“Worship at the Altar of Convergence”

Jenkins describes convergence culture as being “where old and new media collide”. Convergence culture is a way in which different media platforms come together to create something new. A great example of this is the ‘Bert is evil’ images described by Jenkins in this reading. Bert from the popular children’s television programme, Sesame Street was inserted into images of various individuals with evil connotations attached to them including Hitler, Sadam Husain and Osama Bin Laden. One particular picture was discovered by an anti-American protester. Unaware of the comedy value of Bert, this image went on to be used in an anti-American protest. This incident clearly demonstrated the power of convergence culture.

Consumers have more power than they might think. Since the creation of sites such as YouTube where users can freely display their own interpretations of mass media products, the growth of convergence culture has rapidly increased as convergence culture relies heavily on the participation of consumers. Audiences can make connections between different media products which may at completely different ends of the scale, yet can make some form of identifiable link, i.e. Bert and Osama.