Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap - Volume 34, Issue 1, 2006

Abstract

Omwille van historische redenen zit onderzoek naar filmpublieken gekneld tussen de communicatie- en mediawetenschappen enerzijds en de filmstudie anderzijds. Vertrekkend vanuit een poging om perspectieven van beide disciplines te combineren, geeft dit essay een overzicht van de uitdagingen vervat in een internationaal onderzoeksproject naar de prefiguratie en receptie van het derde deel van de Lord of the Rings-trilogie (The Return of the King, 2003).

Abstract

For historical reasons, research into audiences of film seems to sit uneasy, both within communication and media studies, and film studies. Trying to combine approaches from both disciplines, this essay gives an overview of the methodological challenges posed by the implications of an international audience research project into the prefiguration and reception of the third part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Return of the King, 2003). Comprised of more than 24000 questionnaire responses (in 14 languages) and several thousands of other materials, from research teams in 20 countries, the data required a rethinking of methods combining qualitative and quantitative data (the size of integral analysis), of data obtained before, during and after a film's release (the reception trajectory), of the combination of data from different cultural contexts (cross-cultural comparisons), and of the combination of reception and textual analysis (the issue of a film's modality). This essay points to ways in how to rethink these issues when confronted with audience responses to globally released popular culture texts.

Abstract

Films als Titanic en The Lord of the Rings worden veelal gezien als mijlpalen in de geschiedenis van de hedendaagse blockbusterfilmcultuur. In de literatuur over New Hollywood en blockbusters worden dit soort films veelal aangeduid als event movies. Aan de hand van de lancering van The Return of the King in België tracht deze bijdrage enkele cruciale dimensies in het eventkarakter van hedendaagse blockbusters te begrijpen.

Abstract

Movies such as Titanic and The Lord of the Rings are considered the be new milestones in the history of the New Hollywood blockbuster. In literature on this phenomenon, blockbusters are mostly seen as ‘event movies’. Using the launch of The Return of the King in Belgium, we try to understand some crucial dimensions in the event-character of contemporary blockbusters. This article makes a distinction between ‘marketing event’, ‘media event’ and ‘social event’. This refers to different levels of bringing the blockbuster into the public sphere.

Abstract

Film theorists often emphasize that film adaptations and their literary sources should be considered as equals. Nevertheless, they also assume that books generally do dictate the reception process. The two studies presented here examine whether this complies with audience responses to Jackson's The Return of the King comparing reactions of viewers who read Tolkien's books with those who did not. We used the results of a survey conducted in the Netherlands. In addition, we conducted a series of interviews to further explore some of the aspects of the response process. We found that readers are more motivated to go and see the movie. Although the two groups do not differ from each other in their final evaluation of the movie, readers in both studies seem to be more critical viewers than non-readers. Some indications were found that the books influenced readers' interpretation of the movie.

Abstract

Regelmatig betogen filmtheoretici dat wij filmadaptaties en de (literaire) bronteksten toch vooral dienen te benaderen als gelijkwaardige cultuuruitingen; het ‘succes’ van een verfilming zou niet afgemeten mogen worden aan de mate waarin de film trouw is aan de tekst. Niettemin veronderstelt men dat de tekst het receptieproces stuurt. Deze bijdrage presenteert twee studies waarin onderzocht wordt of dit overeenkomt met de reacties van het bioscooppubliek op Jacksons The Return of the King.

Abstract

In this contribution, recent theories on fandom, stressing the activity of the viewer, the subcultural capital of the fan and creative reception of film text and context, are put to the test in a specific case of the reception of The Return of the King in Belgium. The empirical part presents results form a large scale qualitative audience study with Lord of the Rings fans. The analysis of focus group conversations allows for a preliminary design of a threefold typology for Lord of the Rings fandom, based on the discourses, attitudes and actions of fans. Criteria are the levels of engagement, the point of reference for the films and the duration of the fandom.

Abstract

In deze bijdrage wordt de recente theorievorming over ‘fandom’, waarin de activiteit van de kijker en het subcultureel kapitaal van de fan benadrukt wordt, getoetst aan de concrete case van de receptie van The Return of the King in België. Het empirische deel rapporteert over een grootschalig kwalitatief publieksonderzoek via focusgroepen met Lord of the Rings-fans.

Abstract

Under current forces of globalization, blockbusters like The Lord of the Rings seem to travel easily beyond national and cultural boundaries. After sketching theorizations of the nation-state, we try to map out national differences in reception of the Lord of the Rings, based on the world-wide dataset. We look particularly at the choice of character, the generic classification and the involvement with the complete trilogy. Statistical analysis reveals easily interpretable patterns, but no clear national patterns, with the exception of a cluster analysis, which suggests a stronger overall involvement in the Anglo-Saxon countries. This inspires us to a critique on research projects that take the nation-state as the most important basis for comparative research. We instead interpret The Lord of the Rings as a case of banal cosmopolitanism that by and large ignores national boundaries. Rather than celebrating the movie as transcending national boundaries, we conclude by observing that texts like The Lord of the Rings are deeply embedded and implicated in a profoundly globalized political economy that may increasingly colonize the imagination of audiences.

Abstract

Communicatiewetenschappelijk onderzoek neemt dikwijls de natiestaat als vertrekpunt van haar analyses. In de context van globalisering is dit in toenemende mate problematisch. Dit onderzoek gaat op zoek naar verschillen in de receptie van The Lord of the Rings op basis van de mondiale dataset; een speurtocht die laat zien dat de natiestaat hooguit ten dele verschillen in receptie kan verklaren.