Marathoning and Parasocial Relationships

Post from Student Kelly Oliver: Everyone has their own favorite actors or actresses. Whether its because you believe Julia Roberts can transition into any character flawlessly, or because you have a secret crush on Channing Tatum’s six pack we all have our own favorite that we love to watch. These relationships we form with our…

What’s Your Media Marathon Ritual?

From Steph Cerio: When it comes to watching my previously marathoned television series Pretty Little Liars, I have come to realize I am very selective when it comes to where I choose to watch the show, who I’m with, what I eat, etc. As you sit down to watch our favorite television series (my chosen…

Why Would Anyone Re-Run a (Media) Marathon?

From Amanda Davis Gatchet: As I work through the interviews with our marathoning participants, it strikes me that people who marathon often “re-marathon,” returning to much loved characters and storylines again and again. This resonates with my own marathoning experiences—at least with the marathons I do for me, not for research. I don’t even want…

Star Wars and the Velveteen Rabbit

In last night’s Media Marathoning class, we discussed what it means to take an “active audience” approach after reading Henry Jenkins’ chapter “How Texts Become Real” in his 1992 book Textual Poachers.  I consider this to be one of the most illustrative quotes from the chapter: “The text is drawn close not so that the…