I earned my PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, having completed both a BA and an MA in Film Studies at the University of Exeter. My research interests primarily centre on Japanese anime, but I am also fascinated by Media and Film Studies discourses surrounding authorship, stardom and extratextual marketing materials. Supervisors: Dr Isolde Standish Phone: 07762880833 Address: London
What is the function of the Pokémon franchise within contemporary studies of anime? As the most c... more What is the function of the Pokémon franchise within contemporary studies of anime? As the most commercially successful anime text of all time, the scope and motivation for exploring Pokémon's position within contemporary academia is clear. This discourse aims to map out the trajectories of Pokémon's global journey from a popular Japanese computer-game to a worldwide multiple platform phenomenon. It firmly positions Pokémon as an important text within examinations of the anime phenomenon in contrast to the views of theorists who dismiss it as mere children's entertainment. Having established the franchise as part of the anime canon, it details the early beginnings of Pokémon and how marketing and localization strategies were continuously (re-) developed throughout its initial stages and indeed its global distribution via the official channels of Nintendo of America (NOA). The essay moves on to question whether the assumed target audience of Pokémon has remained constant, and instead posits that the consumers of this popular cultural product have matured alongside the phenomenon in the decade since its popularity peak. This new adult audience is capable of reading intertextually, intratextually and paratextually (Lim, 2007) across the multiple platform franchise, and this dissertation maps out a few of the transmedia storylines that can be constructed throughout Pokémon's multiple entry points. This article posits that since such transmediation strategies require not only a mature audience but a subjective perspective, fan created content proliferated online must also be taken into account as impacting deeply upon such multiple platform meta-narratives, as well as forming original Pokémon narratives in their own right. Throughout this dissertation, the postulation is made that the Pokémon phenomenon in a global context can be characterised only by the single constant of continuous evolution.
What is the function of the Pokémon franchise within contemporary studies of anime? As the most c... more What is the function of the Pokémon franchise within contemporary studies of anime? As the most commercially successful anime text of all time, the scope and motivation for exploring Pokémon's position within contemporary academia is clear. This discourse aims to map out the trajectories of Pokémon's global journey from a popular Japanese computer-game to a worldwide multiple platform phenomenon. It firmly positions Pokémon as an important text within examinations of the anime phenomenon in contrast to the views of theorists who dismiss it as mere children's entertainment. Having established the franchise as part of the anime canon, it details the early beginnings of Pokémon and how marketing and localization strategies were continuously (re-) developed throughout its initial stages and indeed its global distribution via the official channels of Nintendo of America (NOA). The essay moves on to question whether the assumed target audience of Pokémon has remained constant, and instead posits that the consumers of this popular cultural product have matured alongside the phenomenon in the decade since its popularity peak. This new adult audience is capable of reading intertextually, intratextually and paratextually (Lim, 2007) across the multiple platform franchise, and this dissertation maps out a few of the transmedia storylines that can be constructed throughout Pokémon's multiple entry points. This article posits that since such transmediation strategies require not only a mature audience but a subjective perspective, fan created content proliferated online must also be taken into account as impacting deeply upon such multiple platform meta-narratives, as well as forming original Pokémon narratives in their own right. Throughout this dissertation, the postulation is made that the Pokémon phenomenon in a global context can be characterised only by the single constant of continuous evolution.
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