2.3 Activity 4: What is pop cosmopolitan?

In Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence Jenkins makes the distinction between “Locals” and “Pop cosmopolitans” that I found helpful in defining the phrase. He states:

“locals care little about diversity per se but want to hold onto their own traditions. The cosmopolitans recognize that they will not get the diversity they crave “unless other people are allowed to carve out special niches for their cultures and keep them” (Jenkins 2006 quoting Hannerz p.162)

I am not sure I agree that a Pop Cosmopolitan craves media from cultures other than their own because its cool to be different. This could be one extreme but Jenkins also notes the role media institutions play in the generation of “cool” content. He gives the example of Japanese media companies breaking into the American market by targeting their animations to children and running a tight marketing system to expose their audience to other forms of consumables such as comics, movies and merchandise (Jenkins 2006) with great success. Therefore the Americans craving for Japanese animation could be said to have been generated by good target marketing . It could also be said that Japanese animation would no longer be seen as cool and underground by American kids – but as cool and popular, maybe even a little bit mainstream.

Jenkins repeats the idea of access again when he speaks about “Grassroots intermediaries” - another term for people who moved and live in a new country. These people keep links to home,  including  links to their favourite media and as Jenkins states “they play a key role in shaping the reception of those media products” (Jenkins 2006 p.162). In other words your friends or family from other parts of the world introduce you to the media of their country or culture. You like it and seek it out not because its cool to be different but because you enjoyed watching it, and your friends and family enjoy it . It is a sociable experience and finds a common ground between two cultures.

I don’t think Pop Cosmopolitanism happened in vaccume, but is a natural part of life in a multicultural society.

 Jenkins, H. 2006. Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence, Fans bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture: New York University Press.