So5xE10: “Them”
Post-apocalyptic life has never been more clearly defined as in this episode of The Walking Dead. For the living, it is heartbreak, hunger, loneliness and fear, punctuated by moments of reprieve that include family and friends. For the Tribe, the basic physiological needs must be met in order to move forward on their journey to Washington D.C., while psychological issues threaten to tear the group apart. After the recent losses to the Tribe, what will it take to keep them together, sane and safe?
Spoilers ahead, Sweetie…
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So5xE09: “What Happened and What’s Going On”
The Tribe is back together but inevitably broken after the losing Beth in Slabtown. With not enough time to grieve, the group is forced to continue moving in order to find food and safety. It seems the troubles of the Tribe are, once again, focused on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, with physiology and safety being of the utmost concern. This episode reiterates that things go “the way [they] have to, the way [they] were always going to”, but what does that mean for the members of our tribe? Will they find shelter? Will the group retain their emotional fortitude to continue roaming the lower United States in search for friends, family and a home? Are there such things in a post-apocalyptic world?
spoilers ahead sweetie…
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S08xE08 “The Mummy on the Orient Express”
In the eighth episode of series 8, we get a pretty decent monster-of-the-week mystery, fabulous costuming and lovely music that reminded me why this show reaches across generations and captures the hearts and minds of so many different types of people. Reminiscent of an Agatha Christie murder mystery, this story poses more questions than it answers, and we see the Doctor doing what he does best; saving people, hunting things, the Timelord business.
Spoilers ahead, sweetie!
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S08x04 “Listen”
My British cohort, I call her Dame Dear Collectress, text me Saturday evening asking if I’d watched Doctor Who yet. I was driving home from LA, so I hadn’t, but she assured me it was very “ooooohhhh wweeeeee ooooohhhhh”, I believe were her exact words.
And so it was.
This week, the Whoniverse went crazy over the fourth episode from the 12th Doctor, and for good reason. “Listen” took us to the great mytharc that is the Doctor’s history, it took us to Gallifrey and it showed us that Clara may have had more of an impact on the Doctor’s timeline that we originally believed.
Spoilers ahead Sweetie!
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Reinventing Sherlock Holmes: The Transmedia Co-Construction by and for Fan Communities
The adventures of Sherlock Holmes continue to fascinate audiences, regardless of the fact that the author of the original text, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has been dead for 84 years. Doyle penned a total of 4 novels and 56 short stories containing the beloved Holmes over a period of 40 years, the 8-year long “Great Hiatus” between The Final Problem (1893) and The Hounds of Baskerville (1901) notwithstanding. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the protagonist Sherlock Holmes is “’the most-portrayed movie character’, with more than 70 actors having played the part in at least 200 films” (Fox 1). In the last ten years, there have been numerous movies, books, and television series’ devoted to reinventing Sherlock Holmes, each one aimed at helping audiences find value in the historical character while simultaneously attempting to entice newer, younger consumers to participate in fan communities based on said character. For purposes of this “Transformative Fandom” series, I will take this concept a step further. According to the Archive of Our Own website for transformative fan works, there are currently a total of (I’ve updated this number 4 times in 1 week) 59,761 texts, pictures, videos and podfics uploaded and tagged with the term “Sherlock Holmes”. The characters of Holmes and Watson, as created by Doyle, are in the public domain, which means anyone can use them without permission, the caveat being that works only include the specific qualities of these characters as defined by the author in his texts published before 1923. For writers, artists and filmmakers, this means commercial adaptations can be made (mostly) without fear of copyright infringement, as long as the features of the characters are explicitly early canon or, conversely, unique. The Consulting Detective has enamored readers for over a hundred years, but with only 60 original stories written by Doyle, fans take it upon themselves to explore, in detail, the universe surrounding Sherlock, while others enjoy filling in the blanks of our beloved character’s existence with imagined cases, love interests and encounters that Doyle never anticipated. While neither community is necessarily exclusive or superior, both have specific goals and characteristics that assist in the co-creation of Sherlock Holmes via multiple media sources.
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As the prison-tribe begins to establish concrete roles in terms of leaders, nurturers and warriors, we see individuals strengthened by the choices they make. The expectations of life pre-apocalypse do not exist. Hershel is not just a veterinarian, but the group healer, with the patience and skills to help those in need; Maggie is not only the farmer’s daughter, but a warrior woman who protects the camp bravely and efficiently; Carl is not just a dumb kid mindlessly following around his mother, he is a savvy soldier who follows his father’s orders (much better than he ever followed Lori’s). Since the beginning of the show, audiences have watched racial, gender and ageist stereotypes shift as individuals in the group prove themselves able to accomplish more than pre-apocalyptic archetypes allow.
acollectivemind.com 