Session 8

In Reinventing Cinema: Movies in the Age of Convergence, new media technologies such as youtube are discussed in relation to their potential to allow consumers to become producers. This aspect has been discussed as the rise of participatory culture. Websites such as youtube have made media consumers active in they way they contribute to the film culture. The same way blogs have allowed nonprofessionals to contribute to film culture, a video-sharing site such as youtube allows that participation in its own way. These videos, such as fake trailers, posted by users are clearly examples of that participatory culture. Such aspects new media are usually considered as utopian potential of digital media. Although participation is valued as enabling audiences, there are some skeptical views or realities that should also be considered. One of these views sees such participation by audiences as the use of free labor by media companies. That is to say, media companies are taking advantage of audiences as they put time and labor into such participation. This participation may also be viewed as audiences contributing to a fan culture that ultimately serves the interest of these media companies.  In this view youtube becomes a marketing tool for media companies. “Consumer-marketing complex” is one way of characterizing this new context. Another view characterizes this situation as consumers “fueling the entertainment machine.”  The logical conclusion of this view is that the distinction between entertainment and marketing is being erased.  However, as Tryon argues, there are other explanations that offer competing views, or point to other aspects of this new context that are important. For example, the notion of “critical intertextuality” suggests that viewers are not “passive” consumers manipulated by the marketing machine of Hollywood. Tryon shows that fake trailers could be used as a way of criticizing the “canned marketing” of Hollywood. 

 The Original Scary "Mary Poppins" Recut Trailer