The Legacy of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Text, Textual Production, Paracinema, and Media Literacy

Abstract

Paracinema, as proposed by Jeffrey Sconce, an activity in which audiences seek out marginalized films and both celebrate and ridicule them (535), is a practice that offers lessons in media literacy and textual production. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) is an important cultural artifact that offers these lessons to mainstream audiences. Using Brian Ott's theory of textual production, and Ott and Cameron Walter's theory of intertextuality as textual strategies, this article demonstrates MST3K is an enactment of paracinematic practice. MST3K is a text that teaches paracinema's media literacy, particularly in a world where interactivity is conflated with a truly active audience.

Keywords:

• intertextuality
• Mystery Science Theater 3000
• paracinema
• parody
• textual production

Notes

1. Notably, the majority of the cast and writers of MST3K identify as “proud, died-in-the-wool [sic] Minnesota liberals,” the exception being Michael J. Nelson (Cornell and Henry, Mystery).

2. Fans at Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Discussion Board responded rather incredulously to King's analysis. As one notes,

	I daresay the show's appeal did not teeter on the idea that Joel/Mike were “forced” to watch the movies. At most, it offered a pre-emptive explanaition [sic] for the “why don't they just walk out of the theatre?” types, but really, who needs them?
	Let's face it, it's people doing what every drunk/stoned/bored/creative/etc. group of people do when they watch cheesy movies, but doing it much, MUCH more proficiently. (Fan B)

3. In their discussion of postmodern media, Ott and Walter refer to intertextuality in media as “textual strategies” rather than reading strategies, as they are “explicit and intentional allusions to specific other texts” within texts (434). They also admit that although reading strategies and textual ones are different, “the two processes are not mutually exclusive” (434). Further, because MST3K in a textualization of paracinema practice, the textual strategies of the series are reading strategies, and the terms in this specific case can be used interchangeably.

4. For more on postmodern intertextual textual strategies, see Ott, The Small Screen.

5. Although MST3K's characters use direct address, it is explained in the diegesis that the villains are broadcasting their experiment over cable television.

6. See, for example, studies by Bonnstetter; Cooks and Orbe; Shulman; Vidmar and Rokeach.