The definition of a "fan" has carried many meanings over time. From Game of Thrones fans who speak fluent Dothraki, to cosplayers that can become the character they love for a day, and to the more sinister roots of the obsessive "fanatic", there is certainly more than meets the eye with fan culture.
Fan Theory is an area of study and phenomenon surrounding how people interact with media texts. This could be through passive consumption for example, by simply reading the books, and watching the films or, the person can take up a more active consumer role, for example, by dressing as characters (cosplay), writing fan fiction, creating fan art, and forming groups or clubs in order to connect with other people based on their shared devotions for particular fandoms, which could be very specific (for a particular character, or show), or wide (for a whole style of text, i.e. anime, or a fan activity, i.e. a cosplay group). Being a fan of something however is more than just casual viewership. It requires a true love of the text, and a certain level of devotion, and sacrifice. This sacrifice can be monetary, in order to buy merchandise which will help you connect with the fandom, and in the case of wearable apparel, to signal to others that you love what you love. This will also help to find people with similar interests, or to just mark yourself for the sake of self expression and/or identity formation. These texts all form part of culture, and every person experiences culture in their own way however, the fan experiences culture in a distinctive way, a way which most definitely is deserving of academic study.
The term, ‘culture’ originated in the year 1400-50. It can be defined as being “...the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc” (Dictionary.com, 2018). This is a rather traditional definition of what culture is. Culture does not necessarily need to be high culture, the best version of what it is, or the most popular. For example, a film may not do well at the box office, but then may gain a cult following, and in this way either stay within a close knit, but highly devoted fan community, or make its way into more mainstream pop or popular culture. People consume culture by experiencing it using the five human senses, and through economic investment for example, you would buy a ticket to a film, or buy an accessory to represent a certain fashion aesthetic. Cultural consumption however is more than just buying into ideas or things. People do not simply ‘get into’ what they are told to. According to the popular culture conspiracy theorist blog site, Vigilant Citizen, “Mass media are media forms designed to reach the largest audience possible. They include television, movies, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, records, video games and the internet. Many studies have been conducted in the past century to measure the effects of mass media on the population in order to discover the best techniques to influence it. From those studies emerged the science of Communications, which is used in marketing, public relations and politics. Mass communication is a necessary tool to ensure the functionality of a large democracy; it is also a necessary tool for a dictatorship. It all depends on its usage.” (Vigilant Citizen, 2010). From their point of view, consumers do not necessarily have a free choice when it comes to investing in ideas, and products, rather that we are conditioned to agree with certain things, and to find specific things appealing or unappealing, based on a nurturing process, conducted by corporate giants that may or may not be linked with each other, the government, particular famous people, and a larger worldwide organisation.
Conspiracies aside, this view embodies the “inoculation theory of persuasion”, developed by the social psychologist William J. McGuire in 1961 where he “suggested that attitudes could be inoculated against persuasive attacks in much the same way that one's immune system can be inoculated against viral attacks.” (Front Psychol. (2016)). Rather than injecting ideas into unbeknownst hosts, cultural consumption is “...a more complex theory about the interaction between producers and consumers – a theory that goes beyond the absolute figures of consumption in economic terms – we are neither the passive victims portrayed by the “critique of mass culture” school, nor are we the liberated consumers reported by many other authors. We are creative, active individuals, working with a range of cultural materials, and through a range of consumption practices, constructing and making sense of our everyday life” (IGI Global, 2018). The key assertion here is that culture and cultural products are used in a practical sense for people to make sense of the world around them, and most importantly, to make sense of themselves.
