Micro-anthologies, Semi-anthologies, Macro-anthologies 92

If on a pragmatic level anthologies differentiate between ex-ante and ex-post, on a more structural level they can be divided into micro-anthologies, semi-anthologies, macro-anthologies.

Such a distinction might seem irrelevant at a first glance, as it would simply seem to state several degrees in the formation of anthologies. However, the matter of scale in narrative forms is a very

important factor for the definition of the anthology and its affordances, since it does influence more pragmatic dynamics related to production practices, modes of distribution and even dyna-mics of content promotion and reception. The way micro-anthologies, semi-anthologies, macro-anthologies function in the mediascape varies consistently. While they fit into the same defini-tion, at the same time they present certain specificities, enough to say that a semi-anthology acts in different way than micro- or macro-anthologies, and that micro- and macro-anthologies im-plies separate dynamics as far as their potential for creating franchises, transmedia occurrences or a revival mechanism.

I notably define micro-anthologies as the most compact and rigid anthological form, whe-re the length is usually pwhe-redetermined and the collection does not expand outside of such a pwhe-refi- prefi-xed length. Micro-anthologies tend to limit the possibilities for narrative dilatation by favoring narrative closure and completeness. In these anthologies, the accent is on the end of the narrati-ves, which contrast with any attempt of reopening. Factors that provide closure can be structural or contextual, meaning they can be related to the structure given to the raw narrative material itself or they can be linked to economic or cultural factors. In the former case, the narrative struc-ture generated by a composition of stand-alone stories is so that both within them and in their en-tity of body of works the dissemination of meaning is limited. That is to say, there is a contain-ment principle - either topological, thematically or even simply a lack of strength in the antholo-gical framing - that makes the list of episodes definite by its very nature. In the latter, the con-tainment principle is contextual, meaning it is not necessarily related to narrative barriers contai-ned in the text; on the contrary, it is an effect of budget constraints or cultural limitations, such as in the case of outdated or controversial narratives.

Of course, as we are approaching fluid objects as cultural production is, micro-anthologies can emancipate themselves and transition to larger corpora, namely to macro-anthologies. What I refer to as macro-anthologies are anthologies that are open to expansion and tend to generate one of the following processes: franchising, revival, transmedia, serialization, adaptation, canoniza-tion. “Along similar lines, Patricia Odber de Baubeta suggests the consideration of anthology (in one volume) and macro-anthology (in several volumes) (2007: 29).” (Seruya et al.: 3) She nota-bly suggests the following definition for macro-anthologies as collections of content where “indi-vidual texts may be read on their own but are brought together to provide a far more inclusive vision of different periods, styles and authors.” (de Baubeta 2007: 76) This differentiation is use-ful to understand not only tendencies in narrative development, but also underlining dynamics in the imposition of a cultural canon and in the financial exploitation of content in the television market, or in reception practices, as seen in active engagement of the audience through cult, fan-dom and fan-fiction phenomena.

Still connected to a cultural, commercial and sometimes political phenomenon, a third ty-pology of anthology is the semi-anthology, which is often excluded from a taxonomy of antholo-gies and traditionally enters the pool of long-running shows. However, here I advocate that pro-ducts like police procedurals do present certain features that are anthological in their nature. Bor-rowing Mark Alvey’s (1995) definition of television programs like Naked City (ABC, 1958-1963) and Route 66 (CBS, 1960-1964), I call these type of anthologies “semi-anthologies”, where a framing narrative device contains a series of stand-alone stories. According to Alvey, Naked City was originally conceived “not as a police procedural but rather as a dramatic anthology with a police backdrop…the series was never intended as a show about detectives or their activities, but

rather as a series about the city and the people of New York.” (Alvey as quoted in Sabin et al.

2015: 32) Semi-anthologies are therefore television series that adhere to a grand narrative and at the same time benefit from the alternating of closure/reiteration, which allows for a regeneration of the narrative within certain parameters of repetition and normativity. This makes a semi-antho-logy a product keen to constantly update itself, much like anthologies, to keep up with contempo-rary debates, and yet subjected to a moral or ethical intent, usually designed to address social and political issues or disseminate a set of values.

Due to their repetitive scheme, such types of anthologies often turn into reproducible for-mats, with a standard formula that can be exported abroad, such as the Danish-Swedish Bron/

Broen which had offsprings in the UK, France, Estonia, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany and Austria (see chapter 1). Semi-anthologies also introduce the topic of fluidity between narrati-ves forms and genres, as they demonstrate how anthological and serialization processes can mer-ge, coexist and ultimately operate collectively. Such fluidity in the formation of narratives spotted in early television programs become even more evident with the multiplication of television net-works, markets, technologies, devices and platforms, which lead the medium of television throu-gh a series of mutations as consequences of competitive, interactive, global media environment.

In this scenario, the anthology form evolved into two major categories: the classic episodic antho-logy and the seasonal anthoantho-logy.

