Date of Award
8-2024
Degree Type
Report
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
English
Committee Chair(s)
Lynne McNeill (committee chair)
Committee
Lynne McNeill
Committee
Afsane Rezaei
Committee
Jeannie Thomas
Committee
Mikel Koven
Abstract
In this thesis I looked at how legend tripping is mediated through the affordances of new social technologies and apps, specifically TikTok. Short video formats allowed for folk cinematography to spread legend narratives and at the same time create more visual online landscapes for people to interact with. I defined folk cinematography as the way in which people make videos based on a vernacular level. This has been based on people having more access to video making tools and learning from informal patterns such as trends on sites like TikTok. Because of this, I explored how audiences participate in a variation of legend trip structures of telling stories, performing them at an online legend site, and, quite often, retell the legend at the same time they perform it. I also made connections to how audiences demonstrate belief online through tools that allow for more visible ostension and thus was able to track changes in belief or investment of the online audiences.
Recommended Citation
Holley, Drew, "Legend Trips and Vernacular Film Theory: Spooky Encounters in TikTok Mediated Legend Trips" (2024). All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present. 48.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports2023/48
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