Wk 2 Reading: The Struggle Between Fans and Media

There appears to be no boundaries between folk culture and commercial culture.  The commercial culture will take the stories, images, and sounds that often begin a part of the folk culture and will share it with the public.  Technology has allowed people to share what they have created.  As Jenkins (2006) stated the Web provides an infrastructure for sharing.  Once you have a reliable system of distribution, folk culture production begins to flourish again overnight (p.140).

A good example of how technology helps change our culture is how the Japanese companies worked with fan clubs to distribute anime.  "Interested in exposing their members to the full range of content available in Japan, the fan clubs often took risks that no commercial distributor would have confronted, testing the market for new genres, producers, and series with commercial companies (p. 163).  The Japanese media companies worked with the fan clubs to expand the market.

On the other hand, in the United States Lucas and Lucas Arts wanted to control what fans produced and circulated.  Some of the ways that Lucas has tried to promote Star Wars without losing control are stated below:

     1.  Offered fans free Web space but under the condition that the creation became the studios'           intellectual property.

     2.  Set up AtomFilms.com as the official host for Star Wars fan films.  Films must parody the           existing Star Wars universe or be a documentary of the Star Wars fan experience.

There will continue to be a struggle between fans and corporate media.  They both need each other but how will they find a way to compromise?

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture. New York:  New York University Press.

Star Wars image Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://www.bayoustatesportscards.com/Chucks/694px-star_wars_logosvg.png