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| Late Night With Conan O'Brien Courtesy NBC |
Convergence has changed over the course of time. To ask what
the future of it is, where it is headed , is a tough question for anybody to
answer. For “the future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make
for ourselves.” This is of course not the line from a media studies expert or a
great philosopher but a line from the Terminator
movies. But I think it answers the question in the best way possible. It is
difficult to determine the future of anything but an educated guess can be made
and might still be way off. Back to the
Future II (1989) is a great example of guessing the future of convergence.
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| BTTF II Predictions Photo Credit: Vox.com |
The film depicts the Hill Valley of today
from 1989. While some things proved to be true like 3D movies and video
chatting, others proved to be way off like the fax machines being popular. With
that being said I’ll be making my own predictions for what I think the media
landscape will be like in the year 210 . Anyway, convergence is making its way
more to the control of the people. It’s important to note that “the public will
not rethink their relationship to media content overnight.” (Jenkins 255). It
will most definitely be a gradual process as we are already beginning to see. Media
is making its way into the control of the consumer and less from the companies
and corporations. In the year 2100 TV networks will no longer exist. Shows will
be distributed directly to the consumer either digitally online or by blu-ray discs. Unfortunately, there will only be one show on the air, Jerry Springer. And it’s not just mainstream
media that will change but the dynamics of politics.
While politics
has been evolving over the last decade or so, so has the campaigning and
coverage of it, and there are no signs of slowing either. User submitted
questions are now a staple of televised debates and is something that politicians
have to get used to. Jenkins talks about the 2008 CNN democratic debate Snowman
video controversy.
There were some like Mitt Romney who felt tactics like that
are a joke and are insulting to politicians who want to talk about the issues
seriously. On the other hand some saw it as light hearted and felt that
politicians should have a sense of humor about it. With the way media and the
convergence of media is heading, politicians can expect more it. In fact,
recently there has been controversy and problems with the Republican debate and
their moderators. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the year 2100, CNBC moderators
will be replaced entirely by users skyping in and asking questions directly to
their favorite candidates. In a related story CNBC will call their moderators “users.”
I think we
can only look ahead so far but perhaps the past can serve as a barometer of
what we can expect. History tends to repeats itself and we can use the past as
a guide to the future. There has been a constant move from media to media, with
one overtaking the other. But at the same time spanning across those platforms
and forming bridges between media.
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Jenkins says “Convergence represents a
paradign shift—a move from medium-specific content that flows across multiple
media channels, toward the increased interdependence of communications systems,
toward multiple ways of accessing media…” (Jenkins 254) In the year 2100 there
will be a single device that will allow people to watch a video/tv, allow gameplay,
and allow the consumer the share and contribute with other users. It will become
so popular the television will become obsolete. Unfortunately, it will only be
only be able to play episodes of Keeping
Up With the Kardashians and The Ropers.
It is important
for us to realize that there is a transfer of power happening between media conglomerates
and the consumer. However this can
result in dire consequences. Videos and content can be churned out at an
enormous rate resulting in consumption that is just as fast and perhaps not
having the effect that the creator had intended on his audience. Filmmaker, Michael
Moore talked about how after completing Capitalism:
A Love Story back in 2009 he would stop making movies because his intention
was to make change and have the American People react to his films and become
more active. As Chuck Tyron argues “that the speed with which such videos are
produced and circulated can undercut the desired pedagogical and activist
goals, sparking short-lived and superficial conversations among consumers who
are always looking over their shoulders for the next new thing. (Jenkins 290).
People are less likely to actually care about the cause then to express their
thoughts in short controversial blurbs.
Clip Courtesy NBC
Media has changed the whole landscape
of activism. 50 years ago there were people marching and getting thrown in jail
simply for fighting for what they believe in. Today people there are still some
activists; many are not quite active enough. Many comment or tweet and perhaps
spark conversations that could be deemed offensive or provocative.
And so we
look ahead at a future that has the potential of becoming something amazing and
radically different than what we have today. But there is also the risk of
things becoming unimaginable and disastrous, with the merging of companies and
the democratizing of media, thus ending the decade’s long control of the
gatekeeping media professionals. We must decide now on the future of media
convergence and where we want to be in the future.
We must make convergence
great again!
Notes:
Jenkins, Henry. "Conclusion and Afterward." Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York UP, 2006. 220-260. Print.
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