Henry Jenkins sees fans as cultural producers who participate in self-constructing their cultural identities using various media. He refers to the concept of "convergence culture" where old and new media intersect and consumers can control media narratives. Jenkins believes that individuals construct personal mythologies by extracting bits of information from various media sources. Collective identities are shared online through blogs, YouTube, and social networks, allowing grassroots groups more control over the media landscape.

1. Henry Jenkins
Convergence Culture

2. • Jenkins sees fans as cultural producers and that cultural identity is something
in which we participate.
• Remember – Collective Identity is not just representation by the media but
SELF-CONSTRUCTION by users of the media
• He refers to “Convergence Culture” (2008)
• This is a step beyond work that developed as a result of filmmakers work
with communities – like Amber Films in Newcastle, which has created films
after working with local communities, set in those areas and using local
people for their casts – or even their photography work, as seen in the recent
exhibition, For Ever Amber, featuring images taken by photographers who
worked in local communities.
• Increasing access to a range of digital technologies has enabled people to
express themselves to a potential audience of millions I the age of web 2.0
• He sees this as the intersection of old and new media – an area where
consumers fight for control – a reflection of the growing power of individuals
and grassroots groups to affect the media landscape
• Jenkins – each of us constructs our ow personal mythology from bits and
fragments of information extracted from the media around us
• Collective Identity becomes a shared space that is continued on blogs,
YouTube and social network sites

3. • Scotswood: Then, Now, Next – created by the
Pink Ladies group based at Scotswood Area
Strategy.
• 2,363 views
• Broadcast on the Newcastle - based YouTube
Channel, Archive For Change, a repository for
short local documentaries about the
Scotswood area in Newcastle – some original
and some already existing and uploaded to the
site.
• Remember, this sort of thing doesn’t have to
use sensationalist plotlines to capture its
audience

4. • Will this lead to a breaking down of old identity
borders?
• Maybe, but there are fan blogs and non-official
web pages that continue to extend and re-
represent the particular views of WC life that
have been mediated through literature,
photography, journalism, film, television and
now on the internet