In this last part of Convergence Culture, Jenkins focuses on how democracy/politics interacts with convergence. Politicos have always used the media to further their agendas and win elections. Whether that media was in print form in the earlier years of the country’s history, or over the radio waves and on television stations in more recent generations, politicians have always seen the benefits of reaching out to the masses via media forms. With the ever changing and evolving face of the media, and along with the advent of instant communication capabilities via mobile devices and computers that access satellite transmission and the internet, politicians find themselves having to adapt to their prospective voters’ new method of media consumption and distribution. Over the summer we learned of how President Obama did just that; while he was running for candidacy, he had the clever idea to place campaign advertisements in a popular racing game that was released during his race to the presidency. This was a move unprecidented in the political sphere. It made him more visible to a very important voting demographic, young men. Along with his strong online presence via campaign websites and online “town hall” meetings, it can not be denied that Obama’s eager and savvy embrace of convergence culture benefited his presidential run. The important thing to note here is not just that Obama embraced the internet and new media to get his message out to more people, but that there was also a blending of media involved in the processes he utilized.
In the opening to chapter 6, Photoshop for Democracy, Jenkins mentions a spring 2004 political video created by Ben Cohen’s True Majority orginization. The short video was an amalgamation of scenes from Donald Trump’s popular reality show, The Apprentice, and images of the incumbent president George. W. Bush. The video creatively uses the angst and discontent that many people in America had against Dubya (as he’s called for his middle initial) and his GOP administration, with a narrator saying in a dramatic tone, “George W. Bush is assigned the task of being president. He drives the economy into the ground, uses lies to justify war, spends way over budget, and almost gets away with it until the Donald finds out.”(217). Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the premise of The Apprentice could appreciate the rhetoric of this smart video clip. Images of Trump in his board room with a disapproving look on his face were juxstaposed with images of Bush looking dejected and ashamed.
I recall all too well the general feeling of negativity toward Bush and his administration; I personally held nothing but contempt for him and his vice president, Dick Cheney (and pretty much any Republican). I remember this video clip and it definitely spoke to me. I passed it along to as many people as I possibly could although it clearly didn’t matter in the end; Bush won his re-election. However, the point that Jenkins was making here was that the ability for different and seemingly unrelated media to come together to create something new or bigger than the individual components has come into full realization in our current convergence culture more than ever before. Later in the chapter, Jenkins highlights the way the cybercommunity turned on Howard Dean after his ridiculously emphatic concession speech following the Iowa caucuses. Here is a case where democracy isn’t necessarily for the benefit of the political sphere. This type of democracy was more toward the right to express the opinion that Howard Dean was a bit of a weirdo who arguably shot himself in the foot with his overly-emotional celebration.
In the conclusion to Convergence Culture, Jenkins focuses on the way consumer participation in media has taken hold and is destined to change media forever. Former vice president Al Gore helped to launch a new cable news network in 2005, Current. The purpose of Current was to encourage young people in the age range of 18 to 34 to become citizen journalists, to make news more of a democratic process, so to speak (251). Of course, due to the nature of network television (the economics that are often so inevitably intertwined with political agendas) it was predicted that Current was doomed to failure. Any news station that was to be truly democratic had to come from the grassroots movement outside of corporate television. And really, that’s the way all media is heading, anyway. We are increasingly participating in and independently creating our media. The corporations are often so clueless as to what their viewers actually want, consumers have decided to take on the responsibility of creating the content that they want. In fact, Jenkins says on page 267, “Fans reject the idea of a definitive version produced, authorized, and regulated by some media conglomerate. Instead, fans envision a world where all of us can participate in the creation and circulation of central cultural myths.” Jenkins predicts this new world of convergence culture is coming in the future, but I say it’s already here.
questions:
1) Do you mind politicians “invading” your personal forms of media in order to get their message out?
2) Is user-generated entertainment a viable competition to corporate productions? Which do you primarily watch now? Do you see that changing in the future?
3) What was the first piece of user-generated media that you personally created or helped create?
In the opening to chapter 6, Photoshop for Democracy, Jenkins mentions a spring 2004 political video created by Ben Cohen’s True Majority orginization. The short video was an amalgamation of scenes from Donald Trump’s popular reality show, The Apprentice, and images of the incumbent president George. W. Bush. The video creatively uses the angst and discontent that many people in America had against Dubya (as he’s called for his middle initial) and his GOP administration, with a narrator saying in a dramatic tone, “George W. Bush is assigned the task of being president. He drives the economy into the ground, uses lies to justify war, spends way over budget, and almost gets away with it until the Donald finds out.”(217). Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the premise of The Apprentice could appreciate the rhetoric of this smart video clip. Images of Trump in his board room with a disapproving look on his face were juxstaposed with images of Bush looking dejected and ashamed.
I recall all too well the general feeling of negativity toward Bush and his administration; I personally held nothing but contempt for him and his vice president, Dick Cheney (and pretty much any Republican). I remember this video clip and it definitely spoke to me. I passed it along to as many people as I possibly could although it clearly didn’t matter in the end; Bush won his re-election. However, the point that Jenkins was making here was that the ability for different and seemingly unrelated media to come together to create something new or bigger than the individual components has come into full realization in our current convergence culture more than ever before. Later in the chapter, Jenkins highlights the way the cybercommunity turned on Howard Dean after his ridiculously emphatic concession speech following the Iowa caucuses. Here is a case where democracy isn’t necessarily for the benefit of the political sphere. This type of democracy was more toward the right to express the opinion that Howard Dean was a bit of a weirdo who arguably shot himself in the foot with his overly-emotional celebration.
In the conclusion to Convergence Culture, Jenkins focuses on the way consumer participation in media has taken hold and is destined to change media forever. Former vice president Al Gore helped to launch a new cable news network in 2005, Current. The purpose of Current was to encourage young people in the age range of 18 to 34 to become citizen journalists, to make news more of a democratic process, so to speak (251). Of course, due to the nature of network television (the economics that are often so inevitably intertwined with political agendas) it was predicted that Current was doomed to failure. Any news station that was to be truly democratic had to come from the grassroots movement outside of corporate television. And really, that’s the way all media is heading, anyway. We are increasingly participating in and independently creating our media. The corporations are often so clueless as to what their viewers actually want, consumers have decided to take on the responsibility of creating the content that they want. In fact, Jenkins says on page 267, “Fans reject the idea of a definitive version produced, authorized, and regulated by some media conglomerate. Instead, fans envision a world where all of us can participate in the creation and circulation of central cultural myths.” Jenkins predicts this new world of convergence culture is coming in the future, but I say it’s already here.
questions:
1) Do you mind politicians “invading” your personal forms of media in order to get their message out?
2) Is user-generated entertainment a viable competition to corporate productions? Which do you primarily watch now? Do you see that changing in the future?
3) What was the first piece of user-generated media that you personally created or helped create?
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