Page 34 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

PROCESS

have become the featured attraction in science fiction films such as War
of the Worlds (2005). But no matter how compelling the narrative may
be, the audience is seeing Steven Spielberg’s particular vision of the H.G.
Wells novel. In contrast, Orson Welles’s radio adaptation (1940) encour-
ages listeners to use their imaginations to picture the earth invaders and
the devastation caused by their attack.
However, some genres do not translate particularly well from one
medium to another. For instance, computer games based on blockbuster
movies generally have not been successful (as defined, at least, by sales).
Unlike film, which is characterized by a linear structure (with a clear-cut
beginning, middle, and end), computer games use a technology that en-
ables the player to move around the virtual world at will. Jeff L. Briggs,
chief executive of Firaxis Games, said, “Great games, the ones that do
very well in the market, try to build in a very open-ended world where
each time a player plays it can go very differently and each game tells its
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own story.” Consequently, The Matrix was the only film-based video
game to make the list of the top-ten-selling games of 2003.
To cite another example, there is an ongoing debate among the comic
book community whether appearing on the Internet changes the essen-
tial character of comics. According to Scott McCloud, who produces
“Understanding Comics,” the Internet represents a return to its original
form—cave paintings: “The ancestors of printed comics drew, painted
and carved their time-paths from beginning to end, without interruption,
And with the help of digital technology . . . comics could break out of
their boxes and get back to the infinite canvas.” 26
However, others contend that the Web has altered the essential charac-
ter of the traditional comic strip. For instance, critic Sarah Boxer contends
that the most successful comics on the Internet contain few words, and
rely predominantly on pictures. Commenting on the fifth annual Web
Cartoonists Choice Awards, Boxer observes:

The prize for best-written comic went to “Narbonic,” by Shaenon Garrity.
. . . [But] the problem with Narbonics is that the plentiful words almost
crowd out the pictures, and reading them on the screen is a lot more eye
work than reading them on a page. What’s more, you can’t catch up on pre-
vious entries without subscribing to something called “Modern Tales.” 27

Moreover, critics contend that Web comics are actually animated
cartoons, in that moving from one frame to the next requires scrolling
up and down to look at the thumbnail sketch. Boxer continues:

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