Participatory Narrative in Literature & Literary Theory

Participatory Narrative: Etymology/Term, Meanings and Concept

Participatory Narrative refers to a storytelling approach that actively involves the audience or participants in shaping the narrative’s development and outcome. The term “participatory” derives from the Latin word “participare,” meaning “to take part in.” In this context, it denotes an active involvement or collaboration. Narrative, stemming from the Latin word “narrare,” meaning “to tell,” signifies the structure or sequence of events used to convey a story.

Meanings and Concept:

• Collaborative Storytelling: Participants contribute to the creation and evolution of the narrative, often through dialogue, role-playing, or other interactive methods.
• Interactive Fiction: Engages the audience in decision-making processes that influence the story’s progression, blurring the lines between creator and consumer.
• Transmedia Storytelling: Extends the narrative across multiple platforms or mediums, encouraging audience interaction and exploration of different facets of the story world.
• Experiential Narratives: Immersive narratives that invite participants to physically or emotionally engage with the story, often through live events, installations, or augmented reality experiences.
• Co-creative Narratives: Involves co-authorship or shared authorship between creators and participants, emphasizing collaboration and democratizing the storytelling process.

Participatory Narrative: Definition of a Theoretical Term

Participatory Narrative refers to a narrative form where the audience actively engages in shaping the storyline’s development and outcome. This involvement can range from making decisions that influence the plot to contributing content that becomes integrated into the narrative. It blurs the traditional boundaries between creators and consumers, fostering a dynamic and interactive storytelling experience.

Participatory Narrative: Theorists, Works and Arguments

Theorists:

• Henry Jenkins: Jenkins, a prominent media scholar, explores participatory culture in works like “Convergence Culture.” He emphasizes the democratization of storytelling and the role of audiences as active participants and co-creators in shaping narratives.
• Janet Murray: Murray’s “Hamlet on the Holodeck” delves into interactive storytelling and the potential for participatory experiences in digital environments. She discusses how technology can enable audience engagement and agency within narratives.
• Brenda Laurel: Laurel is known for her contributions to interactive media and computer-based storytelling. In “Computers as Theatre,” she examines the interactive nature of digital narratives and the importance of user participation in shaping the storytelling experience.
• Transmedia Storytelling Proponents (e.g., Jeff Gomez): Advocates for transmedia storytelling argue for participatory narratives that span multiple platforms. Figures like Jeff Gomez highlight how this approach encourages audience involvement and immersion across various media channels.

Works:

• Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins
• Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet Murray
• Computers as Theatre by Brenda Laurel

Arguments:

• Empowerment of Audience: Participatory narrative theories argue that involving audiences in storytelling empowers them, giving them agency to shape the narrative’s direction and outcomes.
• Enhanced Engagement: Scholars contend that participatory narratives lead to deeper audience engagement and immersion, as individuals become emotionally invested in narratives they help create.
• Democratization of Storytelling: By blurring the lines between creators and consumers, participatory narrative approaches democratize storytelling, allowing diverse voices and perspectives to be represented and valued.
• Transmedia Possibilities: Proponents of transmedia storytelling argue that participatory narratives can thrive across multiple platforms, providing audiences with rich, interconnected story worlds to explore and contribute to.

Participatory Narrative: Major Characteristics

1. Audience Agency: Participatory narratives empower audiences by allowing them to actively influence the story’s development and outcome through their choices and actions.
2. Interactivity: These narratives often feature interactive elements that invite audiences to engage directly with the story, whether through decision-making, role-playing, or other forms of participation.
3. Collaboration: They blur the boundaries between creators and consumers, fostering a collaborative storytelling process where both parties contribute to the narrative’s construction.
4. Multiplatform Engagement: Participatory narratives can extend across multiple platforms, such as books, films, games, and social media, providing audiences with various entry points and opportunities for engagement.

Literary References:

• “Choose Your Own Adventure” Series by Edward Packard and R. A. Montgomery: These interactive books allow readers to make choices that determine the course of the story, exemplifying audience agency and interactivity in narrative form.
• “House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski: This unconventional novel incorporates various narrative formats, including footnotes, appendices, and typographical experimentation, inviting readers to actively interpret and engage with the text.
• “In the Company of Myself” by Alberto Manguel: Manguel’s collection of short stories explores the relationship between readers and texts, highlighting the participatory nature of storytelling and the ways in which readers co-create meaning through interpretation and interaction.
• “S.” by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst: This novel combines a central narrative with handwritten notes, postcards, and other ephemera inserted between its pages, encouraging readers to decode hidden messages and engage with the story on multiple levels.

