바르트의 ‘저자의 죽음’을 비롯해 사르트르, 푸코, 바흐친 등 많은 이론가들이 저자와 텍스트 및 독자의 관계를 논한 바 있으며 논의도 어느 정도 일단락 된 듯하다. 그러나 디지털 시대 이후 텍스트의 생산과 소비의 양태가 변화함에 따라 이들의 관계도 재정립되는 양상이다. 드라마 <W>는 이러한 논의를 극을 통해 다시금 제기하고 있는 점이 흥미롭다.
본고는 드라마 <W>의 인물 관계를 텍스트, 독자, 저자의 관계로 규정하고 드라마를 해석한 연구이다. 드라마 <W>는 웹툰 <W>의 마지막 회를 그려나가는 과정이라는 서사에 저자, 텍스트, 독자라는 표상적 인물 관계를 의도적으로 설정하고 각각의 인물이 상징하는 세계를 내러티브적으로 구조화하고 있다. 강철은 웹툰의 세계를 대표하는 인물로 텍스트의 표상이고, 오연주와 오성무는 드라마 세계에 속한 인물로 오연주는 독자를, 오성무는 작가를 대표한다. 특히 송재정 작가는 드라마 <W>에 텍스트와 저자, 독자의 대화적 관계, 상호작용을 구체화하는 가운데, 텍스트는 작가와 텍스트, 독자가 단절되어 독립적으로 의미를 창출하는 것이 아니라 세 요소들은 때때로 대립, 갈등하고 협업하면서 창작하고 의미화 작업을 완성한다는 점을 극적으로 그리고 실천적으로 제기하고 있었다. 디지털 시대 이후 텍스트의 생산과 소비 양태가 변화함에 따라 저자, 텍스트, 독자의 관계도 재정립되는 양상이다. 드라마 <W>에 드러난 디지털 시대의 변화된 텍스트의 생산과 소비 활동이 현실 반영이라는 측면을 고려할 때 저자, 텍스트, 독자의 관계 정립이 다시금 요구된다 하겠다.
Many theorists, including Barthes in The Death of the Author, Sartre, Foucault, and Bakhtin, have discussed author theory, and the debates around it seem to have been settled. However, along with the changes of aspects in the production and consumption of the text that have occurred since the digital era, the relationship between this production and consumption is also being reestablished. This research examines the relationship between the text, the reader, and the author based on the drama <W>, under the premise that the relationship between the creation and consumption of text is implicit in the deep semantic structure of the drama <W>. It is interesting that <W> dramatizes this very change. The drama, <W>, intentionally sets up the characters as a presentational character-relationship (between the author, the text, and the reader) within the central narrative of working on the last episode of the webtoon <W>, narratively structuring the worlds each individual symbolizes. The way these individuals encounter, interact, and conflict with each other can be associated with Bakhtin’s dialogism. Gangchul is the representative of the world of webtoon, Oh Yeon-ju and Oh Sung-moo are members of the drama world, and Oh Yeon-ju represents the reader and Oh Sung-moo who represents the artist. Scenario writer Song Jae-jung gives shape to the dialogism and interaction between the text, the author, and the reader in the drama, <W>, dramatically expressing and practically posing that the text does not create separate meanings independently from the writer, the text, and the reader. Rather, these three elements oppose, conflict, and cooperate to create and complete the task of signification. When considering how the changes in the production and consumption of the text in the digital era reflect reality, there is a need for reestablishing the relationship between the author, the text, and the reader.
Many theorists, including Barthes in The Death of the Author, Sartre, Foucault, and Bakhtin, have discussed author theory, and the debates around it seem to have been settled. However, along with the changes of aspects in the production and consumption of the text that have occurred since the digital era, the relationship between this production and consumption is also being reestablished. This research examines the relationship between the text, the reader, and the author based on the drama <W>, under the premise that the relationship between the creation and consumption of text is implicit in the deep semantic structure of the drama <W>. It is interesting that <W> dramatizes this very change. The drama, <W>, intentionally sets up the characters as a presentational character-relationship (between the author, the text, and the reader) within the central narrative of working on the last episode of the webtoon <W>, narratively structuring the worlds each individual symbolizes. The way these individuals encounter, interact, and conflict with each other can be associated with Bakhtin’s dialogism. Gangchul is the representative of the world of webtoon, Oh Yeon-ju and Oh Sung-moo are members of the drama world, and Oh Yeon-ju represents the reader and Oh Sung-moo who represents the artist. Scenario writer Song Jae-jung gives shape to the dialogism and interaction between the text, the author, and the reader in the drama, <W>, dramatically expressing and practically posing that the text does not create separate meanings independently from the writer, the text, and the reader. Rather, these three elements oppose, conflict, and cooperate to create and complete the task of signification. When considering how the changes in the production and consumption of the text in the digital era reflect reality, there is a need for reestablishing the relationship between the author, the text, and the reader.
