Abstract
This chapter explores the ways in which receptions of the Hobbit trilogy were prefigured by Tolkien’s written works, Jackson’s earlier Lord of the Rings trilogy, and an array of marketing and promotions materials, news coverage, discussion and debate. Drawing on data from an online pre-viewing survey, the chapter outlines the main shared viewpoints of 1000 respondents before The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’s (AUJ) release and documents their prefigurative activities in anticipation of a long-awaited cinematic experience. To further clarify the orientations and expectations of those who later participated in multilingual post-viewing surveys for AUJ, the chapter outlines the specific constellations of meaning, value and affect that pre-viewers were ascribing to The Hobbit in advance of seeing it.
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Michelle, C., Davis, C.H., Hardy, A.L., Hight, C. (2017). Adaptation, Anticipation and Cinematic Desire: Prefigurative Engagements with a Blockbuster Fantasy Franchise. In: Fans, Blockbusterisation, and the Transformation of Cinematic Desire. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59616-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59616-1_3
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