Thinking About What Can Still Happen: Character Death, The Walking Dead, and Transmediality’s Effect on Creator Autonomy

Abstract

The past few decades have seen a rapid increase in the popularity of transmedia (or multi-platform) models within all spheres of pop culture. Building on the work of scholars such as Henry Jenkins and Mel Stanfill, this thesis seeks to explore the way modern fans respond to texts and attempt to leverage their newfound participatory power. By analyzing specific case studies of character death in The Walking Dead and other works, I argue that the proliferation of the transmedia model has gradually broken down barriers in the creative process, resulting in writers and creators facing more external pressure than ever to take their stories in a certain trajectory. This trend is, in consequence, driving the realm of entertainment media into a process whereby narrative development is communal and collaborative on a societal scale.