Fan studies

Last updated

Fan studies is an academic discipline that analyses fans, fandoms, fan cultures and fan activities, including fanworks. It is an interdisciplinary field located at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences, which emerged in the early 1990s as a separate discipline, and draws particularly on audience studies and cultural studies.

Contents

Definition and scope

Fan studies analyses fans, fandoms, fan cultures and fan activities, [1] [2] and provides a theoretical framework for investigating audience responses and fan-created works. [1] It is an interdisciplinary field located at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences, which draws particularly on audience studies and cultural studies, but is also informed by diverse fields including literary theory, communication studies, anthropology, ethnography, psychology, media studies including feminist media studies, film studies, television studies, internet studies and queer theory, as well as the study of legal issues around copyright and fair use. [1] [3]

In its broadest definition, fan studies encompasses the study of fan culture and community, and associated fan activities, across a range of fandom types including media fandoms, music and celebrity fandoms, and sports and games fandoms, and covers both Western sources, such as Star Trek , Doctor Who and Star Wars , and non-western sources, such as anime, J-Pop and K-Pop. [1] Some definitions focus on media fandom, [2] and much study is limited to Western Anglophone sources, especially television and film. [4] Fan activities of interest cover a wide range including joining fan clubs, attending fan conventions, visiting locations, exchanging spoilers, collecting and cosplay, as well as the creation of fanworks, such as fan fiction, fanzines, fan art, podcasts and fan vids. [1] [2] Fan studies also addresses common tropes in fanworks such as slash, hurt–comfort and Mary Sues. [1] [5]

History

Fan studies grew out of cultural studies research examining the reception of popular media by fans during the 1980s and early 1990s, drawing on work by Stuart Hall, John Fiske and others. [1] [2] [5] The emphasis shifted towards examining works created by fans. [2] The earliest academic publications in fan studies appeared in the mid-1980s; [1] these include "Romantic myth, transcendence, and Star Trek zines", by Patricia Frazer Lamb and Diane Veith (1985 or 1986), and "Pornography by women, for women, with love", by Joanna Russ (1985). [1] [3] [5] [6] The fan historian Francesca Coppa draws attention to a 1975 book, Star Trek Lives! , by the non-academic authors Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston. [6]

The field is generally considered to have been founded with a cluster of publications in 1992: Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture , by Henry Jenkins is considered particularly formative, and Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth, by Camille Bacon-Smith, which pioneers an ethnographic approach, is also commonly cited. [lower-alpha 1] Other works from the same year included by some scholars include "Feminism, psychoanalysis, and the study of popular culture", by Constance Penley, [1] [2] [6] and the collection The Adoring Audience, edited by Lisa A. Lewis, [1] [2] [3] in particular the paper by Fiske, "The cultural economy of fandom". [7]

Jonathan Gray, Cornel Sandvoss and C. Lee Harrington identified three waves of fan studies in 2007: ethnographic research, which views fans collectively; cultural studies, considering the "replication of social and cultural hierarchies within fan- and subculture ... as a reflection and further manifestation of our social, cultural, and economic capital"; and what Paul Booth terms "everyday fandom", where fandom is considered to be "part of the fabric of our everyday lives" and the study of fandom is used to gain understanding of contemporary life. [8]

Early fan studies work often concentrated on the production of fan fiction, especially slash, and fanzines, largely within Anglophone cultures, [2] and frequently focusing on areas of fandom dominated by women. [3] The focus subsequently broadened to consider other fannish practices, particularly fanvidding and other forms of fan film-making, as well as the intellectual property issues that fanworks often raise. [2] Some early researchers attempted to counter then-prevalent negative views of fans. [2] [5] Another thread is the effect of the emergence of the Internet. [1] [2] Jenkins and other first-wave researchers characterised fans as "resistant" or "subversive" consumers, considering fandoms to represent a "democratic and socially progressive response" to the media industry; these early studies have since been characterised as "utopian" by Matt Hills, Gray, Sandvoss and Harrington, and others. For example, Gray et al. denoted first-wave studies the "Fandom Is Beautiful" era. [3] [9]

Some research in the early 2000s shifted in focus from fan communities towards individual fans, and broadened the area of study outside media fandom; examples include the work of Hills, Sandvoss and Steven Bailey. [1] The focus of later work broadened to encompass non-Anglophone cultures, especially Japanese anime and manga. Threads include fan labour, the gift economy, Web 2.0, [2] and changes in relationships between fans and commercial producers, in association with fandom increasingly representing the mainstream, [1] [2] [10] as well as the educational use of fan fiction, building on Jenkins' Convergence Culture (2006). [1] [2] [5]

The Fan Studies Network was founded in 2012, to facilitate global connectivity in the field. [11] Fan studies was described in 2014 as "still in its early stages". [1]

Specialist journals

Four issues of Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media appeared in 2001–7. [2] Transformative Works and Cultures , an open-access publication from the Organization for Transformative Works, was founded in 2008 and described as "thriving" in 2012. [2] [6] [12] A more recently founded publication is the Journal of Fandom Studies. [8] [7]

Bibliography

A chronological selection of some notable works include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fandom</span> Subculture composed of fans sharing a common interest

A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices, differentiating fandom-affiliated people from those with only a casual interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science fiction fandom</span> Subculture of fans who enjoy science fiction

Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization.

