narrativesthrough

Narrativesthrough is a term used in media studies and literary theory to describe a mode of storytelling that foregrounds the channels, pathways, and infrastructures through which a narrative is experienced. Rather than treating a narrative as a stand-alone text, narrativesthrough treats the experience of the story as shaped by its delivery across media, interfaces, and user navigation, with meaning emerging from the journey as much as from the content.

Origin and usage: The term is a relatively recent coinage and appears in discussions of transmedia storytelling, interactive fiction, and media design. It is sometimes written narrativesthrough as a single word or described as narrative through media. The concept is intended to highlight how form, platform, and path through content influence interpretation.

Core characteristics: It emphasizes multi-modal composition and the conduit through which audiences access the story rather than focusing solely on traditional content. It often involves non-linear or user-driven navigation, where temporality and sequence are created by the reader or viewer. Design and platform choices shape comprehension and meaning, making the audience an active participant in constructing narrative experience.

Applications: In literature, augmented or electronic texts pair prose with audio, video, or hyperlinks. In film and interactive cinema, projects may allow different viewing orders. In video games and interactive narratives, branching throughlines adapt to player decisions. In journalism and museums, interactive data and exhibit spaces let audiences explore narratives through interface choices.

Critique: Some observers view narrativesthrough as overlapping with established terms like transmedia and interface narrative, risking vagueness. Critics also note that emphasizing route and medium can sidestep traditional concerns of character, theme, and plot; accessibility and equity issues may arise when narrative experience depends on specific platforms.

See also: Transmedia storytelling; Narratology; Interface narrative; Media archaeology; Interactive fiction.