Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks

• Henry Jenkins - fandom 

Factsheet #107 - Fandom

1) What is the definition of a fan?

We are all ‘fans’ of a media text in the sense that we like them and consume them regularly, but is not the same as being a Fan (capitalisation intended) of a media text. Fans do more than just like or even love a particular media text, ‘true fans’ have a devotion that goes beyond simply consuming media texts, and is, as Matt Hills argues, part of a person’s identity in much the same way as gender, class and age define who we are.

2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet?

• Hard core fans identify themselves as the ‘insiders’ within any given fandom and consider themselves to be aficionados of their chosen media text. They spend a lot of time and often money in becoming hard core fans. They take pride in how long they have been a fan and also the quantity and quality of the knowledge they have amassed whilst being a fan.

• Newbies, as the name suggests, are new fans of any given text and do not have the longevity of devotion or depth of knowledge that hard core fans have and are initially viewed as the ‘outgroup’ within fandoms.

• ‘Anti-fans’ are those which identify themselves with media texts but negatively so; they loathe or hate the text but unlike ‘true’ fans they do not form their relationship. with a text through close readings, they develop their emotional attachment ‘at a distance’ (Gray) through marketing publicity such as trailers. Hills argues that the ‘anti-fan’ seems to be a negative stereotype of a text or genre such as ‘all people who watch chick flicks are dim’ or ‘people who watch horror must be sick in the head’.

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?

Fandoms exhibit a ‘passion that binds enthusiasts in the manner of people who share a secret — this secret just happens to be shared with millions of others.’ Fandoms are subcultures within which fans experience and share a sense of camaraderie with each other and engage in particular practices of their given fandom. Fandoms can be narrowly defined and can focus on something like an individual celebrity, or be more widely defined, encompassing entire hobbies, genres or fashions. In recent times media critics have suggested that fandoms can even be applied to the love of consumer goods or brand such as Apple. This may be stretching the definition a little, but what is true to say is that fandoms are built by audiences that are so passionate about the media texts they consume that fandoms can last for a lifetime, Hills calls this ‘enduring fandom.’

4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom?

Bordieu argues a kind of ‘cultural capital’ which confers a symbolic power and status for the fan, especially within the realm of their fandom.

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?

• One of the earliest examples is the fandom created around the literary detective Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fans of these books created some of the first fan fiction as early as 1887 and held public demonstrations of mourning after Holmes was “killed” off in 1893.

• For example, in the image below we see a Liverpool fan’s room with duvetcover, wallpaper, memorabilia  etc.

• True fans watch the texts over and over again and they also participate in cosplay, (dressing up as characters) and attend conventions and specialist screenings of their texts. For example midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) helped secure its cult status with students and gay and lesbian fans who would cross-dress like the characters, use props and re-enact the actions in particular scenes.

6) Why is imaginative extension and text creation a vital part of digital fandom?

Fans use the original media texts and get creative and innovative with the material. Crawford suggests that it is this which distinguishes fans from ordinary consumers. They engage in diverse activities such as ‘the production of websites, mods and hacks, private servers, game guides, walkthroughs and FAQs, fan fiction and forms of fan art, fan vids’ all of which have been aided by digital technology.

Digital fandoms use technology in multiple ways and Fiske sees this as the ‘cultural economy’ of fandoms, one that is focused not on making money but on expressing the complex ideas and value systems behind fandoms.

Henry Jenkins - degree-level reading

1) There is an important quote on the first page: “It’s not an audience, it’s a community”. What does this mean?

This means new digital media is more about bringing people together rather than selling and talking to an audience. 

2) Jenkins quotes Clay Shirky in the second page of the chapter. Pick out a single sentence of the extended quote that you think is particularly relevant to our work on participatory culture and the ‘end of audience’ (clue – look towards the end!)

''In the age of the internet, no one is a passive consumer anymore because everyone is a media outlet. Some are calling them “media-actives,” suggesting that they are much more likely to demand the right to participate within the media franchise than previous generations

3) What are the different names Jenkins discusses for these active consumers that are replacing the traditional audience?

• Media actives

• Prosumers

• Inspirational consumers

• Connectors 

• Influencers

4) On the third page of the chapter, what does Wired editor Chris Anderson suggest regarding the economic argument in favour of fan communities?

Anderson argues that investing in niche properties with small but committed consumer bases may make economic sense if you can lower costs of production and replace marketing costs by building a much stronger network with your desired consumers.

5) What examples does Jenkins provide to argue that fan culture has gone mainstream?

The main example given is that fan culture is no longer automatically associated with the stereotypical 'geeky' fan, and that fan culture ultimately dominates the media now. For example, the tastes of fans and their ideas have a significant impact on the production of media texts, and in shaping the media content.

6) Look at the quote from Andrew Blau in which he discusses the importance of grassroots creativity. Pick out a sentence from the longer quote and decide whether you agree that audiences will ‘reshape the media landscape from the bottom up’.

'A new generation of media makers and viewers are emerging which could lead to a sea change in how media is made and consumed.'

I agree because the audience now dictate a lot of the decisions that producers make due to the various platforms that people can voice their opinions about any media production- it's almost as if twitter is a mass focus group.

7) What does Jenkins suggest the new ideal consumer is?

They used to be the ones who watched television, bought products and didn't talk back, passively consuming. Whereas now its the ones who offer ideas and opinions on how to improve the product, a person who "talks up the program and spreads word about the brand."

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

Fandom is the future because it is the fans who lead the 'hype' on social media about their favourite products and they form groups of people (fanbases) that eventually become appealing to a wider audience, thus creating a bigger fanbase for the product- this makes the product more successful.

9) What does it mean when Jenkins says we shouldn’t celebrate ‘a process that commodifies fan cultural production’?

We should not promote this process as larger media companies exploit the products that are produced by the fans - the fans are not rewarded for their efforts.

10) Read through to the end of the chapter. What do you think the future of fandom is? Are we all fans now? Is fandom mainstream or are real fan communities still an example of a niche media audience?

I think that, as mentioned in the article, fandom and the concept of being a fan has become a lot more mainstream. In many respects, it's almost a trend to be a fan of something - for example, if a media text becomes popular or more recognised then more people will come forward as a fan.