Slash fiction is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters of the same sex. While the term "slash" originally referred only to stories in which male characters are involved in an explicit sexual relationship as a primary plot element, it is now also used to refer to any fan story containing a romantic pairing between same-sex characters. Many fans distinguish slash with female characters as a separate genre, commonly referred to as femslash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fan convention</span> Gathering of fans of a topic

A fan convention is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also incorporate commercial activity. The term dates back to at least 1942.

Among science fiction and fantasy, comic book, and media fans, a Big Name Fan (BNF) is a member of a fandom who is particularly well-known and celebrated for their writings in fanzines, semi-professional magazines and blogs; or for other contributions such as art and fanfiction. Some BNFs have also contributed to the franchise itself. They may have fans of their own, who praise them and seek out their work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirk/Spock</span> Star Trek characters in slash fiction

Kirk/Spock, commonly abbreviated as K/S or Spirk and referring to James T. Kirk and Spock from Star Trek, is a popular pair in slash fiction, possibly the first slash pairing, according to Henry Jenkins, an early slash fiction scholar. Early in the history of Star Trek fan fiction, a few fan writers started writing about a romantic and sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock, highlighting a romantic or sexual element to the friendship between the men. As of 1998, most academic studies on slash fiction focused on Kirk/Spock, as Star Trek was by that point one of the longest-lived and most prosperous subjects of slash fiction, while its mainstream popularity made it one of the most accessible titles for academics and their audience. As the first slash pairing, K/S was created and developed largely independently from the influence of other slash fiction, with most of the conventions of the slash genre seeing their debut first in K/S slash.

In subcultural and fictional uses, a mundane is a person who does not belong to a particular group, according to the members of that group; the implication is that such persons, lacking imagination, are concerned solely with the mundane: the quotidian and ordinary. The term first came into use in science fiction fandom to refer, sometimes deprecatingly, to non-fans; this use of the term antedates 1955.

MediaWest*Con is one of the largest and longest running media-based fan-run conventions in the United States. It is held annually over Memorial Day weekend in Lansing, Michigan. The convention emerged in the late 1970s, beginning as T'Con in 1978 and 2'Con in 1979 before taking on the name MediaWest*Con in 1981. The convention remains the world's largest gathering of Fanzine writers, artists, and publishers, and for decades was the event where most new science fiction and fantasy Fanzines were released. The annual "Fan Quality Awards" for Fanzine excellence, known as the "Fan Q's", have been given out at MediaWest*Con since 1981. In addition, the convention's art show has been the principal location for the display and sale of published Fanzine art and illustrations.

Vidding is a fan labor practice in media fandom of creating music videos from the footage of one or more visual media sources, thereby exploring the source itself in a new way. The creator may choose video clips in order to focus on a single character, support a particular romantic pairing between characters, criticize or celebrate the original text, or point out an aspect of the TV show or film that they find under-appreciated. The resulting video may then be shared via one or more social media outlets and online video platforms such as YouTube. The creators refer to themselves as "vidders"; their product as "vids", "fanvids", "fanvideos", "songvids", or the more recently adopted name "edits"; and the act itself is referred to as vidding.

Fan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works, visual or computer-assisted art, films and videos, animations, games, music, or applied arts and costuming.

A Mary Sue is a character archetype in fiction, usually a young woman, who is often portrayed as inexplicably competent across all domains, gifted with unique talents or powers, liked or respected by most other characters, unrealistically free of weaknesses, extremely attractive, innately virtuous, and generally lacking meaningful character flaws. Usually female and almost always the main character, a Mary Sue is often an author's idealized self-insertion, and may serve as a form of wish fulfillment. Mary Sue stories are often written by adolescent authors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fan fiction</span> Type of fiction created by fans of the original subject

Fan fiction or fanfiction is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settings, or other intellectual properties from the original creator(s) as a basis for their writing. Fan fiction ranges from a couple of sentences to an entire novel, and fans can retain the creator's characters and settings, add their own, or both. It is a form of fan labor. Fan fiction can be based on any fictional subject. Common bases for fan fiction include novels, movies, comics, television shows, musical groups, cartoons, anime, manga, and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organization for Transformative Works</span> Nonprofit organization dedicated to protection of transformative fan activity

The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) is a nonprofit, fan activist organization. Its mission is to serve fans by preserving and encouraging transformative fan activity, known as "fanwork", and by making fanwork widely accessible.

Transformative Works and Cultures is a peer-reviewed open access academic journal published by the Organization for Transformative Works. The journal collects essays, articles, book reviews, and shorter pieces that concern fandom, fanworks, and fan practices. According to Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC), the journal "supports the [Organization for Transformative Works's] mission to promote the legitimacy and sustainability of non-commercial fan creativity by providing a forum for innovative criticism in fan studies, broadly conceived."

