Thursday, January 31, 2008
Add Posts on Star Wars Chapter
Add blog entries similar to those you wrote below for Idol and Matrix. Posts here will be mostly content and interpretation for a basic understanding of what our readings contain. If you want to argue, debate, supplement, theorize or digress from the chapter in an extended way, post your comments on your personal blog for the course. I'll read them, too. --Dr. L
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(pp. 131-134) Fan culture is nothing new, however, its visibility has become more prominent. Fan films, like fan fiction, have become a way for avid purveyors of Star Wars, for instance, to creatively participate in the world of their dreams. Themed websites and online contests guarantee immediate exposure for these hopeful directors. [Atom films is the official Star Wars fan film site: http://www.atomfilms.com/2008/starwars/challenge/index.jsp] Modern mass media is said to been the nail-in-the-coffin for traditional (19th Century) folk culture. However, Jenkins argues that media change has begun to resemble folk traditions, encouraging broad active participation between audiences and their culture. [He also uses the term “gift economy.” See Lethem’s article for definition.] [Another aside: “Fan digital film is to cinema what the punk DIY culture was to music.” Not quite.] To clarify, Jenkins draws the distinction between “interactivity” and “participation.” Interactivity, marked by technological constraints, can be pre-structured by the designer to promote consumer feedback. “Participation, on the other hand” says Jenkins, “is shaped by the cultural and social protocols.” Consumers have a degree of control in how they invest in their media. Media industries have responded in two ways: (1) the “prohibitionist stance” - regulating participation and thus criminalizing certain forms of activity, and (2) the collaborationist stance – seeing fans as collaborators in the franchise incites experimentation with consumer interests in mind. Star Wars fans have been pulled, constantly, between these two strategies.
Excellent distillation of Jenkins' points in this chapter. I also like the points about scarcity economies and abundance economies (or similar terms) in the next chapter. Do you think our economic system influences willingness to share intellectual property? Changes in our economy (as we look at a possible recession? And finally, Sean, directly, what do you make of cineme in Japanese culture--and our very different attitudes here? Are you familar with cineme? I am not, but I'd like to know more. Dr. L
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