Esther Möhler

Transmedial Narrative: Fanfiction and the Lord of the Rings Esther Möhler

Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' films sparked new interest in JRR Tolkien's books, causing a huge hype on the internet. In almost no time, there were fanfictions, fanvideos and all kinds of fanart in abundance. What happens, though, with the story itself - being transferred from books, to films, to the internet? What happens to the original characters when they are being re-used in a completely different medium? In this book, Esther Möhler wants to show how fanfictions (especially slash stories) can be a connection between the different media and be a prime example of transmedial narrative. She considers Elizabeth Woledge's theory on intimatopia essential for the argument, but also refers to such scholars as Wolfgang Iser, Lubomir Dole?el, Ruth Ronen, and Henry Jenkins. Though the text specializes on fanfictions, a short overview of other fanart is given and placed into the larger context of todays movement towards acceptance and understanding.