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Thursday, September 4, 2008

reedabook (aka emocanonboi) says...

September 4th, 2008 at 10:34 am

um… wow. i had no idea they’d feature my second vid… of course, it may not have helped that I bugged the crap out of Amanda to do so.

yes, perhaps I am cannon… perhaps not…

if I see Jonas or Sarah around Chicago, I’ll let you guys know.


http://www.lg15.com/lonelygirl15/?p=690&play=1&more=1#comment-428667n

12 comments:

  1. I realize this is just a theoretical arguement, and theory generally does not follow any rules in the breeniverse, but...

    This kind of interactive fiction almost needs a redefinition of "walls." The "4th wall" is the one TV and movie characters rarely if ever break, turning to address the audience directly the way Ferris Bueller did at the end of the credits of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "What? You're still here? ... Go home!"

    In LG15, where there is interaction between the characters and the audience, the 4th wall is "blown up" ... sort of. Live audience events and online interactions and real websites for invented groups change the way the audience interacts with characters and story, but they are still characters living in a fictional universe - it's just presented differently. In Alternate Reality Games, this is called TINAG, "This Is Not A Game" a way of suspending disbelief and assuming a kind of reality when interacting with the fictional construct.

    But one thing is never allowed. The characters are not allowed to discuss whether or not THEY are characters, or visit our world. We get to visit theirs. I might call this a "5th wall." Gavin poked some tentative holes in this wall by questioning whether Kate Modern was real or a "show," but his wild ideas were tongue-in-cheek by the writers (an old comedic tradition), and discarded as the rantings of a madman within that story.

    So, if Reed turns out to be canon to LG15: The Resistance, how does a comment by him discussing his canonicity fit in? Does it mean that the entire interaction - the discussion of being canon - is somehow at home within the story? It's hard to imagine how it would hold up. Could, for instance, Reed meet Jonas and ask him if he is canon? That would be bizarre.

    So this line of thinking argues against Reed being canon, sorry Reedites.

    But who knows, in a Breeniverse laced with plotholes and other anomalies, anything is possible.

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  2. "Could, for instance, Reed meet Jonas and ask him if he is canon? That would be bizarre."

    Yes, yes he could. And why would it really be that bizarre? For the few viewers not aware of what "canon" means to our community, it might cause a moment of confusion. But there are many of us here willing to explain.

    In storytelling, there shouldn't be rules. Some of the most celebrated of stories are ones that break outside of them. Take "Fight Club", where *SPOILER ALERT* the entire story is told from the point of view of one character talking about another character when in the end, it turns out they are one and the same person.

    I myself am a perfect example of how the normal rules of character interaction don't apply here. I was a fan of a series, became a character in the story, attended a live event of the story, then became employed by the company making the story, and am now back to being a fan of the story. And I feel no discomfort at the fact that this is not a "traditional" way to do things.

    And I know there are some that aren't a fan of this, I understand that. There will always be those who want more structure and that's fine. There is plenty of entertainment out there that will satisfy that for you. But it shouldn't mean someone shouldn't try something different.

    Open up your mind, and anything is possible.

    And most importantly...don't ever stop believing.

    :)

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  3. Just remember: the game is the game.

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  4. And Reed - it's spelled "canon".

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  5. Jonas didn't know he was canon until we did.
    DID I BLOW YOUR MIND!?

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  6. That's an excellent point, jenlight! (Seriously!)

    We all believe (know) that LG15 is just a show. Reed (presumably) also understands/believes that LG15 is just a show.

    But what if the character IS a fan of the show that finds out that the show is real? He believed/thought that it was just a show until he found himself meeting Jonas and Sarah and getting caught up in The Resistance.

    I dunno, though. Maybe I kinda just really want the dude to be canon, because LG15 could use some of this awesome hilariosity. XD

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  7. I think both Jenni Powell and Greg Gallows are interesting examples of LG15 interaction (as is Marla/Maya for Maddison Atkins, but staying with LG15)...

    Both Jenni and Greg appeared as characters who were (I think) not themselves in the Bloodlines finale on January 25, 2008. Jenni was a doctor and Greg was a thug.

    http://www.lg15.com/lgpedia/index.php?title=Bloodlines:_Part_2

    At almost the same time, on January 23, 2008, both Jenni and Greg appeared as themselves at the San Francisco Live Event (where Greg was revealed to be a mole working with Lucy).

    http://www.lg15.com/lgpedia/index.php?title=San_Francisco_Live_Event

    I don't think either of these appearances break the "5th wall" as I described it. The characters in Bloodlines were traditional in the sense that they played roles within the story. And the "live event" was an example of fans entering the fictional world, but not characters in that world debating their reality.

    Still it's interesting and certainly blurs the lines of traditional story telling to have this kind of interaction. In Greg and Jenni's cases, how much of their "real world" activities are included in the LG15 story as a result? In the breeniverse, Greg Gallows seemed to be a mole. Other unrelated vidoes such as his MMYB would not be considered part of the story, but what if Greg were to decide to develop and run with the "mole" story in an UGC series? Is Amanda (as Amanda) canon to LG15 because she played the role of Kitty in JenniPowell's LonelyJew15 series, and Jenni appeared at the live event? hehehe.

    In the case of Reed, can he be an actor playing a fan or an actual fan, who later merges into the story becoming canonized? Sure, why not. Nikki Bower seems to have paved the way - again, sort of.

    It continues to be interesting to see conventions change and warp with this medium.

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  8. what if the fans find out that LG15 was really real?

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  9. Actually Betz, you are the only one that is real. The rest of us are actors here to entertain you. (Apo earned some overtime).

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  10. "Jonas didn't know he was canon until we did."

    Ergo, we can keep Reed from being canon by continuing to wish he becomes canon. as long as we never recognize he is canon.

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  11. I agree with rekidk. Reed could be an actor who is playing the part of a fan who may later find out that the show is more than a show, it's real! Then again, if Reed is not canon, the Cs are smart to ride his buzz and keep people guessing. Reed is certainly keeping the community's attention during this hiatus.

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  12. Evergreen brings a good point: regardless of whether or not he's canon, the Creators (and Reed himself) are being just mysterious enough to spur speculation (and hype). :D

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