Jonathon Lundy - Drexel University (original) (raw)
Papers by Jonathon Lundy
I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché ... more I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché and overtly sentimental; both things I try to avoid as a matter of course. However, after nearing the end of this project, I realized that acknowledgement of those individuals who are directly responsible for the fruition of the work is warranted. First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Natalie for inspiring me to continue on with the program and being my guide and mentor these past several years. She has a great passion for higher education and a tenacious mind for theory. I would not have completed this project without her selfless support and encouragement. Secondly, I'd like to thank the other two members of my committee who have patiently awaited the completion of my thesis with little or no word from me in quite some time. Dr. Hall has been a great sounding board and a like-minded conversational partner throughout my stressful days of managing graduate school, work, teaching, and life in general. Dr. Cox is the experienced legend I brought into as my expert on narrative and although the direction detoured somewhat I still feel fortunate to have such a wise and well-respected faculty member rounding out my committee. Lastly, I'd like to thank the Communication Department as a whole and my fellow graduate cohorts. I would also like to specifically acknowledge two of my fellow graduate students in particular, Wayne and Stephanie, for letting me into their project groups and their office. You guys are awesome.
i STILL FLYING: THE COMMUNICATIVE CONSTITUTION OF BROWNCOAT FANDOM AS CULTURE
, NBC's infamous late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) debuted a humorous commercial p... more , NBC's infamous late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) debuted a humorous commercial parody for the film release of The Force Awakens. 1 The fictional advertisement, fashioned in the style of a retro toy commercial, featured SNL cast members Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam, and Kyle Mooney as overly enthusiastic adult toy collectors continuously disrupting the fun of three young boys. As the kids try to just play with their toys as intended, the stereotypical obsessive grown-ups encourage them to "leave them in the box" or "just look at it!" While the children seem perfectly happy with their unboxed figures, the adults are more concerned with keeping the toys in pristine condition and maintaining cinematic fidelity. At one point, Moynihan's character even correctively demonstrates a more "movie accurate" recreation of the Millennium Falcon's landing sequence.
I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché ... more I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché and overtly sentimental; both things I try to avoid as a matter of course. However, after nearing the end of this project, I realized that acknowledgement of those individuals who are directly responsible for the fruition of the work is warranted. First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Natalie for inspiring me to continue on with the program and being my guide and mentor these past several years. She has a great passion for higher education and a tenacious mind for theory. I would not have completed this project without her selfless support and encouragement. Secondly, I'd like to thank the other two members of my committee who have patiently awaited the completion of my thesis with little or no word from me in quite some time. Dr. Hall has been a great sounding board and a like-minded conversational partner throughout my stressful days of managing graduate school, work, teaching, and life in general. Dr. Cox is the experienced legend I brought into as my expert on narrative and although the direction detoured somewhat I still feel fortunate to have such a wise and well-respected faculty member rounding out my committee. Lastly, I'd like to thank the Communication Department as a whole and my fellow graduate cohorts. I would also like to specifically acknowledge two of my fellow graduate students in particular, Wayne and Stephanie, for letting me into their project groups and their office. You guys are awesome.
I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché ... more I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché and overtly sentimental; both things I try to avoid as a matter of course. However, after nearing the end of this project, I realized that acknowledgement of those individuals who are directly responsible for the fruition of the work is warranted. First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Natalie for inspiring me to continue on with the program and being my guide and mentor these past several years. She has a great passion for higher education and a tenacious mind for theory. I would not have completed this project without her selfless support and encouragement. Secondly, I'd like to thank the other two members of my committee who have patiently awaited the completion of my thesis with little or no word from me in quite some time. Dr. Hall has been a great sounding board and a like-minded conversational partner throughout my stressful days of managing graduate school, work, teaching, and life in general. Dr. Cox is the experienced legend I brought into as my expert on narrative and although the direction detoured somewhat I still feel fortunate to have such a wise and well-respected faculty member rounding out my committee. Lastly, I'd like to thank the Communication Department as a whole and my fellow graduate cohorts. I would also like to specifically acknowledge two of my fellow graduate students in particular, Wayne and Stephanie, for letting me into their project groups and their office. You guys are awesome.
Drafts by Jonathon Lundy
One need only look at current toy aisles to see the industrial legacy of toyetic transmedia franc... more One need only look at current toy aisles to see the industrial legacy of toyetic transmedia franchises like Star Wars, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Masters of the Universe, Care Bears, and My Little Pony. However, the increasing popularity of vintage toy collection, curation, and commerce by adults of specific generations, suggests a deeper connection to the media of that era.
Today, the toys, animated series, and other media are collectible connections to the past and markers of generational belonging for a significant number of adults who fell in love with toyetic media as kids. The fandom around these toys and their transmedia narratives should not be dismissed as pure nostalgia, nor should this decade’s impact on children’s consumer culture be overlooked. The Reagan era of deregulation in 1980s paved the way for advertisers, animation studies, and toy manufacturers to synergistically cultivate a new toyetic approach to children’s marketing which significantly impacted Gen Xers and Millennials.
Toyetic is a term commonly used by marketing professionals to describe the potential for making toys from a media property. Toyetic also describes a specific transmedia genre that emerged in the 1980s, specifically to sell toys, not as ancillary merchandise, but the primary product sold through highly coordinated transmedia systems. Adults who came of age during this period were the first to be groomed under this new toyetic transmedia genre which cultivated a new children’s consumer culture and planted the seeds of brand loyalty that now manifests in vintage toy fandom. Toy fandom is also illustrative of how recent generations are socially constructed media audiences that nostalgically share collective memories and comradery built around the books, comics, films, television shows, cartoons, and toys of their youth.
