The cult of

TV Series

cult mag.Issue n° 4 - April 2011

Latest news from Holliwood | Empathic engagement in fiction | Interview w/ a fan

CULTMAGHow can we feel affection for a fiction character,

enough to cry for its disgraces? Which are the inside mechanisms of TV series that push millions of audience’s members to organize their schedules only not to lose the weekly episode of their favorite show? Why some audience’s members not only watch the episodes aired in their country but also keep up with the American schedule? And what urge them into joining more or less istitutionalized fan groups?In this special issue of CULT MAG dedicated to Tv Series’ fandom, we will try to answers these questions! Keep on reading!

TABLE OF CONTENTSNews

Features

Extra

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Mad Men renewed!Gleeks rejoice, upcoming tourWhich show will you erase?

Being moved by fiction

Me, the fan

Chief Editor: Sabrina Trevisan

Editors: John Smith, Mick Jagger

Contributors: Jenna Mullins, Gina Serpes, Katja Mellmann

Contact: Editions@cultmag.com

Designed by: Sabrina Trevisan

About

News

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CHEERS, MAD MEN FANS!AFTER SOME BACK AND FORTH AND LOTS OF DRAMA INVOLVING SHOWRUNNER MATT WEINER, AMC AND LIONSGATE HAVE ANNOUNCED THAT MAD MEN HAS BEEN RENEWED FOR A FIFTH AND SIXTH SEASON. AND YES, WEINER WILL STAY ON AS SHOW RUNNER.AND IF THE CHIPS FALL IN THEIR PROPER PLACE, MAD MEN MIGHT BE SEEING A SEVENTH SEASON AS WELL…

Fall is usually Mad Men season, but not this year. "Story Matters Here" network AMC has released a statement confirming that its marquee series will return as it has "officially authorized production of season five of Mad Men, triggering our option with Lionsgate. While we are getting a later start than in years past due to ongoing, key non-cast

negotiations, Mad Men will be back for a fifth season in early 2012." What was the holdup? According to Deadline, show runner Matt Weiner wants $30 million for two years, without having to sacrifice two minutes of the show, two castmembers or to allow more paid product placement.

Find out wath's new!

News

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New Season Premiers August 16Sunday 10pm | 9c

Jenna Mullins from E! Online

AMC; Matthew Imaging/Getty Images

In p

artnership with

And if the chips fall in their proper place, Mad Men might be seeing a seventh season as well… Weiner says in a statement: "I want to thank all of our wonderful fans for their support. I also want to thank AMC

and Lionsgate for agreeing to support the artistic freedom of myself, the cast and the crew so that we can continue to make the show exactly as we have from the beginning."

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Not many students want to spend their summer with a teacher. But we're pretty sure the coeds will make an exception in Matthew Morrison's case. Glee's resident hottie teacher chatted with E! News' Ryan Seacrest this morning, and

revealed that he will launch his first solo tour this summer. "I'm still in Glee mode right now," Morrison said. "We'll be done the beginning of May, and then we'll go right into rehearsals." The musical trek, which kicks off June 18 in Minneapolis and

wraps up July 23 in Los Angeles, will evoke a "'40s and '50s New York feel," and per Morrison, will aim for a "sexy, really moody vibe. "All told, 20 cities will be blessed with Matt's presence, and perhaps that of one of his uber famous collaborators. Both Elton John and Gwyneth Paltrow feature on his solo album, and fans shouldn't be surprised if one or both of them start turning up on the road. "We're talking about it, it's just gonna be if our schedules match up. Elton's really interested and Gwyneth's interested as well. "As for his opening act? Glee clubs around the country can compete for the chance to appear onstage. Pretty cool. Presales for all dates starts April 4!

Gina Serpes from E! Online

GLEEKS REJOICE! WE KNOW WHAT MR. SCHUE'S DOING ON SUMMER VACATIONUp coming solo tour!

Fox; Getty Images

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TV can be such a fickle beast. One moment you're laughing and crying along with your favorite show, and the next week you are throwing your phone at the screen in utter frustration. After you tweet to the world that the show jumped the shark, of course. We are savvy to your disgust and outrage toward certain shows, because hey, we read the comments and the Twitter posts and whatnot. So, it's a fair question to ask: Which show will you be deleting from your DVR after this season? What shows have been on your DVR for awhile that

you are absolutely done with after this season? We've rounded up a list of the most-complained-about series based on Twitter yelling and other feedback we've read. Give us your opinion writing a mail to poll@cultmag.com. Next month, we'll post the biggest shark-jumpers and the best arguments from you guys. Let the venting commence!

