Two Websites and Why They Are Trivial

Pop Culture, Celebrity, and New Media As Michael Serazio (2012) points out, thanks to the Internet, we now live in a "premediated" world, in which press releases prepare the public to stay tuned for further press releases, as an all-out ad-campaign is unfolded to promote the latest movie, music release, or show (p. 416).

Everything is prepped ahead of time, from the celebrity appearances to the photographers, to the clothing the celebs will be wearing, to the timing of events so that buzz reaches its greatest height when the product hits the shelves. Two websites created to drum up interest in two feature films, the latest installment of The Hunger Games series and the latest installment in the James Bond franchise, illustrate exactly what Serazio sees.

This paper will compare and contrast the two sites and show how, in terms of an academic perspective, they illustrate just how "premeditated" and "premediated" (Serazio, 2010, p. 416) both the films and the public have become. In the Hunger Games website, a giant image of Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) appears at the top of the page. She is wearing a body-hugging superhero suit and aiming a bow and arrow at a target off-screen. Behind her, fire flames out across the page.

The image is on a rotator and is soon replaced by a link to the Hunger Games VR Experience, which is then replaced by a link to cast interviews, and so on. Clicking on the page takes one to a separate page where tickets to the film can be purchased. That appears to be the main objective of the page. A link to the trailer is available when you scroll down the page, along with another link to buy tickets, and a link to the official Hunger Games store.

In the 007 website, Daniel Craig is seen in tuxedo, posing with his arm around a female cast member in a white gown at the film's debut in China. Clicking on this link takes one to news story about "Bond 24" opening in Beijing. The link is on a rotator, similar to the Hunger Games website.

The page is much fuller, however, with picture links to various news articles: there is one about director Sam Mendes receiving a Britannia Award for his work, one about Daniel Craig performing in Othello, one about the James Bond cars, an interview with the special effects director, and much more. The site is far more interactive and geared towards older audiences than is the Hunger Games site.

Essentially, the site boasts an array of celebrity photos, interviews, articles and more, representing what Marwick and Boyd (2011) call the "increasingly significant part of mass media" -- the glamorous photos, the all-access links, the behind-the-scenes details; the "trivial, dangerous decadence of American culture" (p. 141). While Hunger Games represents an equal triviality, its website is less glamorous, robust and full of information.

It presents a few links to photos and articles but it is mainly a way for fans of the series to connect to the film's fan page, follow through social media, or purchase tickets. The 007 site is more interactive in that it has significantly longer history as a franchise with a much wider and more adult fan base; thus it offers more than a few links and ways to follow (Facebook, Twitter): it also gives the latest news regarding the latest Bond film. It is a much more established site.

The Hunger Games site looks as though it will be removed once the film has had its theatrical run. 007.com, however, is more than likely here to stay. The color scheme of The Hunger Games website is not exciting: it is basic black background with little depth to the page in terms of visuals. The color scheme of 007 is more refined: the page sits on a classic white background and is not cluttered by too many tabs.

One can scroll at length down the page, whereas on the Hunger Games site there is hardly any scrolling required. The Games site is simply promoting the film, whereas the 007 site is promoting the James Bond culture -- cars, luxury, refinement, fun, women, sex, cool -- everything that fans love about the franchise. Its aim is to drive audiences through a combination of nostalgia and newness. The Games site has no real aim other than to drive traffic to ticket sales (though this option is also available on the 007 site).

The Games site appears to assume that its fans already know everything they want to know about the history of the series, so it does not go out of its way to provide a great deal in this department. In terms of the articles, these two sites show how we now live in, as Serazio states, a "premediated" culture, meaning we cannot simply go out to the theater to see what is playing. Now we have to hear about what's coming months in advance. We want to follow threads.