Analyzing Media Convergence

After looking through “Worship at the Altar of Convergence”, my mind made its final decision to expect anything when it comes to the future of technology. In the 2006 look at media’s future, the writer seemed to focus on a subject that resonated with me—oneness. When analyzing the Black Box Fallacy, I received a chunk of insight on what the world probably needs, and the implications of that. The black box fallacy states that all forms of media will eventually converge to a central device, and honestly, we are kind of already there. The black box fallacy is here in our phones, when one single device can fill the needs of all media: news, email, text, calling, video chat, nearly every movie or show ever made, music, music videos, etc. The list could go on for seemingly forever. This central convergence manifests itself in forms that one may not typically think of such as the content itself that we are getting. As media becomes more centralized, I assume businesses will as well, forming likeminded and thorough initiatives from monopolized media. Take what the piece said about cinema for example: “Whereas old Hollywood focused on cinema, the new media conglomerates have controlling interests across the entire entertainment industry. Warner Bros. produces film, television, popular music, computer games, Web sites, toys, amusement park rides, books, newspapers, magazines, and comics.“ This applies even more today as streaming has taken over and the experimental art of the world is flushed out to the side for old people and hipsters. In 2019, Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” commented on the dying nature of cinema, realizing that art for art’s sake was heading out the door in light of media convergence and well-rounded marketing initiatives.