The link above is to a home-made parody of the most recent Batman film The Dark Knight. This fan-made movie is an example of, what Henry Jenkins called, "grassroots media." Jenkins book, Convergence Culture, could be related to this film in a couple of ways. First off, this clip was manufactured by a consumer that wants to have his say and present his take on the movie. Although seemingly harmless, it is this sort of thing that could "conflict with commercial media producers who want to exert greater control over their intellectual property" (Jenkins 21). This sort of grassroots media will likely pose no threat to the big corporate producers, but the threat lingers there all the same. This film was made by consumers and for consumers and it shows how "consumers are learning how to use these different media technologies to bring the flow of media more fully under their control and to interact with other consumers" (Jenkins 18).
http://politicallysavvy.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/osama-obama2.jpg
This picture, of current president Barak Obama, was created on a photoshop-like program during Obama's campaign. This image was created by a republican who wanted to depict Barak Obama as he saw him, as a terrorist. Jenkins writes about how collective intelligence will soon change the ways politics, among other things, operates (Jenkins 4). This picture is also a form of grassroots media. The person that made this picture most likely acquired the original and unedited picture from either a multimedia news group or from a Barak Obama promotional site. This consumer then edited the photo as he saw fit and redistributed it through the Internet. Participatory culture that started with edited photos like this one in earlier elections has changed the methods and ethics that have become standard in all of the current elections. This shows how media giants and little consumer's roles have changed and influenced one another so that now we "see them [producers and consumers] as participants who interact with each other" (Jenkins 3).
These two were great exmaples. The Dark Knight spoof made me laugh. However, i have to say that i agree with everything especially the political statement. It seems as if the critical insults on both sides of the political system have become more prominent in the election this year. It has been seen in both consumers[citizens] and political leaders. however, i think it has been most prominent in the consumers this past election with grassroot media like this one. I don't think the consumers and political leaders roles have really changed but just have expanded, in a bad way[in my opinion].
ReplyDeleteI think you did really well with this blog. I believe the two aids that you used are perfect examples of grassroots media in the forms of cinema fandom and political photoshop. I will admit my favorite part about the blog was the batman spoof. It was extremely comical, but I also agree with your analysis. I thought that the quotes you used were very efeective as well. The only thing I would suggest would be to not end your blog with a quote. I would have ogne back and explained it a little bit more. Other than that I thought you did a great job.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice on the cinema fandom. It is a really well made movie that still gets the point across. Also, it was a perfect example of grassroots media. The second example of grassroots media was well selected also, because I think that this is almost how some people felt about Obama. The quotes that you used suited the pieces perfectly,
ReplyDeleteand they really helped you emphasize your point. Good strong post.