Alternate Endings to TV Shows

One of the most relatable pieces we read this quarter was Henry Jenkins’s “How Texts Become Real”. A quote that stood out to me was where Jenkins talks about the use of online communities which allows “fans [to] compare notes, allowing theories to become progressively more elaborated and complex through collaboration with other contributors” (Jenkins 81). This took me back to my high school days when a group of friends and I were obsessed with watching Grey’s Anatomy (I still am). I remember us being in our senior year creative writing class when we got an assignment where we had to modify an already existing tv or movie plot line. One of my friends guiltily confessed that this was right up her alley because she enjoyed writing fan fiction on an app called WattPad. From then on for a brief period of time she would text us links to her alternative storylines for our mutually enjoyed show. As Grey’s Anatomy is famous for its rollercoaster of emotions and killing off of main characters, she used the app to create storylines in which loved characters came back. This allowed us to further theorize what could have been and discuss what direction we would have preferred the show to take. I think online communities like these are great for self expression. Even if they are not necessarily to be shared with a large public, it is a good use of literacy to be able to interpret and re-write things you enjoy.