Fans also consume culture in order to achieve the aforementioned benefits, and do it most importantly because they can. This however does not mean that they are without prejudices, fairly and unfairly earned. While fandom can be a lot of fun for participants, the term, since its inception was surrounded with negativity. Renowned American cultural theorist and media scholar, Henry Jenkins, in the first chapter of his 1992 book, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture effectively summarises the history of the word “fan”. “‘Fan’ is an abbreviated form of the word ‘fanatic’, which has its roots in the Latin word “fanatics.” In the most literal sense, ‘fanatics’ simply meant ‘Of or belonging to the temple, a temple servant, a devotee’, but it quickly assumed more negative connotations. ‘Of persons inspired by orgiastic rites and enthusiastic frenzy’ (Oxford Latin Dictionary). As it evolved, the term ‘fanatic’ moved from a reference to certain excessive forms of religious belief and worship to any ‘excessive and mistaken enthusiasm,’ often invoked in criticism to opposing political beliefs, and then, more generally, to madness ‘such as might result from possession by a deity or demon’.” (Jenkins, H. (1992), p. 12)
He goes on to say how a fan is problematic as liking something too much is unhealthy. This is exemplified in many films including most notably, Tony Scott’s thriller film, The Fan (1996), starring Robert De Niro as a divorced, lonely, and murderously devoted fan of a baseball player. A more recent example of a ‘fan gone crazy’ film is FANatic (2017), a Canadian TV film about a fan who works on the set of the show she is obsessed with. She will do anything to keep the show running, while the lead actress desperately wants another role than the “alien bimbo” she had played for seven years. While this film was certainly not as much of a ‘big hit’ as The Fan, it has some excellent instances of fandom that freak ‘normal’ people out. Lead crazy, Nikki (Katy Breier) speaks the alien language from the show she loves with her friends. When one of the leads actor of the show, Hunter Clay (Benjamin Arthur) asks her about it, Nikki says that “sometimes it’s just easier.” He then asks, “Then what? English?” While this is meant to be a joke, it is funny because there is certainly truth to it. While it is fine for someone to like The Lord of the Rings books and films, and the Game of Thrones books and television show, it gets a little weird when fans start speaking Elf or Dothraki right? While everyone enjoys media texts, and various forms of entertainment, whether these be in the form of people, films, television, books, and animation, when does a simple “enjoyment” become something else? Where should we draw the line and who is it that is drawing it in the first place? According to Larsen & Zubernis, “…the boundaries between theory and practice in fan studies are blurring more all the time. Previously we had theorised what fans do and why they do it, yet fan voices were often absent from the discussion, and the theory seemed to bear less and less resemblance to what fans were actually doing online, at fan gatherings, and on fan pilgrimages. Researchers described the increasing interaction between fan and producer, but often without access to the producers themselves. All this is changing. Not only are fans interacting with producers, but academics are as well. And as the scope and practices of fandom are changing, so too are the ways in which we theorize, study, and teach it” (Larsen, K. & Zubernis, L. (2012), p. 2). This is certainly evident in the case of producers and fans for example, crowdfunded projects i.e Stuart Murdoch’s indie musical, God Help the Girl was made with $121,084 from fans and people in the film community (fundraising goal $120,000), fan-fictions coming to life as their own multi million dollar franchises i.e. Fifty Shades of Grey book and film series, and public figures with verified accounts conversing and interacting with fans on Instagram, live or in the comment section in order to make content that is in demand.
The tendency to converse with real fans in order to insure the validity of their study has also made its way into academic discourse. According to Sarah Ralph in her research of hereditary fan consumption activities, the greatest point of influence in terms of defining female power ideologically is how females converse on an everyday basis with other females. She sites the mother/daughter relationship as the literal ‘mother’ or foundation of all other relationships (Brooks, O. (2015)). This relationship, according to earlier psychoanalytic studies is not without the potential to ‘harm’, for example, if the daughter is “coddled”, their sense of identity as a separate person as well as their personal and sexual development could be stinted. In addition, Ralph also sites the idea that bad health habits, and diseases including eating disorders, and cigarette smoking can be almost directly transmitted, due to the behaviour of the parent, whilst being continually observed by their child. Her idea is that if these things can come from parents, most dominantly the mother, media habits and tastes could also be learnt and ‘passed down’. To prove these findings, and to find out other meaningful trends Ralph chooses to focus on the shared experience of female celebrities by a sample of regular, everyday mothers and daughters.
According to her audience research, transcribed telephone calls from her participants, the role of female celebrities for their relationships vary based most largely on class, and age. For example, a mother of a 19 year old still living at home uses her daughter’s love of film stars as a means of connection, and to facilitate conversation. Another mother claimed she loved an actress ever since she saw her on Beaches, proving that her devotion, turning to shared devotion with her daughter spanned over 20 years. This is much like the idea of children getting to know old songs or classic 80s hits from their parents playing it in their cars. Many mothers and daughters saw films starring and centering on female film stars as a means to bring up topics like teen pregnancy, dating, and friendships in their real lives. Another key attribute that many people in the sample also noted as important when talking about the actor specifically is how adaptable they were to different roles. Ralph deduces this as an admiration for a woman that can do many things in their everyday lives, hence a fluid actor who can portray many styles represents a successful woman. While most of these women dismissed their celebrity talk, and film discussions as ‘fantasy’, something indulgent, apolitical, and separate from their real lives, the other things they said in their conversations highlight that these discussions are important, and more than just fluffy chatting. While many may not site the media consumption of these everyday women as politically important, they certainly are in terms of identity formation, and the adoption of ideas and attitudes towards them.