Kandy Fong created the first fan videos in 1975, a slideshow of Star Trek images set to music. She is credited with creating the concept of "mash-ups", editing a TV show or a film by disconnecting the images from the original soundtrack and re-editing them to a song to tell a new story. Fong's media practice includes zine editing, short story writing, slideshow creation and sketch comedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantasy fandom</span>

Fantasy fandom is a fandom and commonality of fans of the fantasy genre.

<i>Textual Poachers</i>

Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture is a nonfiction book of academic scholarship written in 1992 by television and media studies scholar Henry Jenkins. Textual Poachers explores fan culture and examines fans' social and cultural impacts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristina Busse</span>

Kristina Dorothea Busse is a professor in the Philosophy department at the University of South Alabama. As the co-editor of Transformative Works and Cultures, her research focuses on fanfiction communities and fan culture. Alongside fandom academics Alexis Lothian and Robin Anne Reid, she coined the term "queer female space" in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Hellekson</span> American scholar

Karen L. Hellekson is an American author and scholar who researches science fiction and fan studies. In the field of science fiction, she is known for her research on the alternate history genre, the topic of her 2001 book, The Alternate History: Refiguring Historical Time, and has also published on the author Cordwainer Smith. In fan studies, she is known for her work on fan fiction and the culture of the fan community. She has co-edited two essay collections on fan fiction with Kristina Busse, and in 2008, co-founded the academic journal, Transformative Works and Cultures, also with Busse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesca Coppa</span> American scholar of literature

Francesca Coppa is an American scholar whose research has encompassed British drama, performance studies and fan studies. In English literature, she is known for her work on the British writer Joe Orton; she edited several of his early novels and plays for their first publication in 1998–99, more than thirty years after his murder, and compiled an essay collection, Joe Orton: A Casebook (2003). She has also published on Oscar Wilde. In the fan-studies field, Coppa is known for documenting the history of media fandom and, in particular, of fanvids, a type of fan-made video. She co-founded the Organization for Transformative Works in 2007, originated the idea of interpreting fan fiction as performance, and in 2017, published the first collection of fan fiction designed for teaching purposes. As of 2021, Coppa is a professor of English at Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. ↑ For example: [1] [2] [5] [6] [7]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Karen Hellekson, Kristina Busse. "Introduction: Why a Fan Fiction Studies Reader Now?", in The Fan Fiction Studies Reader (Karen Hellekson, Kristina Busse, eds), pp. 1–17 (University of Iowa Press; 2014) Project MUSE 28711 ( ISBN   9781609382278)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Henry Jenkins (29 August 2012). "Fan Studies", in Oxford Bibliographies (Oxford University Press) doi:10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0027
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Suzanne Scott. "A fangirl's place is in the resistance: Feminism and fan studies", in Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry, pp. 25–50 (NYU Press; 2019) Project MUSE 76066 ( ISBN   9781479878352)
  4. 1 2 Anne Gilbert (2015). "Review: Understanding Fandom: An Introduction to the Study of Media Fan Culture by Mark Duffett", Cinema Journal 54: 160–164 doi:10.1353/cj.2015.0039
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Judith May Fathallah. "From Foucault to Fanfic", in Fanfiction and the Author, pp. 17–32 (Amsterdam University Press; 2017) JSTOR   j.ctt1v2xsp4.5 Project MUSE 66603 ( ISBN   9789089649959)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Francesca Coppa. The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales for the Digital Age , pp. 16–17 (University of Michigan Press; 2017) ( ISBN   9780472053483)
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Adrienne Evans, Mafalda Stasi (2014). "Desperately seeking methods: new directions in fan studies research", Participations11: 4–23
  8. 1 2 Paul Booth. "Waves of Fandom in the Fan Studies Classroom", in Fandom as Classroom Practice, Katherine Anderson Howell, ed. (University of Iowa Press; 2018) Project MUSE 58492 ( ISBN   9781609385682)
  9. ↑ Judith May Fathallah. "Introduction", p. 1 (Amsterdam University Press; 2017) JSTOR   j.ctt1v2xsp4.4 Project MUSE 66603 ( ISBN   9789089649959)
  10. ↑ Paul Booth, Kristina Busse, Melissa Click, Sam Ford, Henry Jenkins, Xiaochang Li, Sharon Ross (2014). "Online Roundtable on Spreadable Media, by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green", moderated by Lousia Stein, Cinema Journal 53: 152–177 doi:10.1353/cj.2014.0021
  11. ↑ Lucy Bennett (2013). "Researching online fandom", Cinema Journal 52: 129–134 doi:10.1353/cj.2013.0033
  12. ↑ TWC Editor (2008). "Transforming academic and fan cultures", Transformative Works and Cultures 1(1) doi:10.3983/twc.2008.071
  13. ↑ "Fuck yeah, Fandom is Beautiful | Intellect". intellectdiscover.com. doi:10.1386/jfs.2.1.73_1 . Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  14. ↑ Salkowitz, Rob. "New Work Of 'Fanthropology' Excavates Origins Of Fan Culture And Comic-Con". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.