Jenna Mullins from E! Online

WHICH SHOWS WILL YOU BE ERASING FOR GOOD?

Give us your opinion!

Chuck

90210

CSI

Bones

Dexter

Glee

Gossip Girl

House

Mad Men

True Blood

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Features

Traditionally, it is thought that emotions for objects logically presuppose beliefs in the existence of such objects. But why then do novels move us,

though we know that these people who laugh and cry there are nothing but pure inventions? It is just a very complex phenomenon which—as ordinary

and familiar it may seem to our intuition—is unfortunately hard to observe and to describe systematically. But why do our hairs stand on end if a tough guy in a photo or on the screen shakes a fist and swears revenge? Why the well known "lump in your throat" if two persons lift their arms to embrace each other for ever, after all the longing and craving of two hours? We do not only recognize the action, but we also respond to it. Film theorists agree today that we respond to the fictional personae on the movie screen

BEING MOVED BY FICTION AND MEDIA? NOTES ON FICTIONAL WORLDS, VIRTUAL CONTACTS AND THE REALITY OF EMOTIONS

Why we cry watching a Tv series? The neuropsychologist Katja Mellmann tells us everything!

ABC; Getty Images

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with our common everyday social emotions, with sympathy, pity, horror and fright; at least we do within the visual medium of film. We do not deceive ourselves about the factuality of these persons. We know that these characters are merely fictional, and this knowledge is always latently there in our brains and can be more or less highlighted, depending on the quality and intensity of the emotion. But our first sentimental response to the fictional characters happens

spontaneously. It obviously comes from an innate psychological mechanism.We can mask it somewhat with other actions, but we cannot avoid it completely. We do feel the impulse to cry after all, whether we really will or not. Our specific emotional responses are relatively quick, too. The impulse to laugh or to cry is often hard to repress. The dense succession of jokes or embarrassing

behavior in a sitcom stimulates giggling, and we choke up at the self-sacrifice of a hero. This is presumably due to the facial display function of laughing and crying. Those important social functions are deeply anchored in our genetic program by biological evolution. They even work through simple "contagion": If the persons on stage laugh with humor, we participate involuntarily, as we

laugh when stepping into a room where someone has just made a joke, though we have not been there to listen to it.

Comparably, if one child in a little children's group starts crying, all others start crying, too. Adults, seeing a weeping

Film theorists agree today that we respond to the fictional personae on the movie screen with our common everyday social emotions.

ABC; Getty Images

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face on the screen that shows serious grief and despair, when they are not able to help the woman, but must sit and wait through the scene as it is, feel the same impulse to just cry and weep with her, regardless of her reasons. We cannot avoid by consciousness alone the power of our limbic system, the principal domain of our emotional responses. We can only stand up and

leave—if we decide for instance that this film is much too cheap for our taste—, turn off the television and no longer expose ourselves to the stimulus. In that so-called "age of sensibility," another kind of emotional influence on the reader developed, this time mainly in the domain of narrative literature. Character-related effects of identification are not quite the same as

simple immersion. Immersion is a transitory state in art reception, brought about by what I would like to call the "habituating vacuum." Normally, we remove anything that could disturb our concentration on the aesthetic stimulus. We need not pay attention to the world around a book or a movie screen. We are still latently aware of our situation, but as long as there do not occur any changes, we do not consciously process any information about the surrounding world. This effect is cut off immediately, though, if we hear a key in the lock of our door while we are reading, or if within a cinema audience someone suddenly cries "Fire!" Selection of stimulus recognition works more strictly as long

ABC; Getty Images

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as we are involved with fiction. That is why, during the act of reading, we may not hear a dog barking; or maybe we hear it, but we do not listen to it. Identification instead is not based on the habituating vacuum alone, and it is less transitory. Though character identification may occur together with strong immersion, it initiates a sort of acquaintance, or even friendship, with the respective character. We do not forget that he is merely fictional, but we then know him, as we would know a real person. That is, we will keep him in mind for some time, also while we are doing other things in our lives than

reading. We can think of him while doing the dishes, imagine other

situations with him than the book has told us, or even long for his company. The examples of a variety of emotional involvement with "unreal"

worlds given in this essay should illustrate why our emotional responsiveness is not strictly tied to our conviction that these occurrences are of any pragmatic

relevance to us. Works of art, games and other leisure entertainments do move us as thoughts can, as old memories may annoy us or fill us with shame; as dreams sometimes can agonize us even after we get up. The content of such experiences may refer to unreal scenarios or situations that are not ours, yet the feeling we have is empirically real.