These literary works demonstrate various aspects of participatory narrative, from reader choice and interaction to collaborative storytelling and multiplatform engagement.

Participatory Narrative: Relevance in Literary Theories

Literary Theory	Relevance of Participatory Narrative
Reader-Response	Participatory narrative aligns closely with reader-response theory, which emphasizes the active role of the reader in interpreting and co-creating meaning. By inviting readers to actively engage with the text and make choices that shape the narrative, participatory narratives highlight the significance of reader involvement in constructing meaning.
Postmodernism	Participatory narrative reflects postmodernist themes of fragmentation, intertextuality, and the blurring of boundaries between creator and audience. By allowing for nonlinear storytelling, multiple perspectives, and collaborative authorship, participatory narratives challenge traditional notions of authorship and linear narrative structure, aligning with postmodernist critiques of grand narratives and fixed meanings.
New Media Theory	Participatory narrative is central to new media theory, which examines the ways in which digital technologies transform storytelling and audience engagement. Participatory narratives leverage digital platforms to facilitate interactive and collaborative storytelling experiences, reflecting the convergence of media forms and the emergence of new modes of narrative expression enabled by digital media technologies.
Cultural Studies	Participatory narrative intersects with cultural studies’ focus on the relationship between texts, audiences, and broader cultural contexts. By foregrounding audience agency, collaboration, and diversity in storytelling, participatory narratives offer insights into the ways in which narratives reflect and shape cultural values, identities, and power dynamics, fostering inclusive and participatory cultural production.
Narrative Ecology	Participatory narrative contributes to the exploration of narrative ecology, which examines the complex interplay between narratives, environments, and human experience. By extending narratives across multiple platforms and inviting audience participation, participatory narratives enrich the narrative ecosystem, fostering dynamic interactions between stories, audiences, and the socio-cultural contexts in which they are situated.

Participatory Narrative: Application in Critiques

1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare:
   • Participatory narrative theory could critique Hamlet by analyzing the potential for audience engagement and interaction within the play. It might explore how the ambiguity surrounding Hamlet’s motives and the various interpretations of his character invite readers and viewers to actively participate in constructing meaning.
   • Additionally, the theory could examine adaptations or reimaginings of Hamlet in different media forms (such as films, novels, or video games) that allow audiences to explore alternative perspectives or outcomes, thereby demonstrating the participatory nature of storytelling inspired by the original work.
2. 1984 by George Orwell:
   • A critique of 1984 from a participatory narrative perspective might focus on the ways in which the novel engages readers in the dystopian world of Oceania. It could analyze how Orwell’s world-building and use of Newspeak prompt readers to critically reflect on language and power, inviting them to actively participate in the interpretation of the text.
   • Furthermore, the critique might explore contemporary adaptations or transmedia extensions of 1984 that leverage participatory elements to immerse audiences in Orwell’s vision of surveillance and authoritarianism, fostering dialogue and engagement around themes of censorship and political control.
3. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll:
   • Participatory narrative theory could critique Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by examining its playful and nonsensical narrative structure, which encourages readers to actively participate in making sense of Wonderland’s absurd logic.
   • The critique might also explore adaptations or reinterpretations of Alice that incorporate interactive elements, such as choose-your-own-adventure books or interactive digital experiences, allowing audiences to navigate Wonderland alongside Alice and shape their own adventures.

Participatory Narrative: Relevant Terms

Theoretical Term	Brief Description
Interactive Fiction	Digital narratives where audience choices influence plot.
Transmedia Storytelling	Storytelling across multiple platforms.
Co-creation	Collaborative creation between creators and audience.
Immersive Storytelling	Engages audience emotionally or physically in narrative.
Interactive Narrative	Allows audience interaction with the story.
User-generated Content	Content created by audience within narrative framework.
Open-ended Storytelling	Narrative lacks fixed conclusion, allowing audience input.
Choice-based Narrative	Plot direction determined by audience decisions.
Networked Narratives	Stories distributed across interconnected platforms.
Crowd-sourced Storytelling	Narrative development sourced from collective audience.

Participatory Narrative: Suggested Readings

1. Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York UP, 2006.
2. Laurel, Brenda. Computers as Theatre. Addison-Wesley, 1993.
3. Murray, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Free Press, 1997.
4. Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. Penguin Press, 2008.