Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Dissertations Department of Communication 8-11-2015 "Hello Shoppers?" - Themed Spaces, Immersive Popular Culture Exhibition, and Museum Pedagogy Ian Peters Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/communication_diss Recommended Citation Peters, Ian, ""Hello Shoppers?" - Themed Spaces, Immersive Popular Culture Exhibition, and Museum Pedagogy." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2015.edu/communication_diss/60 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu. “HELLO SHOPPERS?” – THEMED SPACES, IMMERSIVE POPULAR CULTURE EXHIBITION, AND MUSEUM PEDAGOGY by IAN PETERS Under the Direction of Ted Friedman, PhD ABSTRACT This dissertation explores popular culture-related themed space exhibitions and immersive mu- seum pedagogy through the emerging post-museum, media convergence culture, and Deborah L.
Per- ry’s museum-oriented “What Makes Learning Fun” framework. These exhibitions utilize popular media like Star Wars, Doctor Who, and the films of Hayao Miyazaki as a means of engaging audiences with brand and subject-specific pedagogy. By bringing fictional worlds to life through environmental stimuli (sets, sounds, objects, media segments), these exhibitions use popular texts as a means of facilitating the educational goals of the institution by having visitors engage in “work as play.” Learning becomes encompassed in the “fun” and “play” that is experienced with theme parks and games. Oftentimes edu- cational programs are developed for these exhibitions that are frequently tied to specific national and regional educational requirements.
In the post-museum, visitors are assigned interpretive powers where meaning is produced through their own personal experience. As Eilean Hooper-Greenhill argues, the use of visual media helps transcend usual classifications of high and low culture. This study argues that fan- dom within a themed space exhibition enhances this aspect, and the act of play enhances visitor inter- pretation. These key issues are examined through three main examples: The Doctor Who Experience (addressing public service vs.
corporate profits), Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition (roleplaying as ped- agogy and Alberta, Canada’s CALM program), and the Ghibli Museum (Japanese history, national identi- ty, and self-discovery). These exhibits act as sites where the tension between branding and pedagogy operate, and illustrate how popular texts and education are localized for different audiences. The close examination of these themed spaces leads to a better understanding of contemporary media culture and its social/cultural applications on an international scale. INDEX WORDS: Post-Museum, Themed Space, Fandom, Museum, Exhibit, Exhibition, New Media, Brand- ing, Japan, Britain, Alberta, Canada, Ghibli, Miyazaki, Doctor Who, Star Wars, BBC, BBC World- wide, Theme Park, Theming, Play, National Identity, Pedagogy, Education, What Makes Learning Fun “HELLO SHOPPERS?” – THEMED SPACES, IMMERSIVE POPULAR CULTURE EXHIBITION, AND MUSEUM PEDAGOGY by IAN PETERS A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2015 Copyright by Ian Michael Peters 2015 “HELLO SHOPPERS?” – THEMED SPACES, IMMERSIVE POPULAR CULTURE EXHIBITION, AND MUSEUM PEDAGOGY by IAN PETERS Committee Chair: Ted Friedman Committee: Alison Trope Sharon Shahaf Ethan Tussey Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2015 iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my beautiful wife Kelly and our amazing and brilliant daughter Sarah.
Her timely arrival in the final year of this project helped me to once again look at the world through the eyes of a child. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the continual guidance of my advisor and Dissertation Chair, Dr. His unending enthusiasm and passion for all things academic were constant inspirations for me during my time at Georgia State University, and his advice was invaluable in every stage of this dissertation’s creation. I also would like to thank Dr.
Alison Trope, Clinical Professor of Communication and Director of Undergraduate Studies at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Her work on theming in museums served as an inspiration for this project, and her guid- ance and feedback during the completion of this manuscript was invaluable. Sharon Shahaf, who also served on my Dissertation Committee, is the person responsible for introducing me to global media studies. Her class inspired me to begin researching Japanese culture, which not only had a major influ- ence on this project but also led to my designing two classes on anime at Georgia State University.
This project, and my graduate career, would be vastly different had it not been for her guidance during my course work. I also want to thank Dr. Ethan Tussey, whose expertise in new media studies, industry stud- ies, and game studies was invaluable in the shaping of this project. Thanks also go to Dr.
Paul Booth for giving me the opportunity to present a (reasonably) finished version of Chapter 3 on a panel with Drs. Lincoln Geraghty and Kyle Moody at the 2015 SCMS Conference. I met Paul when we were co-panelists at the Walking in Eternity conference at the University of Hertfordshire in 2013, which celebrated Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary. This was the first time I presented any of my dissertation research in public, and Paul has been a continual source of support and inspiration since.
A number of individuals, museums, and corporations were kind enough to share materials with me when I contacted them, and provide a nice boost in my morale by expressing their fascination with my topic. Special thanks to Mike Steger, the Director of Marketing & Communications at Telus World of Science in Edmonton, Alberta, for personally walking me through Star Wars Identities and for sharing the exhibition’s supplementary educational materials. I also owe thanks to X3 Productions, the Montréal vi Science Centre, BBC Worldwide and the Doctor Who Experience (with my daughter’s godfather Mark Gladwell serving as my UK shipping contact), the Boston Museum of Science, and the Discovery Center in Santa Ana for giving me access to educational materials pertaining to a variety of themed space exhi- bitions. It goes without saying that I need to thank my friends and family.
