This project is a component of my first dissertation chapter, “Mutating Media: Transmission of the Ringu Virus,” which analyzes the Ringu multimedia franchise at two different scales. The first is the meta-level, in which I trace the transmission of the various media iterations through time and across cultural locations. In addition to the meta-level, I examine the Ringu virus on the level of representation, focusing specifically on the cursed video as the means of transmission.
The interactive timelines linked below are part of my examination of the meta-level. The goal is to eventually link them all into one timeline.
Additional digital compnents of this chapter will include an animated epidemiological map and a digital collage of representations of the screen in the various Ringu iterations.
Disclaimer: The Mutating Media project is a work-in-progress. Although the author has made a good faith effort to compile the most accurate information, she is in the process of locating more comprehensive sources for information such as International film release dates, etc. However, it should be noted that even if such sources are found, any attempt to represent a media form as varied and popular as the Ringu franchise will necessarily be a sort of fiction. Linear timelines and neat tables imply a rigid structure that does not represent the messiness of media dissemination. For instance, this project cannot possibly account for the spread of Ring transmissions through means which resist tracking, such as pirated videos and region-free DVD players. The project is meant to paint the picture of media transmission in the broadest of strokes and the author regretfully recognizes that many nuances are obscured along the way.