Insights into serial narratives through qualitative modelling techniques

Abstract

Serial narratives can often be seen as narrative ecosystems with a long lifespan and whose transformation and evolution can be based on external factors (relating to their media, economic and reception contexts) as well as internal ones (narrative aspects, the evolution of characters and of the plot). Considering the paradigm of narrative ecosystems, this work is a preliminary investigation regarding serial narratives, conducted through the application of a qualitative modeling technique (loop analysis), developed within the ecological domain. Loop analysis is proposed as an innovative method for the analysis of narrative ecosystems, and its aim is to reconstruct their evolutionary dynamics through the implementation of models able to consider the heterogeneity of all the possible variables (narrative, text, productive, economic spheres etc.). This paper presents two goals: (i) highlighting, through a step-by-step methodological process, the systemic approach of loop analysis, which could help to identify successful trends by modeling them in an evaluative/predictive perspective, and (ii) preliminarily applying said method to the TV series Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011-), which will be considered as a case study.