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Hollywood and Wall Street have obvious reasons to be obsessed with I.P. (Intellectual Property) because its consistently proven moneymaking abilities. But, how does it actually enrich the storytelling experience? In 2008, Henry Jenkins was asking these questions in his book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. I’m joined on this episode by Rehman Nizar Ali, as we discuss:

- The Matrix (a trilogy at the point of the book’s publication) as the ideal model of transmedia;
- how the “mothership” transmedia model has dominated;
- what the abandonment of Star Wars canon means for — up to this point — the most sophisticated canon.

Also:

- There are still more James Bond movies than MCU movies;
- the super-hero genre, fatigued or not, as one of empowerment;
- what video game to film adaptation has the best potential to work;
- and Fredric Wertham’s resurgent reputation.

Henry Jenkins is a professor at the University of Southern California; previously, he was the director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program. He is the author and/or editor of twenty books on various aspects of media and popular culture, including Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture, From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games, Spreadable Media: Creating Meaning and Value in a Networked Culture, and By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism. He also co-hosts How Do You Like It So Far?, a podcast about popular culture in a changing world. More can be found on his blog.

Rehman Nizar Ali is co-editor of recent films for Terrence Malick including A Hidden Life, Song to Song, and Voyage of Time. Other works include commercials for Facebook, Google, Guerlain, and most recently the museum video installation Dioses y Maquinas! You can also find him at his website.

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide is published by NYU Press, and is available online or brick and mortar bookstores.