Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet brings me back to early high school. 2013 was a good year for music. When it came out, I never realized it was a transmedia text, I assumed it was only an album. Going back and looking through various other media forms of this project was interesting. I never knew what Roscoe’s wetsuit was until we discussed it in class. I think a lot of times, people try to give more meaning to something than what was actually intended, and this is especially true in media and media academia. From looking around at various sources, it seems like Roscoe’s wetsuit doesn’t really mean anything. It is more like, “hey Gambino said it so we’re gonna make it into something.” It is a cool concept that I think people wanted to happen, so they made it into something. I think the script is the coolest part of the transmediation process. I’ve always liked concept albums, and they’re way more interesting and harder to make than a collection of songs with loosely tied themes. A script that is 73 pages long that takes a character from your album (which is already telling a story) and tells an even more detailed story is very intriguing.
Back to the whole transmedia idea, I think it is cool, but I don’t think it is the future of entertainment. Simplicity is key. Simplicity is so underrated, especially in our technologically connected world. Some people just want to listen to music. Sometimes, there is no deeper meaning or conspiracy going on, it just so happened that a person took vaguely connected ideas and forced them to match each other. We live in a world where we can tune out those who disagree with us with ease, and surround ourselves only with people who share our views. That is why things like the Flat Earth Society exist.
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