Excellent commentary and insightful analysis from Mr. Jeff Gomez, about storytelling, the Hero’s Journey, Transmedia & the Star Wars brand.

star wars becomes roddenberry's tos trek and trek became lucas/JJ wars. nothing about new or old century heros, just a swap of form.

meanwhile. black panther and wonder woman ... people like simple gods and their kids.;)

film biz was never going to be the lead for transmedia. always been soap opera world building. films are event markets, tv/magazines needed to keep advertisers or subscribers alive by the promise of next week

I really enjoyed the podcast. Of particular note is when Jeff stated, "That's a huge audience that will abandon you if you don't validate and celebrate their participation." I think this signifies a seismic shift. Fans now expect to be recognized.  (31:42)

This is the first episode of a series asking scholars, activists and journalists to comment on race and gender on The Last Jedi and the Star Wars Franchise. Professor Henry Jenkins and Colin MacClay speak to Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks and hosts his own Afro-futurism podcast, to think of how the new Star Wars films relate to his goals to include "the global majority" in discussions about the future.  We touch on racial inclusion, including discussion of the black storm-troopers controversy, a larger consideration of the legacy of exotic adventure serials on the franchise, the assumption of "whiteness" in space opera sagas, how to better develop inclusiveness in roles for people of color and interracial romance, and Ahmed's point of view as the critiqued character Jar Jar Binks. 

Produced by: Sean Myers and Andrea Alarcon

Pilot: In conversation with Ahmed Best on race and Star Wars

Today, we release the second episode of our podcast, How Do You Like It So Far?, with more responses to The Last Jedi. This time, we check in with Jeff Gomez from Starlight Runner, a leading figure in the world of transmedia storytelling. Gomez has been running a series of blog posts which explore the emergence of what he calls "The Collective Journey" as a new storytelling structure at work in contemporary popular media, a story structure which he sees exemplified by, for example, Game of Thrones.

In conversation with Jeff Gomez

Henry Jenkins and Colin MacClay on pop culture

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Gina Marcello

Larry Rosenthal

Larry Rosenthal

Larry Rosenthal

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