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Henry Jenkins' Convergence Culture offers a look into our rapidly shifting social experience. Jenkins is very distinct about his definition of convergence; dismissed is the concept of the oft-talked about "Black Box," a convergence of our popular gadgets and appliances into one general tool that serves as our television, computer, entertainment systems, communication devices, among countless other things. Instead, Jenkins ushers in a look at the "cultural shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content" (3). What Jenkins argues is that we are in the midst of a dramatic change in our cultural landscape. In order to emphasize his observations, Jenkins offers several case studies. A foray into the world of Survivor spoiling offers a glimpse into knowledge communities, and the power of collective intelligence that occurs when people – especially in an online environment – "harness their individual expertise toward shared goals and objectives" (26) including discovery and exposition. The other side of this startlingly hyperinvolved set of consumers is the large entertainment and media groups who deliberately set out to create media that encourage active engagement and participation from its consumers. Jenkins focuses extensively on the top-down model of corporate entities engaging consumers and the simultaneous bottom-up grassroots engagement bred by communal interest in order to paint a picture of convergence in our cultural and entertainment sphere. One case study that effectively defines and describes much of what Jenkins refers to with convergence culture is that of The Matrix and its transmedia-based franchise. Diving into the world that the Wachowski brothers manufactured, Jenkins reveals a vast network of "interconnections between the various Matrix" (116) that all work together to deliver a larger narrative than can be consumed in any one medium. This example, as well as the example of Harry Potter, or Star Wars, synthesizes Jenkins' observation on the direction our culture is taking, citing a push from the top to reach outward to extend the impact a specific franchise might have on consumers, as well as a decided effort by consumers to reach out and take in as much information on as many platforms as possible – or necessary – to satisfy complex consumption habits. The culmination of Jenkins examination of culture occurs when Jenkins delivers an overview of the political landscape and the role convergence culture will have on its development in the future. Citing most notably the Internet rise of Howard Dean and his television-based downfall in 2004, Jenkins almost prophetically details the possibilities for our increasingly digital culture to raise participation and foster a more active, aware, and apt body of citizens with the power to one day take control of the political process the way it has of its entertainment as new and old media converge.

While Jenkins offers well-researched and intriguing examples of convergence at work in our culture, it seems as though one aspect of convergence culture goes largely unacknowledged throughout the book. With top-down and bottom-up convergence of media occurring simultaneously, Jenkins fails to assess the resulting quality of media that results from such convergence. While ultimately subjective, the quality of shows like Survivor and American Idol must be examined in order to completely understand the cultural narrative Jenkins is building around us. An examination of Survivor that reaches below the surface seems to expose some of the worst – and yet entertaining – aspects of human nature; American Idol represents the triumph of theatrics and superficiality over artistic value in its commodification of the vocalist; the intricacy, span, and staggering scope of the world that the Wachowski brothers deliver does not inherently result in good quality media or entertainment. While Jenkins does do a good job of bringing these examples to light, his failure to examine the actual quality of the media leaves does not do the examples justice. At the same time, given the examples Jenkins offers and their debatable merit, the question of convergence culture resulting in simply bad media is a frighteningly real possiblity. With primary emphasis being placed on the interaction a consumer has with the media at several different points and on multiple levels in order to expand the power and influence of the brand, quality of any specific aspect of the media can absolutely be sacrificed for any given consumer. By having contestants simply revisit exisiting classics in their performances, American Idol sacrifices artistic integrity for the sake of consumer engagement; The Matrix, with its countless entrypoints, fails to deliver any one medium to its greatest potential. Jenkins is remarkably observant and synthesizes his observations extremely convincingly: convergence culture is happening. But do we really want this?