14
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
the same franchise and fictional universe. As the contributions in this
collection suggest, there is, in fact, much to be gained by widening both
our area of inquiry to include convergence texts and our understanding of
what constitutes an adaptation. As I want to suggest, a way to avoid niggling
discussions such as the one outlined above and to catch all contributions
collected in this volume is to reconceptualize adaptation in a convergence
environment in a way that the elements that can be adapted include not only
plot, character, and other traditional story elements, but also storyworlds.
Media Convergence: The Transformation of Texts, Contexts, and
Audiences
Before going into how new media and the new convergence environment
impact on adaptations and transmedia texts, it seems appropriate to reexamine Henry Jenkins’ concept of convergence culture and how it relates
to adaptations. Whereas convergence culture results from the rise of new
media, Jenkins’ discussion already indicates that its impact transcends mere
technological innovation. To begin with, he defines convergence culture not
in terms of new media fully replacing older media, but as the coexistence and
mutual influencing of old and new media. This in turn creates new forms of
texts and interactions between participants in the creation, consumption, and
interpretation of these texts. But technology is only one aspect of this transitory moment. As Jenkins writes, a convergence environment is one in which
“old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect,
where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer
interact in unpredictable ways.” 16 While convergence thus originates from a
shift towards digital media, for Jenkins research should include the actors,
particularly recipients and their interactions with texts, with each other, and
with professional creators. After all, “[c]onvergence occurs within the brains
of individual consumers and through their social interactions with others.” 17
This focus on consumer reception and interaction to complement questions
of mediality is crucial. It serves as a reminder of the more openly participatory
nature of cultural production and reception in a convergence environment
that understands new media as not only part of a new text base with new
medial allowances and ontologies but part of a new praxis: what people
do with texts and how they do it is at least as important as what the texts
16 Jenkins, Convergence Culture, 2.
17 Ibid., 3.
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
the same franchise and fictional universe. As the contributions in this
collection suggest, there is, in fact, much to be gained by widening both
our area of inquiry to include convergence texts and our understanding of
what constitutes an adaptation. As I want to suggest, a way to avoid niggling
discussions such as the one outlined above and to catch all contributions
collected in this volume is to reconceptualize adaptation in a convergence
environment in a way that the elements that can be adapted include not only
plot, character, and other traditional story elements, but also storyworlds.
Media Convergence: The Transformation of Texts, Contexts, and
Audiences
Before going into how new media and the new convergence environment
impact on adaptations and transmedia texts, it seems appropriate to reexamine Henry Jenkins’ concept of convergence culture and how it relates
to adaptations. Whereas convergence culture results from the rise of new
media, Jenkins’ discussion already indicates that its impact transcends mere
technological innovation. To begin with, he defines convergence culture not
in terms of new media fully replacing older media, but as the coexistence and
mutual influencing of old and new media. This in turn creates new forms of
texts and interactions between participants in the creation, consumption, and
interpretation of these texts. But technology is only one aspect of this transitory moment. As Jenkins writes, a convergence environment is one in which
“old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect,
where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer
interact in unpredictable ways.” 16 While convergence thus originates from a
shift towards digital media, for Jenkins research should include the actors,
particularly recipients and their interactions with texts, with each other, and
with professional creators. After all, “[c]onvergence occurs within the brains
of individual consumers and through their social interactions with others.” 17
This focus on consumer reception and interaction to complement questions
of mediality is crucial. It serves as a reminder of the more openly participatory
nature of cultural production and reception in a convergence environment
that understands new media as not only part of a new text base with new
medial allowances and ontologies but part of a new praxis: what people
do with texts and how they do it is at least as important as what the texts
16 Jenkins, Convergence Culture, 2.
17 Ibid., 3.