While early work on fans were certainly negative in terms of literature and film projects i.e. The Fan, there are still films like this (i.e. FANatic), and the social conception that certain fan activities are weird, and should not exist. Mistreatment and abuse of fans for their fan activities is present in many areas of fandom and cultural interest. On November 2, 2016, Lauren Grant, an interviewer who is part of the YouTube channel, Nerd Caliber went to Anime USA 2016, made a video called “What is the Scariest Thing That Happened to You While in Cosplay? AUSA 2016 Cosplay”, where she goes around and asks cosplayers to respond to the title question. Pop culture conventions are gathering points for people interested in many different entertainment forms and franchises. “Cosplay” is basically dress up for people of all ages, which can involve role play elements, and be either on a budget, or extremely expensive, bought or handmade, based on the caliber and tastes of the “cosplayer”. This particular convention is held yearly for those interested in “anime”, Japanese animated television shows and films. While there were some funny anecdotes in this video (consistent with the tone and style of the channel’s other videos) where cosplayers recounted their costumes breaking or tripping over and breaking someone else’s elaborate prop, there were some very upsetting responses featuring sexual abuse. Several female cosplayers recounted men who would follow them around, or touch them inappropriately when taking a picture. A few male cosplayers talked about how they would be groped by female fans of the character they were dressed as. A crossdressing man who may have been transgender talks about how someone asked “what are you?” and tried to “check” themselves. Cosplay offers a good opportunity for fans to become the character they love, no matter what age, race, size, or gender they may be. Despite this, there is still a lot of issues that participants can come across. Under this video, a user commented “COSPLAY IS NOT CONSENT”, and received 16 replies and 1.4k likes.
While this is a powerful video, it may not reach much further than the community it inhabits. If you are getting the wrong sort of attention because of what you are wearing, why do it? The fact that the aforementioned Jenkins’ chapter is called “Get a Life” is a pretty big statement that embodies this idea. People who are outside a fandom can quite easily be ticked off by the fan’s excitement over the topic alone, without even completely disliking the object of fandom. Liking something casually is certainly the more culturally accepted media consumption activity however, are the fans really without a life? They seem pretty happy doing what they do, and that effort is not going into their hobby without enjoyment. Perhaps if Jenkins was to write a chapter on cosplay, as an extension and in the spirit of “Get a Life”, he could call it “Grow up, and get a life”. A lot of people don’t understand why adults are having fun dressing up. A possible reason behind this would be that ‘dress up’ is a kids activity, to promote imaginative play, while they are still figuring out who they are, what they like, and what they want to do when they grow up. While many adults do not exactly have the answers to these questions themselves, they are expected to know, and if not, be actively working towards making themselves employable, productive members of society.
This idea is a very capitalist notion, as it assumes and equates ‘not working’ as ‘wasting time’ that could be better spent on earning money, and feeding back into the economy. While it is not exactly conventional, hobbies such as cosplay can be monetised. Michelle A.K.A Roxie Sweetheart, a U.K. fashion student turned entrepreneur formed her own distinctive style based on several Japanese fashion subcultures. She turned her Harajuku fandom hobby into a booming business, with the help of Barcroft TV who made a mini documentary on her story, as part of a series called Hooked on the Look. California based Instagram public figure Amber Guzman (68.2k followers), now 33 years old turned her hobby of ‘dressing dolly’ into a platform for talking about the incurable disease muscular dystrophy, which causes the progressive weakening and shrinking of muscles, causing the sufferer to eventually become paralysed. She has been living with the disease since she was 18, and by fully embracing her hobby fandoms of cosplay, makeup, and Japanese subculture lolita fashion, she has been able to gain support from her fan community, allowing her the money she needs for care i.e. a wheelchair which was crowdfunded, while also being able to raise awareness about this disease. While these cases may not be the ‘normal’ way of making a living, i.e. working nine to five at a day job, more and more people are making their hobbies into something they can live off, as well as live for, hence, if utilised correctly and with a little luck, embracing and understanding markets, no matter how ‘niche’ can certainly be profitable, as well as meaningful and inspiring in a real world sense, and on a worldwide scale.
Gender is another big component of fan theory, and also is a contributing factor to the level of respect a fan may receive. As mentioned, a fan may be despised or shunned based on their enthusiasm towards a topic, rather than the topic itself. This certainly comes into play for the ‘fangirl’. While ‘fangirl’ is often used as a derogatory term, relating to a preteen or teenage girl being interested in a topic, person, or group to the point of unsettling obsession, this cultural phenomenon can be utilised in a positive way as well. According to Cann’s sample of interviewed high school girls, who were all around the age of fourteen, from different social classes, and both from co-ed as well as girls schools, a fangirl can both be something repulsive as well as fun (Agirre, K. (2015)). In a segment of a group interview, a girl said she was a ‘Directioner’, a self professed fangirl of the former British boy band, One Direction. While the girls expressed their disdain for such devotion, and in similar instances such as for Justin Bieber, and High School Musical, the Directioner, said that “fangirling is fun”. Additionally, another girl said that her Mum fangirled after Boy George, proving the point the fangirling is an activity unrestricted in terms of age, and that this behaviour comes from her mother. An apparent trend that arose from the sample of conversations is that femininity is the main source of this feeling of negativity surrounding fangirls. Fangirling, opposed to male fandom can be seen as linked to ideas of female hysteria, and that women are interested in novel pursuits. However, through embracing the role of the ‘fangirl’, negative connotations and all, something thought of as trivial can gain ground through community involvement, and cultural investment.
