Context of Practice 3: Visual Response

After an afternoon of studying the face of George Lucas, I created this compostition. The composition istelf was not too considered, and is evidently heavily inspired by my recent 'Made You Look' poster. The image represents a concept I have been toying with, involving a short graphic novel about the history of Star Wars merchandisng. I would certainly like to persue this method of woking further, even if it is heavily digital. Perhaps I could colour the imagery manually with crayons to avoid the flat textures.

Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive (1999)

SANSWEET, Stephen, et al. 1999, Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive, London, Virgin Publishing Ltd

This book was originally of Japanese origin, it fastidiously catalogues the history of Star Wars action figures and related vehicles and accessories. Catalogue books and visual dictionaries are very common Star Wars products, I own several that detail the fictional histories behind props and characters (much of which is now no-longer canonical since the Great Disney Canon Reboot of 2015).

In terms of context, this book was red-edited into English before the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The book certainly comes across as a nostalgic recollection to prepare fans for the new

From the introduction -

'Because of the incredible merchandising success of the original Star Wars films in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many people associate the collectables - especially the ubiquitous Kenner 3 3/4-inch action figures with the films. In-fact, Eimei and I, who started our friendship by trading the toys, are firmly convinced that kids playing with some of the quarter billion action figures that were produced over eight years are one of the reasons for the continued strength of the Star Wars phenomenon.'

.The first portion of the book concerns with the new wave of products that coincide the digital re-releases of the films. Interestingly, some of the inconsequential background characters that were added to the digital edits also appear as toys in the new wave.

.The second portion of the book concerns with the original toy-lines released subsequently to the films between 1978-1989, 1980-1982 and 1983 - 1984.

'In 1977, movies weren't considered candidates for a successful toy license, and most companies weren't interested in taking on Star Wars in advance, Kenner Products took a gamble, but except for some puzzles and board games it was able to rush into production, there weren't any toys ready for Christmas 1977. Instead, against the advice of most marketers, Kenner sold and 'empty box,' an Early Bird Certificate Package that contained, among other things, a certificate to send away for the first four action figures that would ship in the first few weeks of 1978.'

. First 4 figures were Luke, Leia, Chewbacca and R2D2
. Leia was the only major female role in the 1977 film, and thus the only female out of a 93 character toy-line

. In 1985, two years after Return of the Jedi, the popularity seemingly began to fade and Kenner released a new range of action figures

. During 1985 two animated series including 'Droids' screened, and these spawned further action figure tie-ins.

.The final portion of the book studies the 1999 action figures, which include figures from the comic books and video games
__________________________________________________________

In terms of usefulness, the book contains many interesting facts in regards to the evolution of Star Wars action figures, however I will likely make greater use of the photographic documentation.

Retromania; Pop Culture's Addiction to its own Past [Notes]

REYNOLDS, Simon, 2011, Retromania; Pop Culture's Addiction to its own Past, London, Faber and Faber

All quotes are from the aforementioned source, unless other wise stated.

'the avant-garde is now the arriére-garde'

'not only has their never before been a society so obsessed with its immediate past, but there has never before been a society that is able to access this immediate past so easily and copiously'

The increasing meticulous documentation of events through online platforms make digital 'time travel' a likely tool of the near future, there are examples of this already happening such as the ability to view old caches of websites using the Internet Archive or the Google Earth feature that allows users to view historical versions of the street view. I would suggest systems could be put in place to allow future users to experience past 'digital events' in real time… for example if they wish to browse the internet as though it were 2012 and watch social media react to the Olympics.

'Nostalgia as both word and concept was invented in the seventeenth century by physician Johannes Hofer to describe a condition afflicting Swiss mercenaries on long tours of military duty. Nostalgia was literally homesickness, a debilitating melancholy, anorexia, even suicide.'

Nostalgia is associated with both conservatism and radicalism.

Restorative nostalgia involves a displeasure with the new and unfamiliar, with a wish to restore things to an older form (ranging from protest to actual violent action). The sentiment is generally brewed in a crowd or community.

Reflective nostalgia is more personal, and is often expressed through art, music or other creative enterprises. Reflective nostalgia understands that the past cannot be regained, and is content with misty-eyed remembrances. 

'The last few years of the 2000s witnessed a spasm of hipster-hate, with a spate of magazine critiques of hipsterdom as pseudo-bohemia. These articles were then followed by meta-critques examining the phenomenon of hipster-phobia itself, invariably pointing out that nobody would ever voluntarily describe themselves as a hipster, and that hipster-haters themselves usually fit the profile of the hipster very closely.'

.Reynolds compares nostalgia to 'Chris Farley syndrome', referring to a sketch in which Farley conducts an embarrassing interview with Paul McCartney asking questions such as 'D'ya remember Beatlemania? Because that was awesome.'

.Reynolds makes draws a comparison to the 'I Love the [Decade]' TV programs, which involve commentators, guests etc 'parroting' the actual content mindlessly.

.Reynolds also makes the conclusion that the chaotic community of Youtube is similar.

Distance and delay have eroded… users may instantly access a huge variety of movies, songs and other media.