2.2.4. Episodic and Seasonal Anthologies

The distinction between episodic and seasonal anthologies is quite intuitive: episodic an-thologies are those where the narrative arc develops within the limits of an episode and seasonal

anthologies are those where the narrative arc evolves throughout the span of a season. This pecu-liar division into sections or fragments - being them episodes, seasons or chapters - lies at the ba-sis of most televisual narrative structures, which are commonly framed in narrative sequences of various length with a beginning, a middle and an end or at least a shared setting or thematic background. The reasons for the adoption of such rhythmical patterns in television narratives across various cultures and markets are to be retraced not so much in their narrative architecture (meaning how information and storytelling are structured), but in the need for a time-manage-ment system that involves - although differently in linear and non-linear media - both industrial and technological mechanisms. The necessity of timing serial production and distribution in tele-vision responds in fact to commercial, financial, economic strategies, as well as to the affor-dances of the medium. Furthermore, the way episodes and seasons are arranged often mirrors the structure of the television industry in given local markets, which then lead to the emergence of specific narrative forms. Observing shifts in canonical episodic and seasonal structures can be helpful to gather more evidences about the evolutions of television in different historical mo-ments or geographical locations.

Before discussing the seasonal shift in the U.S. television anthologies, the definition of episodic anthologies needs to be further explained in relation to the academic debate on media and television. For instance, even though television anthologies existed in the episodic structure since the very beginning, in 1970 the U.S. radio and television historian Erik Barnouw interest-ingly distinguished between a rigid formula-based episodic series and the anthological form, which he describes as a means for creative experimentation. He notably specifies that “whereas the episodic series had emerged from a radio tradition, the anthology series emerged from a

the-ater tradition. From the start, artists from the thethe-ater were active in the anthology series.” (Barnouw 1970: 26) Elsewhere, Michele Hilmes will state that early television carried over from radio “the medium’s basic and distinctive characteristic of seriality - a system of episodic programs recurring on a regular weekly or daily basis […].” (Hilmes 2012: 218) While Barnouw uses the term episodic to refer to a rigid genre-formula, Hilmes simply associates it to the timeframe for regular programming in television. Taking this second definition of episodic narratives in television, I am interested in the way the anthology form interacted with the episodic structure.

The episodic frame, as intended by Hilmes, along with its frequency, is one debated no-tion if we look at they way it affects narrative development in television. Products like telenove-las in Brazil or soap operas in the U.S. became a serial form typically associated with daily pro-gramming, as opposed to anthological products commonly found in weekly schedules. The episodic shape of television anthologies can also be observed in relation to its location in differ-ent time-slots, which have outcomes in reception. Scheduling an episode daily or weekly, during day time or prime time, and releasing a season in different moments of the year have actual ef-fects on the economic success and cultural impact of a serial product. The distinction between episodic and seasonal anthology is therefore to be intended here not as strictly narratological and formal, but as economical, cultural and historical instead. As I will show, along with other televi-sual products, anthology series themselves were influenced by such formal shaping and, over the course of their evolution, mutated into two different strands: episodic-based and season-based. I will discuss in details this turn in anthology-making processes in U.S. television in chapter 4,

where I analyze the transformation of the anthology form as a consequence of mutations in the media environment.

As I argue in this dissertation, U.S. seasonal anthologies, otherwise known as anthology miniseries, are the result of both a phase of reassessment in media ecology on a macroscopic scale, as well as multiple processes of hybridization on a microscopic scale. On a macroscopic level, the introduction of non-linear environments for streaming television content via over-the-top platforms fostered the creation of new business models for television. One of the major play-ers that redefined the traditional U.S. episodic and seasonal release’s strategies was Netflix, with its full-season release strategy which brings the attention on the full season, rather than on single episodes. Even when streaming platforms opt for an episodic release, they still rewrote the rules for seasonal, yearly releases together with the pilot logic. Skipping the pilot process in favor of a straight-to-series commitment and a seasonal release, which makes the content available perma-nently on a library, marks “a transition that could alter the overall television landscape, both from the commercial and aesthetic standpoints, and that is part of a larger process of change in the way content is produced, aggregated, and distributed in contemporary mediascape.” (Brembilla 2013, online)

The importance of this shift towards a seasonal anthology form can be understood not only in terms of economic development in business models for contemporary television, notably affecting streaming platforms, but also in terms of creative potential and contamination between forms. In fact, alterations happened over time in the television industry resulted on a microscopic level, on a multiplication of narrative forms. If “Ryan Murphy invented the modern anthological series or limited series and initiated a new genre that has proved irresistible to other great artists

and networks” , it is also true that other serial forms contributed to boost this shift towards a sea⁹ -sonal structure. FX’s American Horror Story was one of the first declared attempts to reformulate the anthology form in television and a great branding operation under the seal of an innovative anthological model, which sparked aliases in U.S. non-linear television, as well as a renewed in-terest for the anthology form as a viable business model.

However, seasonal anthologies emerged also as the result of microscopic influences be-tween televisual narrative forms like seasonal police procedurals, miniseries, event series and other examples of short narratives in local television markets. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss short or micro-programming that influences a redefinition of the anthology form in televi-sion. On the one hand, narrative experimentation was granted by a moment of transition towards a new form of television, which calls for a media ecological framework for understanding serial narratives. On the other hand, we should look at forms of narrative hybridizations which led to the distinction between episodic and seasonal anthologies. The upcoming discussion on short nar-ratives in television should be therefore taken as a preliminary study of the anthology form in television, which will be further explored in chapter 4 and 5 by adopting a comparative historical perspective and considering more closely the industrial context, notably building on the studies of Michele Hilmes, Amanda Lotz and Ramon Lobato.

Alston, Joshua. “The Age of Anthology: Why the Ryan Murphy Model Is Taking over Television.” TV Club. Last

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modified August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2019. https://tv.avclub.com/the-age-of-anthology-why-the-ryan-murphy-model-is-taki-1798282858.