Literature Within the Tree - Emmy Jones

## Introduction

The definition of literature has taken many more definitions than Plato could have ever imagined, and he would be mortified at the thought of how many mediums are considered to be literature. Plato speaks about his views on written text, "it destroys memory and enfeebles the mind by relieving it of too much work."[14] He believes that orality is the only true form of literature. There are multiple forms of media that are finding their way to becoming a new form of literature. Within in the last decade, there has been a large increase in the practices of "fan fiction". Authors are beginning to see their characters remade into new stories that have been written by their loving fans. Even musicians are seeing their fans do covers and mash up's of their songs. Some people love seeing what their fans have to say, others do not. Regardless, we have the internet to thank for these trends, because without it, these fan-driven reinventions would be nonexistent. We are living in a world completely controlled by media and what it has to say, whether it is from a professional critique or an average Joe who wants express his feelings.

The internet helped me discover what I consider, one of the best teen dramas created. One Tree Hill is a series that is so relatable to common people and I could not get enough of it. It consists of family fights, relationship problems, and all the things a basic high school student faces. There are not many shows that have been so successful that they have been able to run for more than 5 years, but One Tree Hill ran for 9 years. While literature is normally thought of as a physical text, this show would be considered a new form. The main reason so many people are willing to give it this label is because it has a lasting artistic merit. This show means so much to so many people. The fanbase for this show is so supportive and that is why it is so prominent even after it has ended. The online community will never let this show die again.

Most of the One Tree Hill's fans, like me, had never even heard of it until after production had ended. But, because of the "Wired World" we live in, when it was added to Netflix, Twitter exploded with talk about this teen drama. This One Tree Hill epidemic brought fans begging for more. Online communities called Fandoms were formed so that fans across the country could interact and respond to each other. The Fandoms discuss things like conspiracy theories, spoilers, and upcoming events in the shows. Without the internet and these online communities, all forms of media and literature would not influence people the way it does now. Some argue that we are too dependent on the internet and while that may be, the internet provides so much for upcoming authors, writers, producers, and musicians. Without it, discussions would be limited to book clubs. The internet makes it possible for people to share their thoughts and ideas from all over the world.

So many critiques are quick to say that not just anything can be considered literature or art, however, it is unfair to consider a novel a piece of literature and not consider the movie that it is based off of not. Different forms of media are scrutinized because they are not traditional forms. Walter Ong writes, "Plato's charge that writing is inhuman, thing-like, and that it destroys memory." Plato believes that only spoken word should be considered literature, yet that is what movies and television shows are and this notion is still being rejected. Times are changing and this modernized world is taking over. Literature is evolving as a whole and we must realize there is no capacity for what we can consider to fall into this category. This evolution is even going as far as considering video games as art. We begin to realize that we are modernizing the way we think about what media does for people and the experience that it gives us. In Nicholas Carr's, 'Is Google Making Us Stupid?', he says, "What if I do all my reading on the web not so much because the way I read has changed, i.e. I'm just seeking convenience, but because the way I THINK has changed?"[15] Older generations are always speaking badly on younger people who use the internet, but that is all some people have ever known and its only going to keep evolving.

As we keep evolving we see how much the internet is involved in our lives. We use it on a daily basis and its become a second nature us. Now, most of the reading we do is online, whether it be a form of social media, Online articles, or E-books. The internet has brought so much publicity to literature and it only continues to grow within the newly founded Fandoms and Online communities discussing One Tree Hill. Without the internet, media discussion would not be as prevalent. We will explore all of the things fans have to offer, such what they think about authorial intentions, knowledge communities and seeing some interpretive disputes.

## Remediation

A new era is arising in the online world of literature and it does not seem to be stopping anytime soon. Fan fiction is, "fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc."  Fan fiction is usually done to rewrite a portion of a story that the fan thought should have happened. Most of the pieces tend to display more of a sexual aspect and was actually how the books 50 Shads of Gray was born. The online world has brought so many ideas as to what can be considered literature and there are so many ways that fans give react to media. Some of the most prevalent forms of remediation is fan fiction, fan videos, and fan art. Each of these mediums create a way for viewers to express their own thoughts and feelings in a non-typical way.

