As I start to complete my excessive amount of homework,
Phineas and Ferb’s never ending summer sounds so amazing right now. However,
after reading Present Shock, I realized that Phineas and Ferb is an amazing
example of a Narrative Collapse as well. Rushkoff explains our first symptom of
Present Shock with the concept of Narrative Collapse, a metanarrative that does
not make sense. In today’s digital world, we are constantly accessing
information and there are no valuable stories that help in our search for
meaning. Seinfeld, Friends, The Simpsons,
Family Guy, South Park, The Office also tell a linear story with a
beginning, a middle and an end. We live in an era of “storyless TV.” Seinfeld is about “nothing.” Reality
TV is another example of storyless TV. Present shock deconstructs the
narratives that give life meaning and purpose. Deconstructed in
this style, the animated
comedy-musical television series, Phineas and Ferb
looses its ability to tell stories over time. The linear narrative structure had
been abused by television’s storytellers that it stopped working, on
younger people who were raised in the more interactive media environment. As a
whole, Phineas and Ferb is not a complete story, and each episode can exist on
its own.
Phineas Flynn and his stepbrother Ferb Fletcher are on summer vacation and every
episode is a new day of summer. Their controlling sister, Candace attempts to show their ridiculous projects and inventions to their mother. The
show has a standard plot system and an additional plot that features their pet, Perry the Platypus working as a spy for OWCA (the Organization Without a
Cool Acronym), to defeat Dr. Heinz
Doofenshmirtz, a mad scientist driven by a need to
assert his evilness. The two plots eventually overlap at the end of the show, erasing the boys' project before Candace can show it to their mother,
which occurs every episode resulting in a continuous pattern throughout the
series. The series is also known for its
musical numbers, which have appeared in almost every episode since the
first season. Phineas and Ferb is now the longest running Disney Channel Original Series. On May
7, 2015, it was officially announced that the series has wrapped up after four
seasons, and the final hour-long episode titled "Phineas and Ferb: Last
Day of Summer" would premiere on June 12, 2015 on Disney XD.
The episodes of Phineas
and Ferb follow a pattern. First, Phineas gets an idea for a project, and he says, "Ferb, I know
what we're gonna do today!" Then, Perry escapes using hidden tunnels, to a
secret underground base. Then, a chatacter says, "Hey, where's
Perry?" Major Monogram tells Perry that “Doctor Doofenshmirtz is up to
something; find out what it is, and stop it!" Candace finds out what the
boys are doing, and tries to tell Mom. Perry breaks into the office of
Doofenschmirtz Evil Inc. Doofenschmirtz traps Perry and explains his evil plan.
Perry escapes the trap and they fight. When Mom comes home, all evidence of
their project is gone because of Doofenschmirtz's device. Doofenschmirtz then
says, "Curse you Perry the Platypus!"
The show also has pop-cultural
references. We cannot tell traditional stories because we no
longer live within ancient Aristotelian narratives with their beginnings,
middles, and ends. Technology killed narrative because we do not have to watch commercials
or entire shows. We are experiencing a Narrative Collapse because we could turn
on any part of a Phineas and Ferb episode and we do not have to wait for the
plot to unfold due to the plot line's unpredictability.
Phineas
and Ferb is a postmodern, presentist narrative. As Rushkoff states, in our
modern stories, “Characters must learn how their universes work. Narrativity is
replaced by something more like putting together a puzzle by
making connections and recognizing patterns.” (Rushkoff 37). Candace struggles
to catch her brothers, but her proof is always absent by the time her mom gets
home. Rushkoff explains postnarrative storytelling when he states, “There is
plot—there are many plots—but there is no overarching story, no end. There are
so many plots, in fact, that an ending tying everything up seems inconceivable,
even beside the point,” (Rushkoff 41). Phineas and Ferb have multiple scenarios
that occur in the same sequence of events, but when the season tried to end the
show on the “last day of summer”, the episode was unimaginable since Phineas
and Ferb’s ending was pointless. Plus, Disney XD will always play reruns of
their old summer days! (thank god) Therefore, Phineas and Ferb will “always be on” and I will always be envious of their never ending
summer.
Rushkoff, Douglass. Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now. New York: Penguin, 2013. Nook.
I agree that the storyline is very generic and formulaic. It makes you wonder why so many people still enjoy the show, despite the lack of surprise and original plot!
ReplyDeleteTo build on what Mumtaz said, maybe the very lack of surprise is the reason so many enjoy the series.
ReplyDeleteEndless-loop series are not exactly new--take, for example, the game show. The Price is Right has been on for many, many years (I believe since before I was born). Every episode is exactly the same in terms of what happens. The pattern repeats every day. Its continued popularity may affirm the idea that at least some viewers appreciate the pattern.
As far as Phineas and narrative collapse, you mention Rushkoff's point about finding a pattern--how does that idea come into play here? Is spotting the pop culture references and making those connections part of the "process" of viewing this show.
I also think the idea of an endless summer is particularly presentist. Not only does time never march forward, the characters are stuck in an aimless summer vacation--a time of no work or responsibilities or school--forever.