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
