The Study Of Henry Jenkins's New Media Literacy Theory

Henry Jenkins,a leading figure in researching British and American fan culture,has long been engaged in exploring fields related to media and known as “Mcluhan in the 21 st century”.In the book Text Poachers: Television Fan and Participatory Culture,Jenkins puts forward the concept of “participatory culture”,who regards the creation and circulation of media text in the fan circle as a process for the formation of participatory culture.With the advent of Web 2.0 era,mass audience plays an increasingly obvious role in the Internet system,which focuses on individual users and aims at spreading participatory culture,a new media culture form mainly involving in dissemination,sharing and innovation of media texts.The new media culture affects our media consumption,creative activities and interactive ways,shapes and affects all aspects of people's life,and has a far-reaching influence on social politics,economy and culture.The shock of the new media technology to traditional media literacy is so tremendous that it no longer meets the needs of the audience,and subsequently new media literacy emerges.This thesis takes Jenkins' new media literacy theory as the research object,and tries to explain the background,the main connotation and core questions concerning Jenkins' s “New Media Literacy” theory based on his research in participatory culture,new media literacy and other media theories.Media literacy originates from academic circles' reflection of mass culture.Therefore,this paper combines Jenkins' “New Media Literacy” theory with the phenomena and problems arising from the production and consumption of mass culture in China to reflect the development of our mass culture in the new media age.This paper is divided into five parts.The first chapter discusses the background of Jenkins' new media literacy theory.The concept of "media literacy" first came into being in Britain.British and American research of media literacy theory and the development of relevant practices have gradually matured,and Jenkins' new media literacy theory was deeply enlightened by it.With the development of new media technology,the transmission mode of media culture has changed currently.The participatory culture characterized by networking,interaction and participation is gradually formed so that the whole society is shrouded in participatory culture.Jenkins' "participatory culture" theory provides theoretical support for the study of new media literacy theory.The second chapter expounds the main connotation of Jenkins' new media literacy theory.At present,there isn't a unified definition about "media literacy" and "new media literacy" in the academic circle.Based on the original concept of new media literacy and the characteristics of teenagers in the era of participatory culture,Jenkins puts forward his own new views on the theory.Jenkins emphasizes the social skills of teenagers as members of the community and focuses on cultivating their participation,sharing and creative ability so as to adapt to the constantly changing media and cultural environment.He also explains practice requirements of the theory from the perspective of education,who argues that a systematic approach to new media literacy education is necessary if we want to narrow the participation gap,address transparent issues,help young people solve moral dilemmas they face in their daily lives,and also develop their social skills and cultural capabilities.This method requires efforts from three aspects,including school,extracurricular activities and parents.The third chapter illustrates core issues concerning new media literacy theory.The development of new media technology has created new media environment as well as new media problems and cultural problems.The participation gap deprives young people of equal rights and opportunities to participate in the media.It is easy for them to get lost in the online world and fail to express clearly what they have learned in the process of participation;Moral problems they encountered with are an important challenge for teenagers in the new media environment.These three problems are the core problems caused by the virtuality of the cyberspace,the utilitarianism of the media practitioners,the lack of the audience's own cultural literacy and moral accomplishment in the new media environment.They are also the problems that must be solved first in the development of new media literacy in the era of participatory culture.The fourth chapter evaluates Jenkins' new media literacy theory.At first,the author depicts the theoretical guiding value of Jenkins' new media literacy theory and its promoting effect on the public and society.Then the limitations in constructing the theory are pointed out.Finally,the development trend of the theory is considered.Media is constantly developing and changing,so media literacy should be constantly updated and improved.Both the producers and consumers of media culture and other forms of media culture coexist in the whole media environment that are influenced by the media environment and also affect media culture.Therefore,the research on media should be based on the basic media environment by combining media environment theory with media literacy,breaking through the dilemma of media literacy research and transforming and improving media literacy research ideas to realize the harmonious development of human-media relationship.The fifth chapter reflects China's realistic problems.The renewal of new media technology has opened up a new development space for the prosperity of mass culture,which has acquired new cultural forms and characteristics.Cyber culture has become a new form of mass culture in the Web2.0 era.The utilitarianism of cultural producers and the lack of rationality of audience consumption lead to the network world full of mercenary and profit-oriented values,the vulgar,pornographic and shallow cyber cultural products,which distort humanistic spirit and prevent mass culture from developing healthily.The virtuality and entertainment of the cyber space liberate the "inherent weakness" of human beings,diminishing the seriousness of the mainstream culture,weakening cultural guidance and educational function,trivializing the network morality,and also reducing the sense of responsibility of the audience.These problems need to be taken seriously and solved.Media literacy and mass culture are closely associated with each other.The elimination of mass culture to elite culture causes the birth of media literacy,and the development of media literacy gives scholars a new understanding and interpretation of mass culture.Therefore,based on the theoretical perspective of new media literacy,it is valid and necessary to explore the practical problems existing in the development of mass culture in China.