Understanding the Future of Popular Culture
The Future of Online Media and Society
The future of online media and the digital age are hard to predict. Henry Jenkins, an American media scholar and founder of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT argues that the digital age is marked by the rise of three interrelated phenomena: convergence, participation, and collective intelligence (Grazian).
Grazian believes that these three concepts can assist us in understanding the future of popular culture. Convergence, participation, and collective intelligence are reshaping popular culture in the digital age because each provides a different set of opportunities and reasons for neutralizing expectations.
Convergence
First of all, convergence can be defined as coming together from different directions. In terms of popular culture, convergence is the coming together of different content across multiple mass media platforms and industries. This allows media content from different platforms to bring exciting and dynamic new forms of cultural production (Grazian).
Grazian and Jenkins use the marketing of the film, The Matrix, which came out in 1999, as an example. After the success of this movie, the authors produced two additional sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutionists both in 2003. In addition posters, video games, comics, short animated films, and toys were also created to appeal to the audience.
This shows how in the digital age, content has become available across multiple media platforms. Creating extra content and spin-offs have become a common practice. This reshapes popular culture because with each new platform, it provides new narrative experiences and insights for its audiences.
However, there are also negative effects of this in the digital age. Cross-promotion provides a new narrative experience for the audience, however, journalists may feel that all of their news stories and content must be compelling with images, videos, and text on print and online. This might cause journalists to lose focus on what they are actually trying to accomplish, delivering factual news. Journalists may start to focus on aesthetics and trying to please the audience across multiple platforms, rather than focusing on the facts. Convergence allows people to create dynamic forms media, however, it can also cause some people to lose focus on their main goal, reshaping popular culture in the digital age.
Participation
Active participation also has its advantages and disadvantages in helping people understand the future of popular culture in the digital age. According to Grazian, “popular culture fans create their own spoofs through the emergent medium of the mash-up, in which two or more media are sampled, manipulated, and juxtaposed together to ironic effect.”
With Photoshop and other software programs, the audience can produce anything they desire from raw material, copying popular culture. Making and editing photos, music, and videos is an example. This is reshaping popular culture because the audience now has the ability to produce their own media.
However, copyright issues may become a problem. Many fans have been sued for censorship and copyright issues. For example, Jesse Jordan was charged $15 million for modifying a preexisting search engine, which allowed students at his school to access music files (Grazian). Fans creating their own mash-ups and spoofs, often by manipulating raw materials of popular culture have to be aware of litigation issues. Participation reshapes popular culture in the digital age, however, legal issues may hinder fans from participating and producing their own media.
Collective Intelligence
Collective intelligence draws on online networking to pool resources and skills and has continued to reshape popular culture. Jenkins states that “the harnessing of collective intelligence as an emergent form of media power in which consumers draw on the networking faculties of the Internet to pool their resources and skills with the goal of either challenging traditional media forms or producing something altogether new” (Grazian). People are able to come and work together working collaboratively towards a common goal.
One example is the open platform operating system, Linux. Linux is a free and open software that allows anyone to modify, use, and distribute its source code. It is constantly changing and improving based on new discoveries by programmers. Collective intelligence allows people to advantageously gather and share ideas, especially in cultural creativity and innovation.
Wiki sites are another example of collective intelligence in the digital age where users can share and edit information. The internet allows people to connect and share ideas and to understand the advantages and disadvantages of content. However, what is being presented and shared online is not always accurate and it is up to the audience to do their research to determine what is factual and what is false. The Internet creates intellectual commons for users, reshaping popular culture in the digital age.
Final Thoughts
Convergence, participation, and collective intelligence all help define our postmodern society. These ideas can also help us understand the future of the digital age.
Although people have the freedom to share their own ideas and reproduce and modify digital media, there are some issues that come up including authenticity and legality. It is important for one to understand their rights and to not wrongfully misuse media.
Convergence, participation, and collective intelligence reshape popular culture in the digital age by presenting a unique set of advantages and disadvantages.
References
Grazian, David. Mix It up: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Society. W.W. Norton, 2017.
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