Henry Jenkins’ Convergence Culture explores the various digital media: How they complement and overlap one another, and how they are used by different segments of the population—the TV executives, movie makers, and journalists who have traditionally controlled the content, audiences who are growing in their participation with media, and those who work in politics.
The television stations once had the upper hand, Jenkins says; “No given cable channel has had the power reach of a CBS, NBC or ABC” (60), because there weren’t any other options. Networks produced it, viewers watched it, and that was the extent of participation. However, with “a move from the three major networks to a cable environment with hundreds of more specialized channels” (66), each outlet has much more competition than in the past. As a result, “fans are seeing more shows reflecting their tastes and interests reaching the air” (62). A shift to fan-driven media is in progress.
Journalists, too, have to adapt to an increasingly-participatory audience; “old media still defines which forms of cultural expression are mainstream” (278), but “what might once have felt like fringe activities are increasingly normalized” (276). Average, non-journalist citizens are pushing back against “mainstream media’s historical gatekeeping and agenda-setting functions” (277) by taking advantage of blogs, YouTube, and the message boards provided by news sites to be sure their voices are heard.
While some are struggling to adapt and change with the fast-moving media front, others have embraced it. Jenkins describes the Wachowski brothers, the creators of The Matrix, who spread the storyline of their movies not only over three box-office films, but also over video games and short films available online (103). Jenkins says, “The Wachowskis were more than happy to take credit for whatever meanings the fans located, all the while implying there was more, much more, to be found if the community put its collective mind to work” (102). Their multi-platform storytelling engaged the audience much more than a traditional film would have done.
The variety of ways to reach an audience in the 21st century means that while those who have traditionally controlled the airways have more avenues available to them, the audience's attention is also spread out, so the professionals now must use more media than ever before. The shift is still being played out before our eyes, and audiences have not hesitated to use the tools newly available to them. From playing out video game scenes in The Matrix, to Harry Potter fan faction, to digging up spoilers for Survivor, or more “serious” forms of communication in the news distribution and presidential campaigns, people are using their opportunities to interact and demanding more spaces to be heard.
Jenkins remarks about The Matrix’s multilayer approach to storytelling, “the depth and breadth of the Matrix universe made it impossible for any one consumer to ‘get it’” (131), meaning that this movie franchise was a collective experience. And a wildly successful one, at that--during the years that the story was unfolding, it was hard to avoid fans on all levels of involvement. Given such enthusiasm from fans, even with a lukewarm response from critics (104), it is unlikely that this model will end up being a one-off experiment that is never seen again. Other filmmakers will see this success and want to tweak the method for their own purposes, while fans who loved the “choose your own adventure” side of the movies will demand more than just a simple story from future films. The Wachowski brothers may not have set out to transform storytelling as we know it, but they may have achieved that transformation.w.
The community of online Harry Potter fan fiction brought another level of participation, as many kids used the sites to make “a self within the fiction” (181) and for some “it was the first step toward constructing a more elaborate fantasy about their life at Hogwarts” (181). What the kids didn’t know about were trademark laws, which Warner Bros. came round to enforce after getting the film rights to the series (194). The online community worldwide banded together to fight back, much to the surprise of WB, who were accustomed to fans acquiescing to their cease-and-desist orders (197). Fortunately for the kids running the sites and for WB (who would have seen a PR nightmare had they persisted), an agreement was reached. This case was an eye-opener for those concerned and anyone who would participate in interaction with an established story; fans now know how to enter a storytelling world without doing any harm, and studios have been served notice that these harmless fans will not go quietly.
Fan participation will change the face of media totally, in many cases for the better but also for the worse from time to time. Traditional media controllers who ignore the public’s wishes do so at their own peril; they cannot continue to exist without the consent of the entertained.
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