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Sandbox For Convergence Culture (Book)

Convergence Culture
Convergence culture is an idea popularized by scholar Henry Jenkins, and refers to the intersection of old media (television, radio, etc) and new media (computers, the internet, etc) and how that convergence affects culture going forward.

Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars
The fourth chapter of Jenkins' book examines the relationship between corporate media franchises and the grassroots fan movements that make up a fandom. For this chapter, Jenkins focuses on the dynamic between young filmmakers who are fans of Star Wars and Lucasfilm, especially regarding Lucasfilm's handling of parodies and fan works. Equating digital fan films to the cinematic equivalent of punk subculture, with the grassroots movements operating separate from the mainstream eventually going on to influence that mainstream as consumers begin to take media into their own hands. Jenkins then goes on to make a distinction between interactivity and participation, defining the former as developments that were designed with customer feed back in mind, while defining the latter as being shaped by the protocols of culture and society. Even as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 redefines property law to meet the demands of the mass media producers, the unseen compromises that the corporations acknowledged, such as fan fiction, become seen as threats by the copyright holders, who would then send out cease and desist letters to those they felt violated their copyright. Jenkins writes that this is where amateur filmmaking evolved from being simple home productions to public films designed to rework the mythologies they paid homage to, such as the famously ambitious Star Wars: Revelations short film. After examining LucasFilm's reaction to the rise of fan fiction, such as George Lucas's attempts to halt fan erotica in the 1980's, and the attempts of LucasFilm to try and direct fan fiction to an environment they could control, Jenkins states his belief that these fan works have moved well beyond their corporate points of origins.He then cites Grant McCracken's belief that, unlike traditional folk stories, those who tell stories with these properties, fan produced or not, reflects classic cultural hierarchies and that, unlike the myths of old, participation will have to be allowed by the corporation. A collaborationist approach began in massive multiplayer online role playing games such as Star Wars: Galaxies, which was designed by the developers to allow a wide breadth of freedom to the players, allowing them room to craft elaborate scenarios within the conifnes of the game, creating a new kind of fan work that was designed for interactivity. Jenkins finished the chapter by noting that fan and company relations are full of contradicitons, but states his belief that the most effective way to maintain a healthy relatiobship with fans is to recognize fan works, contending that fans and companies need to coexist. In 2014, Jenkins published his own response to 'Rethinking Convergence Culture', acknowledging the criticisms leveled against his 2006 book. He goes on to say that his book was never intended to be the definitive guide on the convergence of media technologies, going on to say that cultural studies should remain open to new models of participatory culture. The expansion of the frameworks can allow the development of understanding the differences between the fan cultures established in the book and politically active civilians, with Jenkins highlighting examples of participatory grassroots culture such as the resistance to SOPA and the backlash to Chik-Fil-A's stance on same-sex marriage. Jenkins argues that, in order for the ideas at the core of convergence to apply outside of media and into political activism is that the new media platforms and ideas that have surfaced since the publishing of his book is to expand access and broaden who is allowed to participate, allowing for debate and participation to unfold across multiple platforms without political bias.

Nigel Sheldon for the International Journal of Advertising wrote that he thought that Jenkins had managed to create an interesting dissection of media divergence by immersing himself in the themes of American popular culture. However, he states that he thought Jenkins' analysis was not thorough enough in relation to how convergence affected advertising, noting how media experiences such as Second Life were already attracting advertisers.

Jenkins goes on to examine how LucasFilm reacted to the rise of fan ficiton, at first sanctioning such fan works with a no-fee licensing bureau, that would offer advice to aspiring writers. The arrangment broke down in 1981, as George Lucas supposedly objected to the creation of fan erotica using the Star Wars brand. While such works continued to be published in an underground fashion, the rise of the Internet meant that Lucas had to confront these things head on, initially attempting to institute guidelines on the content produced. In 2000, Lucasfilm offered a free website for Star Wars fans to publish their own content, though fan leaders such as Elizabeth Durack arged that the arrangement would give Lucasfilm even more control over the fan content produced. Cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken expressed skepticism that the

Bibliography for Convergence Culture article
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide/How to Think About It. Meehan, Eileen R. Journal of Communication. Sep 2007, Vol 57 Issue 3. Web Access Via Galilleo. Review.

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. Sheldon, Nigel''. International Journal of Advertising.'' 2007, Vol. 26 Issue 2. Web access via Gallileo. Believed that Jenkins was not thorough enough with his examination.

''Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. Carbonell, Curt. Journal of Popular Culture, Aug2007, Vol. 40 Issue 4.'' Web access via Gallileo. Thought it was an interesting examination of the evolving media landscape.

''Rethinking Convergence Culture. H''ay, James; Couldry, Nick (2011). ''"Rethinking Convergence/Culture". Cultural Studies.'' 25 (4–5): 473–486. Article that surmises that, in the years since the original book was published, advances in technology mean that the time has come to reevaluate what Jenkins' idea can mean.