I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché ... more I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché and overtly sentimental; both things I try to avoid as a matter of course. However, after nearing the end of this project, I realized that acknowledgement of those individuals who are directly responsible for the fruition of the work is warranted. First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Natalie for inspiring me to continue on with the program and being my guide and mentor these past several years. She has a great passion for higher education and a tenacious mind for theory. I would not have completed this project without her selfless support and encouragement. Secondly, I'd like to thank the other two members of my committee who have patiently awaited the completion of my thesis with little or no word from me in quite some time. Dr. Hall has been a great sounding board and a like-minded conversational partner throughout my stressful days of managing graduate school, work, teaching, and life in general. Dr. Cox is the experienced legend I brought into as my expert on narrative and although the direction detoured somewhat I still feel fortunate to have such a wise and well-respected faculty member rounding out my committee. Lastly, I'd like to thank the Communication Department as a whole and my fellow graduate cohorts. I would also like to specifically acknowledge two of my fellow graduate students in particular, Wayne and Stephanie, for letting me into their project groups and their office. You guys are awesome.
i STILL FLYING: THE COMMUNICATIVE CONSTITUTION OF BROWNCOAT FANDOM AS CULTURE
, NBC's infamous late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) debuted a humorous commercial p... more , NBC's infamous late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) debuted a humorous commercial parody for the film release of The Force Awakens. 1 The fictional advertisement, fashioned in the style of a retro toy commercial, featured SNL cast members Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam, and Kyle Mooney as overly enthusiastic adult toy collectors continuously disrupting the fun of three young boys. As the kids try to just play with their toys as intended, the stereotypical obsessive grown-ups encourage them to "leave them in the box" or "just look at it!" While the children seem perfectly happy with their unboxed figures, the adults are more concerned with keeping the toys in pristine condition and maintaining cinematic fidelity. At one point, Moynihan's character even correctively demonstrates a more "movie accurate" recreation of the Millennium Falcon's landing sequence.
I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché ... more I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché and overtly sentimental; both things I try to avoid as a matter of course. However, after nearing the end of this project, I realized that acknowledgement of those individuals who are directly responsible for the fruition of the work is warranted. First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Natalie for inspiring me to continue on with the program and being my guide and mentor these past several years. She has a great passion for higher education and a tenacious mind for theory. I would not have completed this project without her selfless support and encouragement. Secondly, I'd like to thank the other two members of my committee who have patiently awaited the completion of my thesis with little or no word from me in quite some time. Dr. Hall has been a great sounding board and a like-minded conversational partner throughout my stressful days of managing graduate school, work, teaching, and life in general. Dr. Cox is the experienced legend I brought into as my expert on narrative and although the direction detoured somewhat I still feel fortunate to have such a wise and well-respected faculty member rounding out my committee. Lastly, I'd like to thank the Communication Department as a whole and my fellow graduate cohorts. I would also like to specifically acknowledge two of my fellow graduate students in particular, Wayne and Stephanie, for letting me into their project groups and their office. You guys are awesome.
I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché ... more I always told myself that I wasn't going to include one of these because they seemed very cliché and overtly sentimental; both things I try to avoid as a matter of course. However, after nearing the end of this project, I realized that acknowledgement of those individuals who are directly responsible for the fruition of the work is warranted. First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Natalie for inspiring me to continue on with the program and being my guide and mentor these past several years. She has a great passion for higher education and a tenacious mind for theory. I would not have completed this project without her selfless support and encouragement. Secondly, I'd like to thank the other two members of my committee who have patiently awaited the completion of my thesis with little or no word from me in quite some time. Dr. Hall has been a great sounding board and a like-minded conversational partner throughout my stressful days of managing graduate school, work, teaching, and life in general. Dr. Cox is the experienced legend I brought into as my expert on narrative and although the direction detoured somewhat I still feel fortunate to have such a wise and well-respected faculty member rounding out my committee. Lastly, I'd like to thank the Communication Department as a whole and my fellow graduate cohorts. I would also like to specifically acknowledge two of my fellow graduate students in particular, Wayne and Stephanie, for letting me into their project groups and their office. You guys are awesome.
One need only look at current toy aisles to see the industrial legacy of toyetic transmedia franc... more One need only look at current toy aisles to see the industrial legacy of toyetic transmedia franchises like Star Wars, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Masters of the Universe, Care Bears, and My Little Pony. However, the increasing popularity of vintage toy collection, curation, and commerce by adults of specific generations, suggests a deeper connection to the media of that era.
Today, the toys, animated series, and other media are collectible connections to the past and markers of generational belonging for a significant number of adults who fell in love with toyetic media as kids. The fandom around these toys and their transmedia narratives should not be dismissed as pure nostalgia, nor should this decade’s impact on children’s consumer culture be overlooked. The Reagan era of deregulation in 1980s paved the way for advertisers, animation studies, and toy manufacturers to synergistically cultivate a new toyetic approach to children’s marketing which significantly impacted Gen Xers and Millennials.
Toyetic is a term commonly used by marketing professionals to describe the potential for making toys from a media property. Toyetic also describes a specific transmedia genre that emerged in the 1980s, specifically to sell toys, not as ancillary merchandise, but the primary product sold through highly coordinated transmedia systems. Adults who came of age during this period were the first to be groomed under this new toyetic transmedia genre which cultivated a new children’s consumer culture and planted the seeds of brand loyalty that now manifests in vintage toy fandom. Toy fandom is also illustrative of how recent generations are socially constructed media audiences that nostalgically share collective memories and comradery built around the books, comics, films, television shows, cartoons, and toys of their youth.