By Sarah Rotman
Dawson's Creek is a weekly TV drama popular with young teenagers
(middle and high school), a demographic sought after for its consumption
of both products and media. Dawsonsdesktop.com feeds both consumer
drives: the hook is both exposure to teen products (Oxy zit cream)
and enticing new media (albums, films, and of course, the Internet
itself). The premise of the website is that the story of Dawson's
Creek continues between episodes-in fact, the optimal narrative
experience is achieved through engagement with both the TV show and
the website. The website takes you to the "desktop" of one
of the four main characters of the show, where you can browse their
journal entries (which correspond to events on the show), read their
email, look at their bookmarked webpages (the Capeside High site and
online newspaper), and read their documents (Joey's graduation speech,
delivered on the final episode). (Their favorite products are also
prominently branded and displayed everywhere.)
Although the product placement is as prominent on the website as
it is in the show, this site does take an innovative approach to traditional
storytelling. By acknowledging the fan community that follows the
show and giving them an "in" to the creative content that
goes into the show, two things are accomplished: the fans become even
more loyal to the show, story, and characters; and the show, story,
and characters achieve more depth. Reading Joey's journal entries
is a similar experience to receiving an assignment from a creative
writing teacher to write the personal correspondence of the protagonist
in a novel.
Perhaps this analogy can lend a clue to a possible improvement to
the site. Even though the site takes an innovative approach to interactive
storytelling, allowing the user to navigate through the story at his
will as opposed to only receiving it in a linear TV plot, it still
does not take full advantage of the potential of user-generated content
unique to the web. You are reading Joey's journal entry, but not writing
your own as if through her eyes. This limitation, of course, keeps
the power of storytelling firmly in the hands of the producers-no
one can tell Joey's story other than the official writer of Joey's
character. On the other hand, perhaps this protection is costing the
producers of the show some valuable fan feedback. If fans were allowed
to produce content on the site, perhaps the network could benefit
from their fresh ideas and could incorporate them into the show, truly
making this an interactive, transmedia narrative.