I would like to thank my par- ents, Ed and Sheryl, for their continued love and support throughout my studies. They are also the pri- marily influence behind this project since they ensured that museums were an important part of my life from an early age. In 1992 they took me to see the Star Trek: Federation Science exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science, and that fun family outing turned out to have an unforeseen and lasting impact on my personal and professional development. I also need to thank my mom for forcing me to lug firewood for her before school every day during the 5th grade.
While that manual labor was unappreciated at the time, it was my first real introduction to “working behind the scenes” in museum education as I was helping her prepare materials for the day’s lessons on colonial life at the Concord Museum. Additional thanks go to my sister Lucia for her frequent cat pictures, which were needed during the long hours of isolation that all dissertation writers endure. Similarly, I have to thank Dr. Jeremy Groskopf for his fre- quent advice and Dr.
Katharine Zakos for commiserating with me as we both struggled to finish our re- spective projects on time. Special thanks go to my wife, Kelly. I would not have had the strength to com- plete this monumental task without her never-ending love, support, and patience. Lastly, I want to thank Hasbro for producing such a diverse line of Star Wars rebel pilot action figures.
These figures served as a continual source of inspiration throughout the writing process, and the veritable fleet that covered my desk at the end of this project indicates just how valuable they were in helping me get through the final push. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .1 Immersion, Spectatorship, Interactivity, and Theming – How Museums and Theme Parks Transcend the Everyday .2 “Hello Shoppers!” – Education, Branding, and Popular Media “Tut” Shows .4 Chapter Breakdown and Science Fiction World Building. 37 2 PUBLIC SERVICE VS. PROFIT: FANDOM MEETS PEDAGOGY, DOCTOR WHO EXHIBITIONS AS EVOLVING POST-MUSEUMS, AND IMMERSIVE NOSTALGIA .1 Doctor Who – A Brief History .2 The Daily Mail Boys and Girls Exhibitions (1964-65; 67-68) – Out of the Screen and Into the Exhibit Hall .3 Longleat House (1973-2003) and Blackpool (1974-85; 2004-09) – Sites of Pilgrimage, Community, and Interactivity .4 Behind the Sofa (1991-1992) – Doctor Who as British Cultural History, and Quality TV 66 2.5 The Doctor Who Experience in London (2011) and Cardiff Bay (2012-Present) – Educational Program Supplements, and Popular Media Inspiring the Imagination.
88 3 ROLEPLAYING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: STAR WARS IDENTITIES, ALBERTA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM, AND THE INTERPRETIVE POTENTIAL OF PLAY .1 Introduction: Roleplaying and Assigned Identity as Pedagogy .2 Star Wars Identities (2011-Present): Tie-ins, the Materiality of Fandom, and Roleplaying as Pedagogy in the Post-Museum .3 Star Wars Identities Part 1 – Origins .1 Interactive Station 1 – Species: What Kind of Creature Are You? .2 Interactive Station 2 – Genes: What Were You Born With? .3 Interactive Station 4 – Culture: What Planet Are You From?.4 Star Wars Identities Part 2 – Influences .1 Interactive Station 7 – Events: Which Experiences Have Marked You? .5 Star Wars Identities Part 3 – Choices .1 Interactive Station 8 – Occupation: What Do You Do?.2 Interactive Station 9 – Personality: How Do You Behave? .6 A Hero (or Villain) is Revealed – Copyright, Ownership, and Play. 147 4 THE GHIBLI MUSEUM, CULTURAL PEDAGOGY, AND THE FREE-FLOW STRUCTURE .1 Cultural Hybridity, Miyazaki, and Merging Tradition with Innovation .2 Strategic Hybridism, Cultural History, and the Spirited Away Special Exhibition .3 Non-Linear Flow, Creative Self-Discovery, and the Dilemma of Scale .4 Perry’s “What Makes Learning Fun” Framework and the Benefits of a Free-Flowing Structure 174 4. 178 ix 5 Conclusion – Technology, the Future of Museums, and Blending Interactivity, Materiality, and Immersion within the Themed Space. 205 Appendix A – Star Wars Identities Interactive Stations .1 – Star Wars Identities Interactive Station 3 – Parents: How Were You Raised? .2 – Star Wars Identities Interactive Station 5 – Mentors: Who Do You Look Up To? .3 – Star Wars Identities Interactive Station 6 – Friends: Who Do You Hang Out With? .4 – Star Wars Identities Interactive Station 10 – Values: What’s Important to You?.
215 Appendix B – Star Wars in Museums: A Brief History. 219 1 1 INTRODUCTION Traveling and permanent exhibits featuring popular media franchises are frequent sights in a va- riety of museums around the world, where fictional texts are used as the framework to teach visitors about a wide variety of subjects. These exhibits frequently include original objects such as props, pro- duction sketches, and costumes that not only showcase the franchise in question, but also use the fic- tional worlds as gateways for teaching about subjects that each type of museum specializes in. They are special events that were inspired by the exhibit blockbusters (or Tut Shows) that first emerged in the 1970s,1 which boost ticket sales and a museum’s visibility in the media.
The merging of franchise-specific materials and subject-specific pedagogy in museums is frequently accomplished through the creation of immersive themed spaces where, as is the case with popular theme parks like those produced by Disney and Universal Studios, the visitor becomes immersed in the fictional worlds within the exhibit, tempo- rarily removing that person from the “real world.” In these spaces, visitors engage in what Alison Grif- fiths identifies as “alternative modes of spectatorship” that involve bodily immersion.2 One such example is the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology exhibit, which has traveled to science museums in Canada, Spain, and the United States since 2011, and provides visitors with the opportunity to physically immerse themselves in the Indiana Jones franchise.