### Fan Fiction

One Tree Hill Archive is a website with over 14,114 fan written stories about the cast of One Tree Hill. Here you can find stories about Nathan and Haley divorcing, Peyton and Brooke dating, and even Lucas and Nathan not even being brothers. My personal favorite fan fiction is The Aftermath. It reinvents all of the seasons after the school shooting and Lucas' future wife, Peyton ends up dead before he realized he was in love with her. These fan factions of course are not true, but they bring so much good to the online communities by letting everyone express their own views and opinions. It is interesting to see so many people thinking of different scenarios, and how many different things could have actually happened. As a lover of this show, reading some of these fan faction stories really made me think about all of the possibilities. I feel that is a large part why the practice of fan fiction is so popular, people are bouncing ideas off of one another and are then able to recreate the scenes in their own unique way. This in turn can inspire amateur writers to feel less intimidated to share their stories.

### Fan Art

Everyone that has ever seen One Tree Hill knows just how deep the lines each characters says are. There are so many amazing scenes that the average teenager can relate to and that is part of its huge success with the younger generation. I can remember when I first began watching, I would cry at certain things that were being said because it really hit home for me. These shows have meant so much to some viewers that a website, Café Press , has been created where viewers can buy pieces of art that are replica's of Peyton's during high school and some of the most memorable quotes and scenes of the series. These displays of art represent the widespread love shared by the One Tree Hill community. These pieces of art mean so much more than making money, these quotes and scenes have helped someone through a hard time before and now they are pushing to help others see the positive light in bad situations.

### Fan Video

One of the most recent forms of new media in literature is making fan videos. These videos can range from reviews, reenactments, and even tributes to the characters. Fans do this in order to express their thoughts an ideas in a way similar to a talk show rather then reading a blog or a forum.

#### Tree Hill Talk

In this video we see women discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the show. Fans make these reviews because they want to share more ideas about a certain topic at once. If thee women were all trying to type at each other at the same time, it would be very difficult. Since some people still partake in book clubs, it would be a great time to record what people have to say and share it on the internet.

#### Tributes

This video is fan made video of some of Brooke's best lines that describe her growth as a person through all the hardships she's faced. These fan made videos are a special in my eyes because they are like progressions scenes, yet they all follow the same pattern of hurt and perseverance from that character.

## Knowledge Community

Normally, when thinking about a community, we tend to think of a small town that bands together for the good and the bad times. Well, that is exactly what an online community is. "A knowledge community is a community construct, stemming from the convergence of knowledge management as a field of study and social exchange theory." One Tree Hill has such a large and supportive fanbase so there are many websites and groups dedicated to discussing the show which include One Tree Hill Fan Pop, One Tree Hill Wiki , and 21 Places For Every One Tree Hill Fan. While each website is dedicated to talking about the show, each website also shows how the internet provides multiple ways for members interact with each other.

### One Tree Hill Fan Pop

The One Tree Hill Fan pop site is an interactive community that is similar to an online magazine that lets fans explore different ideas about the show. Fans create forums, add their favorite photos, videos, articles and even poll's for other fans to take. Because of this show's massive popularity, there are still posts being made on this site, the most recent being less than two weeks ago. Readers gather on the forums to discuss information about the show, what the characters are doing now, and even throw around the possibility of a reunion. The site serves more as a discussion board for fans as they express what they like and don't like to see. This site even has quizzes for fans to take that decides if you are an expert fan. This community withholds so much information about everything that has ever been seen on the show and continues to progressively keep the show alive.

### One Tree Hill Wiki - Naley

Most Wiki's are pages with tons of information that has a pretty wide range of coverage in it. However, this fan Wiki is one for the sole purpose of discussing the couples of One Tree Hill, and my personal favorite, 'Naley' . In the early episodes, two of the main characters, Haley and Nathan, are nonexistent to each other and through the show they progressively meet and fall in love. This Wiki has documented special moments, fights, and everything in between. From the comments on this wiki, we can read the challenges each couple faces in every season. This Wikia could be used as a 'catch-up' site because it provides a so much detail about what is happening, it is almost as if a fan missed an episode, they could just read what was on the site and they would know exactly what was going on. This Wikia includes 812 pages just about them as a couple, obviously making them a fan favorite.

