Identifying with fictional characters : a model of self development

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to explore how the self after postmodernity is developed from its identification with media fictional characters. (Lyotard, 1984; Hoorn & Konijn, 2003) The reasons behind this research are a lacuna in the definition of the contemporary self, and a lack of theory on the self's communication with fictional characters. I test this communicative relationship and its effect on the development of the self by assembling and applying a model in a case study centred on HBO's televised film series A Game of Thrones (Benioff, Doelger, Caulfield, Strauss, & Martin, 2011). I supplement the results of this case study with qualitative data gathered from online forums. Results from this case study show that fictional characters can be considered as narratives offering identity options to the self. (Hoorn & Konijn, 2005) This is grounded in Paul Ricoeur's concept of narrative identity, whereby the self develops from the creation and use of stories. Identification contributes to this process by filtering out those narrative traits that are incompatible with the self's development. I explore this filtration process through Elly Hoorn's and Johan Konijn's PEFiC model, which divides character evaluation into three stages: encode (traits of the fictional character are perceived), compare (the individual compares his/her own traits with those of the fictional character), and respond (the individual incorporates any desirable perceived traits into his/her own identity) (2005) I argue that these results can be used to sketch a portrait of the contemporary self, which I define after engaging with the myths of the self in modernity and postmodernity. This engagement opens up a debate between Calvin Schrag (1997), and Jean-Francois Lyotard (1984), who find an answer to the contemporary self in pseudo-unification and fragmentation respectively. I create my own definition by synthesising both theses. I conclude by declaring the self as an ongoing process of narrative identification rather than a myth, and fictional characters as important avenues for further identity development.