Not Allowed
I have finally found a point in my research where I do not have access. One of the things that I found really interesting about the relationship between Skins and the fans was the amount of interaction those in production had with those watching. On Twitter and Facebook, for example, they announced they were looking for 15-18 year olds based in New York City to be in a scene (I can only imagine this is for the upcoming film, since two characters end their storyline in the city). I have been paying attention to these type of updates, which sound more like invitations to a party than an audition.I’ve tried to focus on music director’s, Kyle Lynd, posts. One of the reasons I was drawn to the website was for Lind’s detailed explanations of the soundtrack for each episode. He provides information about the band (where they’re from, perhaps how he found them), why the song fits with that particular moment, and essentially why this band is cool.
Notice the ability for those looking at these soundtracks to make an easy purchase of the song via iTunes. On one hand, this is insight to the show that most viewers who watch television rarely have access to, which again builds a connection between viewer and creator. The relationship turns more into an exchange of multiple types of capital. Forgive me for slipping into what little I know of Pierre Bourdieu, but if this hits on three types of capital Bourdieu outlines Forms of Capital. The economic capital is there as you can easily purchase the songs featured in the program and the Lind himself has a relationship with record companies (according to Twitter he was hanging out Sony) and music plays (I would argue) a major part in selling the show. Cultural capital is gained through the knowledge of these bands. Knowing The Clash or some of the more independent bands featured on the show can potentially open up knew avenues or “ins” for folks. They may not readily admit that they learned of this band from Skins, but they can still gain points for their knowledge of lesser known bands (if they are so musically inclined).
Social capital is gained through the networks provided by the relationships Lind and the creators create with their audience. This breakdown of soundtrack allows for more of a relationship and expands into other networks. As I now follow Lynd on Twitter, he has requested followers to send him music to potentially be featured on the show. He has even expanded this trade into a larger collaborative project, setting up a spot on the site SPOTIFY, which allows users to add to a growing playlist. I wish I could speak more to how this is working and how people are interacting on this site, but I don’t have access it to it.
When you go to the link provided by Lynd it asks you to either sign in or join the site (nothing new). Spotify, however, is only available in the following countries:
It sounds like a great opportunity to trade and work together as a group, especially since it allows for even more interaction. It is especially great for Lynd, who I am sure benefits from having more people help him do his job. Because I cannot actually access this site, I cannot really speak to what it does or does not do, but I am going to take a stab. On one hand, I am sure it is great because it trades knowledge and music. Everybody can learn a little bit from the other or bond over mutual knowledge and appreciation for song, band, genre, etc. On the other, I keep coming back to this aspect of work. Those participating are “helping” the show, but they are also putting forth labor. Every time I turn to interactivity, I continually come back to Andrejevic, who applies Marxism and labor to interactivity and reality television, but I think there is something useful here concerning the work being put in by viewers who do this (at least partly) to have something they put forth accepted by Lynd and worked into the show, to have their tastes be recognized (oh bother, I just used tastes, which is a whole other tangent). This is something I have just come across, so it deserves more pondering on my part. I have sent Kyle Lynd my own suggestions, but as expected I have not heard anything back in the form of a response or retweet…but I will keep trying.
Sharing this page ...Add New Comment
Showing 1 comments
Sort by 
Subscribe by email 
Subscribe by RSS
Subscribe by email Subscribe by RSS 
No comments:
Post a Comment