1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910792018403321

Autore

Wolf Mark J. P

Titolo

Building imaginary worlds : the theory and history of subcreation / / Mark J. P. Wolf

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York ; ; Oxfordshire, England, : Routledge, c2012

New York ; ; Oxfordshire, England : , : Routledge, , 2012

ISBN

1-136-22081-X

0-203-09699-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (409 p.)

Disciplina

801/.92

Soggetti

Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.)

Imaginary societies - Authorship

Fiction - History and criticism - Theory, etc

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; List of Figures; Acknowledgements; Introduction; World-building as a Human Activity; Toward a Theory of Imaginary Worlds; 1 Worlds within the World; The Philosophy of Possible Worlds; Imagination, Creation, and Subcreation; Degrees of Subcreation; Story vs. World: Storytelling and World-building; Invention, Completeness, and Consistency; Invention; Completeness; Consistency; Immersion, Absorption, and Saturation; World Gestalten: Ellipsis, Logic, and Extrapolation; Catalysts of Speculation

Connecting the Secondary World to the Primary World2 A History of Imaginary Worlds; Transnarrative Characters and Literary Cycles; The Mythical and Unknown World; Travelers' Tales and the Age of Exploration; Utopias and Dystopias; The Genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy; Science Fiction; Fantasy; The Rise of Mass Media; Early Cinema and Comic Strips; Oz: The First Great Transmedial World; Pulp Magazines; Developments in Cinema and Theater; Radio and Television; Developments in Literature; The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's Influence; New Universes and the Rise of the Media Franchise

Interactive WorldsInto the Computer Age; Worlds as Art and Thought



Experiments; 3 World Structures and Systems of Relationships; Secondary World Infrastructures; Maps; Timelines; Genealogies; Nature; Culture; Language; Mythology; Philosophy; Tying Different Infrastructures Together; 4 More than a Story: Narrative Threads and Narrative Fabric; Narrative Threads, Braids, and Fabric; Backstory and World History; Sequence Elements and Internarrative Theory; Retroactive Continuity (Retcon) and Reboots; Crossovers, Multiverses, and Retroactive Linkages; Interactivity and Alternate Storylines

The Story of the World: "Making Of " Documentation5 Subcreation within Subcreated Worlds; Importance of the Word; Self-reflexivity; Subcreated Subcreators and Diegetic World-building; Evil Subcreators; 6 Transmedial Growth and Adaptation; The Nature of Transmediality; Windows on the World: Words, Images, Objects, Sounds, and Interactions; Transmedial Expansion; Description; Visualization; Auralization; Interactivation; Deinteractivation; Encountering Transmedial Worlds; 7 Circles of Authorship; Open and Closed Worlds; Levels of Canonicity; Originator and Main Author

Estates, Heirs, and TorchbearersEmployees and Freelancers; Approved, Derivative, and Ancillary Products; Elaborationists and Fan Productions; Participatory Worlds; Creation, Subcreation, and the Imago Dei; Appendix: Timeline of Imaginary Worlds; Notes; Glossary; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Mark J.P. Wolf's study of imaginary worlds theorizes world-building within and across media, including literature, comics, film, radio, television, board games, video games, the Internet, and more. Building Imaginary Worlds departs from prior approaches to imaginary worlds that focused mainly on narrative, medium, or genre, and instead considers imaginary worlds as dynamic entities in and of themselves. Wolf argues that imaginary worlds-which are often transnarrative, transmedial, and transauthorial in nature-are compelling objects of inquiry for Media Studies. Chapters touch on: