Scorpio, Jenkins

Jenkins describes our cultural shift in media culture as more participatory than it’s ever been. The development of technology has certainly increased the obtain ability for everyday people to create media of their own. Jenkins argues this shift is causing problems for the media industries, as “Media consumers want to become media producers, while media producers want to maintain their traditional dominance over media content” (554).

While I find this practice an example of hegemony, I also see that media producers have taken this notion with a strategy. In order to participate in media, we must consume it ourselves. Therefore, media like video games ask us to participate in them, to place ourselves in a fantasy world that is presented through the media. As we feel the media asks us for participation (American Idol voting), we feel control in the new media industry. But overall, we are still consuming the media passively.

I also found Jenkin’s examples of Star Wars being reproduced multiple times was interesting to read about. Although I personally have never seen Star Wars, I have seen more spoofs and parodies than I can count of the film itself. With technology, producers of this technology are able to reach a broader audience and spread their opinions. Take YouTube.com, for example. The slogan on this sight is to “Broadcast Yourself”. Not only are you broadcasting yourself, but you’re stating your opinion and making the media conglomerates weaker and less able to control their “franchisees”.

I believe this new participatory culture is an independent form of the media that can come from anybody. Jenkins states, “Seeing media fans as active participants within the current media revolution, seeing their cultural products a an important aspect of the digital cinema movement” (551) This type of media is important to the longevity of our democratic cultural practices.