Being a fan and getting into certain fandoms can also inspire real world action, particularly amongst McEvoy-Levy sites the Harry Potter as well as The Hunger Games as texts which inspire youth to fight for peace in the real world. “Deliberately muddling fictional and non fictional worlds, their original slogan was a declaration and an invitation: ‘We are an army of fans, activists, nerd fighters, teenagers, wizards and muggles dedicated to fighting for social justice with the greatest weapon we have-- love. Join us!’ The HPA was formed in 2005 by Andrew Slack, a comedian, satirist, and activist, who was then in his late twenties and had previously worked with ‘troubled youth.’ Inspired by Rowling’s series, Slack began writing action alerts making social parallels between the world of Harry Potter and contemporary political issues.” (McEvoy-Levy, S. (2018), p.334) While one could say that these are fictional texts and not true stories, they would have no power, or appeal if they did not in some way connect and resonate with people on a personal level, or to something that is happening/has happened in the world today. Talking about horror films, Hutchinson says, “And that is what the horror film is all about - enjoyment. How else can the popularity of the genre be accounted for in an age which has spawned worse horrors, such as Belsen and Buchenwald? We need the fictional terrors that stalk the night to counteract the terrors that walk by day. It is my contention that, in fact, the films concerned with horror and science fiction give us hope of a kind; we grapple with the mysterious and by doing so bring it to our level of understanding.” (Hutchinson, T. (1974), p. 34)
Therefore, there is certainly value in not just imaginary worlds, but in immersion into these worlds, in the form of fan activity. Fan cultures are devalued and valued for many different reasons, and these reasons change and mutate based on many factors including social media, which allows oneself to self promote and mark themselves as a fan, find other fans, consume content in relation to their fandoms and passions, create their own fan art and fiction, and interact with the producers themselves, even if it is only in the comments section. Location, time, and gender also play an important role in influencing fan activity, and how it must be studied. While Jenkins certainly pioneered the area of study in an academic space, ‘the fan’ is not a static phenomenon, it changes all of the time, and has incredible (seemingly apolitical) political power, in terms of identity formation, human thought, and idea adoption. It must be taken into account, as the number of pieces in puzzle of fandom and the fan continues to increase.
References
Agirre, K. (2015), ‘Girls and Cultural Consumption: 'Typical Girls', 'Fangirls' and the Value of Femininity’, The Politics of Being a Woman; Feminism; media and 21st Century Popular Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, U.K.
Barcroft TV. (2018, May 21). ‘The Real Life Kawaii Princess| HOOKED ON THE LOOK’ [Video File]. Retrieved from
Brooks, O. (2015), 'A Place for Talking about Female Stars': Exploring Versatility, Femininity and 'Fantasy' in Mother-Daughter Talk on Film Stars’, The Politics of Being a Woman; Feminism; media and 21st Century Popular Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, U.K.
FANatic, film produced by Incendo Productions, Montreal Casting, Canada, (Lifetime, 2017), TV film, 90 mins
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Hutchinson, T. (1974), Horror & Fantasy in the Cinema, Studio Vista, London
Jenkins, H. (1992), Textual poachers: television fans & participatory culture, Routledge, New York, pp. 9-49.
Larsen, K. & Zubernis, L. (2012), Fan Culture: Theory/Practice, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle
McEvoy-Levy, S. (2018), Peace and Resistance in Youth Cultures: Reading the Politics of Peacebuilding From Harry Potter to The Hunger Games, Palgrave Macmillan, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Nerd Caliber. (2016, November 2). ‘What is the Scariest Thing That Happened to You in Cosplay? AUSA 2016 Cosplay’[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CmLmbQFkiA&t=4s
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The Fan, film produced by Wendy Finerman, Mandalay Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, United States, (TriStar Pictures, 1995), motion picture, 116 mins
The Lord of the Rings, film produced by Incendo Productions, Montreal Casting, Canada, (Lifetime, 2017), TV film, 90 mins
Vigilant Citizen (2010), ‘Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Media’, https://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/mind-control-theories-and-techniques-used-by-mass-media/ , accessed on 20/5/18
Wikipedia, (2018), ‘Fifty Shades (film series)’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_(film_series) , accessed 22/5/18
Wikipedia, (2018), ‘Fifty Shades (novel series)’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_(novel_series) , accessed 22/5/18
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