Thought Paper: November 1

I like Henry Jenkins’ explanation of convergence, in his book Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, as “a word that manages to describe technological, industrial, cultural, and social changes…” I especially like that he does not implicitly link convergence with technological advance, though he does not stray too far from the “new technology’ fold. What he has done is open the door to view convergence from a social, humanist, or communication perspective. I have the feeling that he would be comfortable in Boorstin’s discussion of the “fluidity of existence”, the process in which a printed book becomes a movie, the movie is broadcast on television, the movie’s soundtrack becomes a record album, and the album is broadcast over the radio. Though unlike Boorstin, Jenkins would not lament the occurrence, but except it as a natural evolution of technologies and communication needs. Jenkins states, “Convergence does not depend on any specific delivery mechanism. Rather…a move from media-specific content toward content that flows across multiple media channels…”

It is the clash of cultures—corporate and public—that hold the key to understanding convergence culture. The same-old-content-over-new-and-different-technology-channels discussion will never be able to fully explore convergence. Only when you examine the point of resistance between the media elite and the public, will the true potential of convergence be realized. The example of Gore’s Current television network could be a great case study to examine this New Media clash of resistant communities in the model of Don Mitchell’s (youth culture redefining the mall space), Stuart Hall’s (individuals as producers and consumers of culture) and Mikhail Bakhtin’s (Rabelais and His World—carnival) work. Will the participatory public accept the wealth white guy’s “alternative” media network? Moreover, if they do, will “corporate media” co-opt them and their product?

It will be at the point of resistance between corporate commercial interests and the mass' desires where the public will decide how they will best utilize the more-accessible media content and information. It will be this struggle between the public—using the technology in new and inventive ways—and the media/corporate/government elite—dictating a commercialized top-down usage scheme—that will reveal the future of convergence. As Jenkins stated, convergence is the “…ever more complex relations between top-down corporate media and bottom-up participatory culture.” More than old and new media colliding as the title suggests, it will be the age-old colliding of popular culture and elitist culture that defines Convergence Culture.

Although I feel Jenkins at times falls into the Cyber-utopia trap—from new technology will dawn a glorious new participatory democracy—he does posits some interesting ideas. His acceptance of social and cultural dynamics at play within the discourse of technological convergence is refreshing. In addition, his questioning and critic of Gore’s business model for Current and its alleged purpose of “democratizing” television, is thoughtful and worthy of additional research.