Socratic Dialogue

Scene: It’s recess at Emory Elementary School. While the other children play hopscotch or climb on the jungle gym, best friends, Henry Jenkins and Christian Fuchs lie in a field and posit questions about the future. The boys are ten-years-old. It’s a beautiful day; the sun is beaming, the clouds are out, and the birds are chirping. The year is 1955.

Jenkins: Fuchs, I’ve been thinking about the future of technology.

Fuchs: Gee! I say we’ve come pretty far. What could be better than having a talking picture in your own house!

Jenkins: It’s swell and all! But, I’ve been thinking about the future. One day there will be a medium that is spreadable! Radio and television, they’re pretty nifty and all, but they’re only a one way street. You’ve got your sender and your countless receivers. For example, you and me we’ve got great ideas! But the only person I have to share my ideas with is you. And the only person you have to share your ideas with is me. And the radio and TV broadcasters they can share their ideas with everyone!

I bet you one day there’ll be a medium that will let the audience have a say in what’s shown on the picture! The audience will contribute to the message shared to the masses. We’ll be the ones to actively shape how the media flows! We’ll form collectives, create and share information together. The audience will have all the power and the success of a business will depend on us! It’ll be a culture of participation! Participatory culture!

Fuchs: Golly Gee Jenkins! That sure does sounds swell! But can this future technology really empower the masses? For Christ’s sake, who’s going to own the companies/platforms for this medium? You know, like, the Columbia Broadcast System owns channel 2 and NBC owns channel 3 on the television. In the future, won’t there be a company to own the spreadable media too? Even if the audience gets to contribute the broadcast, won’t the companies have the final say? Won’t they ultimately have the authority to mediate the cultural expressions of the masses that use their service?

Jenkins: Fuchs, the power will be in the hands of the consumers! I bet if a company owns the spreadable media they won’t be controlling the information like CBS or NBC. The audience will be in control because we’ll have a say in the production! It will be the company's responsibility to meet the audience’s needs. They’ll have to listen because the audience is the consumer. We’ll pressure the companies to change if that’s what we want them to do. We make the final decision in the end.

Fuchs: But Fuchs, can businesses invested in the capitalist system ever be responsible for consumers when the success of their business is their first priority? Isn’t the purpose of a business to make a profit ? And to increase profits isn’t it necessary that there be competition among companies so that they may survive? Isn’t media a tool for companies to get information about their products to the public? Therefore, isn’t media a structural feature of capitalism? And won’t the spreadable media in the future serve the same function?

(The bells rings. Recess is over and it’s time for the boys to go back to their classroom.)

Jenkins: You have a point Fuchs. However, I think I heard the bell ring. Let’s finish this conversation over lunch!