### 21 Places for Every One Tree Hill Fan

Another fan favorite site is this one. For the true fans who live and breath One Tree Hill, this site is made specifically for them. Here you can see all the monumental places where all the episodes were filmed. This site is put together by the super fans of One Tree Hill who vacation to the town is filmed and visit every house and building that was shown. Fans then share their photos and experiences with the people and places that they have encountered along the way.

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Thanks to the internet we are able to share thoughts, experiences and ideas virtually anywhere in the world. These communities have made an impact on literature as whole, because without it, viewers would not have as many sources to learn so much about the show that they otherwise know nothing about.

## Interpretive Disputes

Within every series, song, and book, the audience always seems to interpret a scenario in a different way than some others and most of the time will cause an argument between some readers. I have found that viewers of this show go only two ways, they either really love this show or they really don't. There are several sites that discuss the show as a whole like Tv.com. Others discuss what they believe happened when characters leave the show and then come back. These disputes even get some attention from the cast itself, especially when the rumor started that the show would start a new production in 2019.

### How good was it?

Many people have argued over whether the fact they even liked the show. Most say that it is the best show they have ever seen, others say its too cliché and predictable. These disputes most likely arise based on the sole fact that everyone has different views, opinions, and values. However, any good publisher would know that any publicity is good publicity. There are so many comments about whether viewers love or hate this show, but I think it was made for a specific audience therefore, those who are not the targeted audience are feel that show is 'stupid'.

#### 2 Viewers Opinions Go Head to Head:

"The Gavin Degraw opening tune is very good and the basketball theme with estranged brothers was an interesting concept and it worked for the first season. What happened after that is anyone's guess, with stupid, ridiculous storylines surrounding beautiful youths all sleeping with each other and blurting out the sappiest of drivel passing for dialogue that would make the cast from Wuthering Heights hide behind a cushion. Three and a bit seasons I forced myself to watch waiting for something along the lines of the first season to happen. Do yourselves a favor and stick with Gilmore Girls"

"One tree hill is great show and it gives something different to everyone. For those of you who watched 3 episodes and stopped, keep watching. And for those of you who stopped cause Lucas and Peyton left, KEEP WATCHING! What I loved about this show is how each character develops so much it's like you know them. One tree hill had a whole lotta heart, and that is what kept it on tv for 9 years. It gave the viewers hope and inspiration. Its a drama, so of course it can get cheesy, but it never goes over the edge. It tells stories and really hits you in the heart sometimes.  "

These fans obviously demonstrate very different views from each other, and while they are not directly talking to each other, they both experienced harsh feed back by other commenters to their posts.

### Fan Theories

EmperorJoker is a blogger on Reddit that has come up with a very arguable theory about character that almost every viewer hated, and it helps us understand why the character acting in the way that he did. He believes that Chris Keller is actually brothers with Nathan and Lucas, but it was hidden by their father. After I read this the first time, I thought about how insane that idea was, but I then started connecting all the dots and realized it was not crazy at all. Most People agreed on this theory, while others just refuse to think it is true. Regardless, being able to have these disputes keeps the fans going. They have the artistic freedom to create scenarios and explanations for things that don't make sense to them.

## Resources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan\_fiction
2. ↑ https://www.fanfiction.net/communities/tv/One-Tree-Hill/
3. ↑ https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12752004/1/The-aftermath
4. ↑ https://www.cafepress.com/+one-tree-hill-fan+wall-art
5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lVDusv30bg
6. ↑ http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/one-tree-hill/videos/40952780/title/brooke-davis-one-million
7. ↑ http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/one-tree-hill
8. ↑ https://onetreehill.fandom.com/wiki/Naley?li\_source=LI&li\_medium=wikia-footer-wiki-rec
9. ↑ https://www.theodysseyonline.com/21-places-in-wilmington-every-one-tree-hill-fan-should-visit
10. ↑ https://onetreehill.fandom.com/wiki/Naley?li\_source=LI&li\_medium=wikia-footer-wiki-rec
11. ↑ http://www.tv.com/shows/one-tree-hill/reviews/
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 http://www.tv.com/shows/one-tree-hill/reviews/
13. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/516otv/one\_tree\_hillchris\_keller\_was\_dan\_scotts\_other/
Ong, Walter "Print, Space, and Closure", Course Readings, HUM 211

Carr, Nicholas "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", Course Reading, HUM211