http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNxhrPaaCA4
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/m/G/2/obama-46-virgin.jpg
The first grassroots media that I chose was the Star Wars vs. Star Trek video clip. This was a perfect example of the convergence of culture. It can also be considered the roots of grassroots. These two ideas were the source of a major fad and following in the 80’s and 90’s. Jenkins states that these new grassroots generated “new sounds, new artists, new techniques, and new relations to consumers which have been pulled more and more into mainstream practice” (132). This grassroots technique of combining these two popular medium is exactly what Jenkins was talking about when he was thinking of convergence of culture. This video has taken two very similar, but very different groups of people and pulled them together in a way that it was not originally intended by the original producers. Though many have tried to stop grassroots media, Jenkins states within convergence culture “everyone’s a participate” (132). Grassroots is a basis for convergence culture and without the media society produces everything would be done by corporations. We would not have the link between the two great ideas of Star Wars and Star Trek if grassroots was not possible.
The second grassroots media I chose was the poster of Obama photoshoped into the 40 year old virgin. I must add that I thought this was quite comical as it pertained to his inexperience to politics. Nonetheless this is a perfect example of Jenkins’ ideas of convergence of culture. With this new type of media, Jenkins states that it operates with “new principals” (208). This form of media, known as photoshop, is like no other form of media out there today. It bends and manipulates the images we see to appeal to our emotions. Like all types of medium, photoshop has, what Jenkins claims, been “shaped by several contradictory and concurrent trends” (211). In this particular case, the election of 2008 has brought about this particular case of photoshop in society. Thought it is not a largely popular piece, it is still an example of Jenkins’ convergence of culture and how it affects our society.
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I love your choice for a political propaganda. I am very impressed by your ability to distinguish that the propaganda showed the Obama has little experience in politics. The choice was very appropriate to evaluate.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Star Wars vs. Star Trek clip. I thought the creators did a good job of combining the two movies with a limited amount of changed material. That video is definitely a good choice for fan cinema fiction, because fans from either cult can appreciate the newly created media. I also thought the Obama Photoshop picture was interesting, because it was obvious the point that the creator was trying to convey. The photo makes the argument that he is not ready to be president in a way that is both humors and memorable.
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