Incidentally, while I was waiting for the download to finish, I realized that I have been following the film since it started, though I am not really a fan of it. However, I think the constant presence of the film through television advertisements, several merchandise launches and marketed video games made me watch every instalment of the film through the years. Then I realized that the very reason why I watched Harry Potter over these years was because of convergence.
Convergence, as Henry Jenkins put it is “the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want.” The presence of Harry Potter through other forms of media has made me interested in following the life-story of this wizard. I suppose that we are all aware that Harry Potter’s story began on books.
To date, there have been seven films produced by Warner Brothers and reports say that the latest instalment of the film is earning much higher than the previous six.
When it comes to video games and computer games, it is also evident how the Harry Potter “craze” has been flourishing. I for one played the Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets computer game and I honestly found it interesting especially because the flow of the game is just like that of the film except I got to play the role of Harry Potter and fight all the evil forces coming my way.
There are also other forms of media with the same content and the very existence of these forms created what we call “fandom”. As what Jenkins have pointed out, the audience/consumers of, in this case, the Harry Potter content, could adapt a migratory behaviour wherein they could shift from one media form to another searching for the same content which amuses them. Fans generally do this kind of migration. For this reason, I researched some of the websites made by Harry Potter fans and one really amusing and note-worthy is Hogwartsradio.com. It is a podcast of a group of Harry Potter fans which to date has 76 episodes. During the start of each episode, the hosts talk about the latest news about Harry Potter including the careers of some of the film’s main casts.
It is really interesting to note how a story which started with an idea that hit a lady travelling alone on a crowded train would be a multi-million dollar grosser not only on print but obviously on many other forms as well. I think that the emergence of this fictional story has changed a lot of lives especially of those who became a fan of it. I have been a witness on how people have been racing their ways to book stores and movie houses whenever the latest addition to the life-story of Harry comes out. The different forms of media that invested on Harry Potter undeniably earned a lot capitalizing on its prominence. On the other hand, consumers/audience might have inherently gained the amusement they have been paying for. But, it still remains a mystery if Harry Potter still be a famous icon once his big screen story ends come 2011.
Incidentally too, as I was researching for this blog post, I came across a blog post by Henry Jenkins talking about Harry Potter. J Here is the link if you are interested: http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/05/everybody_loves_harry.html
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I think Convergence can also be triggered by the vertical and horizontal integrations among media! (BC180). :) It led me to think that there is a political-economic motive in this trend of convergence. As media products (or cultural products) such as Harry Potter transfer and scatter from one medium to the other, I think, there are more complex theories running behind it.
ReplyDeleteSo, in my opinion, there are driving forces that actually lead to convergence. For example, in marketing/promoting films, it's inconvenient and slow to promote them in theaters alone. In the interest in making more profits for the film, their marketing team might have to look for other venues such as the other forms of media.
Initially, I thought, media converges first, the content follows. Then, I thought that it might not be the actual reverse of it. The media products (such as Harry Potter) traverses from print to film, and to the broadcast media, then to online, building a bridhe in between them, thus convergence.
I'm never a fan of Harry Potter. Haven't read the books nor saw the films, but I know the characters and plot because of the other media. Truly, convergence is indeed helpful. :)
Erratum:
ReplyDelete1. *Then, I thought that it MIGHT BE the actual reverse of it* without the 'not'.
2. *bridge* instead of bridhe.
I also think that this convergence phenomenon of the "Harry Potter" series might have been driven by capitalist interests. In the Political Economy of Information, greater profit can be yielded from the same (or somewhat the same)content or product which is found on different media platforms. All media have been maximized to promote Harry Potter and I will not believe that all promotions were conducted by the ones who created Harry Potter. Fans and other audiences must have done something and have promoted it somehow (Jenkins' participatory culture) As we can observe, there has been different Harry Potter merchandise available through the years and all these must have brought in large income and profit to those behind it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that the mere presence of Harry Potter in different media, in different forms somehow, influenced people to watch it, read it or 'consume' it in any way.
For instance, a presence of a website about Harry Potter might have inspired other fans to put up their own harry Potter sites thus proliferating the Harry Potter "fandom".
I am a Harry Potter fan. I have read all the books and watched all the films several times. I have played the video games, visited some Harry Potter sites and had some of Harry Potter merchandise. :)
Indeed, convergence can be a "beautiful thing" for some audiences and a "useful thing" for capitalist interest.