.High-street stores are pressured to sell old stock at lower prices, to make room for new items

- online alternatives have no such pressure and can sell older products at a consistent price indefinitely. 

.(conversely, in a digital realm there are no 'rare items' that attain a greater value over time)

'Attention deficit is the name of this condition, but like so many dysfunctions under late capitalism, the source of the disorder is not internal to the sufferer, not his or her fault; it's caused by the environment, in this case the datascape. Our attention is dispersed, tantalised, teased.'

Context of Practice 3: Force Friday

Now with Disney at the helm, Star Wars is flexing it's merchandise muscles in anticipation of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens.

This effort parallels previous ventures for during the releases of the prequel films, when merchandise was released prior to the 'anchor' product.

Now with a more coherent coordinated strategy, Disney has invented a brand new consumer holiday event for Star Wars fanatics to attend called 'Force Friday'.
The global launch event involved many stores opening at midnight, enabling fans to be some of the first to buy merchandise for a film that they will not see for another three months.

Photograph: Ken Cheung/AP

FORCE FRIDAY!!! #forcefriday #starwars #theforceawakens @john_boyega thank you so much to all the amazing staff at @disneystore Oxford Street for making tonight so amazing!!!

A video posted by @daisyridley on Sep 3, 2015 at 4:56pm PDT

This effort has involved celebrity endorsement from the stars of the film, who help promote events using their personal social media platforms (which may be censored if they break their NDAs etc). Thus, the actors become another promotional vehicle

Despite some issues with under-stocking during Force Friday, the event is likely to secure Star Wars toy sales at the top this holiday.

Context of Practice 3: The Disneyization of Society Notes [2]

BRYMAN, Alan, 2004, ‘The Disneyization of Society’, London, SAGE Publications

(All quotes are from Alan Bryman, unless otherwise marked)

The Disney theme park is significant in the contextualisation of merchandise; the consumer has already paid a large amount of money to enter, and upon entry they are greeted with innumerable opportunities to purchase products that would unlikely be bought at such prices in any other context...

. The environment of the park 'enables' or 'rationalises' the purchase of plastic trinkets

. Parks encourage association with their location, for example Disneyland Paris sells products that adorn popular culture imagery that is associated with Frane (i.e Mickey wearing a beret)

.Parks are constructed in a similar fashion to maps in FPS, there are large open areas to encourage the illusion of free movement followed by narrow 'choke points' that slow movement (for example Main Street) to encourage visitors to file off into shops.

THE EISNER TEAM

.Disney Stores are opened in 1987 (the merchandising of a theme park without the fun/expense of actually being a theme park).

.There was a return to animation being central in Disney's activities post 1987...

'A successful Disney animated feature, they felt, led to success in other spheres of the company's portfolio of activities. Nowhere was this clearer than with merchandising, since animated characters are extremely adaptable and amenable to being transformed into merchandise' - p86

.Full studio control + lack of live actors who can demand a percentage = A lot of money

.Early instances of merchandise being totally sold out due to surprising sales (Buzz Lightyear)

'For the first Toy Story, $125 million was spent on... tie-ins by firms such as Burger King, Nestle, Frito-Lay, Minute Maid, and Payless ShoeSource'

'synergistic system' (all-encompassing product range)

More money can be made from merchandising etc than the actual feature film's box office returns (Star Wars, Jurassic Park etc)

... Star Wars has the uncanny ability to endure and remain relevant though merchandising alone even with a vacuum of films as seen between 1983 - 1999 and 2005 - 2015.

Merchandising is obviously more successful when the 'anchor product' (feature film) appeals to children.

'It was calculated in 2003 that Harry Potter Merchandise was bringing in revenue of £1 Billion a year and that J.K. Rowling would earn £10 million from quidditch turning into a computer game'

BOZTAS, Senay, 2003, Sunday Times Rich List 2003, The Sunday Times (?)

THE PHANTOM MENACE

Months before the release a over ambitious range of merchandise was released in anticipation of a similar demand that accompanied the original trilogy.

.The Character Group share price slumped from 440p to 62.5p due to the failure of The Phantom Menace Merchandising

.Dorling Kindersley lost £25 Million, the resignation of the chief executive and the loss of 140 jobs

.TV programmes directed at children seemingly have the intention to push toylines on child viewers for example Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder... (which out performed Harry Potter merchandise in the UK)

.Oddities such as South Park... directed at those older than 18, merchandising launches the show into something more... a 'brand', and has a great success in the selling of merchandise and apparel to younger consumers who are generally too immature to view the show (a more modern example would be Family Guy).

Older characters can be rejuvenated to appeal to modern consumers... and create the opportunity for rehashed lazy merchandising.

.Darth Vader has existed in popular culture for 37 years. You do not know the power of merchandising.

.Potentially, the excess of merchandising can create dissatisfaction with the consumer...

(Hercules 1997?)  Minions...
.Does merchandising exploit children?

.Merchandising can be a great gamble, established imagery will not always ensure a profit and may even prove detrimental (Phantom Menace).
.Merchandising is heavily focussed at children, however cautious parents recognise that some products have a relative short