Katja MellmannInstitut für deutsche PhilologieLudwig-Maximilians-University

FOX; Getty Images

We do not forget that the character is merely fictional, but we then know him, as we would know a real person.

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FANDOM IS A PARTICIPATIVE CULTURE WHICH TRANSFORMS THE CONSUMPTION OF TV SERIES IN RECREATIONAL, IMMERSIVE AND PERFORMATIVE PRACTICES. FAN’S PRODUCTIONS TAKE BIRTH FROM THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE SHARED PATRIMONY, COMPLETELY FAMILIAR BETWEEN THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. HERE WE HAVE THE STORY OF MARY, A 23 YEARS OLD PROFESSIONIST OF CHILDCARE FROM LOUSIANA.

Why do you love watching series?You know, I think it's a great way to

escape from everyday routine. I know it’s not real life or real world, but it's a mini-world I got accustomed to. I somehow get attached to the characters, I'm curious to know how the plot will develop, and I always look forward to see the next episode. Maybe the reason why I love so much watching Tv

series is that they give me a chance to distract myself from my troubles, my life or my duties and entering in a fictional world I learned to know.When do you start watching series?It was 16 and I got really interested in OC, the Orange County. I had already watched some series before, such as Dawson Creek, but they never captured my

A:Q:

FAN DAILY PRACTICES!

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attention.How many Tv Series are you watching in this period? I think 5 or something. Wow! It’s not confusing watching multiple series?It's not confusing at all! as soon as you push play, you

recognize the characters, the locations, the world and the story that each series tells.And what kind of series are the ones you’re following?I love teendrama, romantic and

musical series.When do you usually watch them?If I'm busy, I watch series before going to bed. Otherwise I watch them as soon as I get the chance to, with no particular plan.

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Which series evolved you the most? Ah, It’s definitely How I Met Your Mother! I think it's genius, I love how the way the characters behave, how the story is told, the jokes, and the flash backs and flash forward. But also one of my favorites is Glee. I know that it seems the usual series about American teenager, but I really think there's something fresh in it. The fact that there's a time to tell the story and a time to sing is something that we weren't used to see in a Tv series. Furthermore it is such a mirror for the whole American pop culture, which I love!What’s the craziest thing you have done not to loose an episode?Ah! This is interesting! Actually, it was last new year’s eve. I switch up my laptop at 1 o’clock in the

morning, while everyone else in the house was celebrating, in order not to miss the latest episode!What has been the most shocking turning point in the series you are watching lately? Let me think..Maybe in Vampire Diaries, as we recently found out that the biological parents of the main character aren't what we thought, but two evil vampires that seem to have no feeling for her! This fact twists the whole story. Do you feel affection for characters?Sure, for all the characters of the series I love! You know, I think it's normal to "hate," "love" or "understand" a character as long as you learn to know him, its feeling and its

behavior. Finally they all belong to a fictional world that I can switch on and off, but that I feel somehow to be a part of.So, who’s your favorite character?It’s definitely Barney Stinson, the character of How I

Met Your Mother that makes fall down at his feet all the women he wants and who’s always suit to death!

Did you ever dream about a topic or some characters of Tv series?I often dream of characters of the series I watch. When I dream about them, they're not in their "habitat" anymore, but they become a real person, who I know very well and that is important to me! A few nights ago, for example, I

Tv series give me the chance to forget my troubles and duties

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dreamed one of the characters of Glee shopping with me, like I knew him since I was a little girl!Do you watch series with friend or alone?I only watch tv series alone. There must be silence, and I have to feel free to react anyway I want without feeling observed! But I like to discuss about Tv series with all of my friends! Of course not all of them like the same series I do, but every series I watch was recommended by a friend of mine. Its funny, sometimes it seems like we're talking about people we know! You know, me and my university mates write this list of what we like the most of the Glee episode every week!Do you also discuss about them in forums on the internet?No, I would feel like wasting my time with

people I don't know, talking about things that don't actually exist.How works a typical Tv series-evening?After a hard day, I like to have some rest after the family dinner, so I put my pijama on, and start to watch as many episodes as I can! Of course of the same series... What your friends and family think about your consummation of Tv Series?Ah! They think I spend too much time watching too many series that are naive

and senseless. Maybe they're right, but after all I don’t care, it's just a way to relax.Do you think you are a Series addict?I watch many series at the same time and I spend a lot of time discussing about them with my friends. Moreover, I feel real affection for the characters, and I feel like knowing them! Every time I watch a series, I feel somehow like I'm a part of it. So yes, I think I could be considered as a series addict!

Interview by Sabrina Trevisan

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