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COMM234 – Media & New Technologies

Week 5 – Online Fandom Sarah Wharton – sarah.wharton@liverpool.ac.uk. COMM234 – Media & New Technologies. Week 5 outline. What is a fan? What are people fans of? Traditional ideas of the media fan. What has Web 2.0 added? Fandom as collective intelligence. Spoilers and theorists.

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COMM234 – Media & New Technologies

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  1. Week 5 – Online Fandom Sarah Wharton – sarah.wharton@liverpool.ac.uk COMM234 – Media & New Technologies

  2. Week 5 outline • What is a fan? • What are people fans of? • Traditional ideas of the media fan. • What has Web 2.0 added? • Fandom as collective intelligence. • Spoilers and theorists. • Creative fandom. • Fanfiction/shipping. • Fan vids. • Conclusion. • Seminar info.

  3. Learning Outcomes • By the end of the session, learners will be able to: • Identify what it means to be a fan. • Identify the ways in which Web 2.0 has changed the way fans interact and express themselves.

  4. What is a fan? • Derived from the word “fanatic”. • See Jenkins (1992) Textual Poachers for a full etymological definition. • Someone who is passionately obsessed with/fanatical about a particular commodity or person.

  5. What are people fans of? • Films • TV Shows • Genres • Actors • Directors • Authors • Books • Comics/graphic novels/manga • Sport/sports team • Franchises • Music genres • Bands/singers • Characters • Websites • Cartoons/anime • Artists • Toys/action figures • Video games • To name but a few!

  6. Traditional ideas of the media fan • In-depth knowledge of trivial facts. • Reads fanzines. • Attends conventions • Collects memorabilia and merchandise. • Has a transmedia experience (reads novels, plays games etc.)

  7. What has Web 2.0 added? • Communication via forums and social networking sites. • Sharing of news, collections, gossip, reviews, opinions, rumours etc. via blogs. • Collective knowledge bases (e.g. Wikis) • Easy selling/buying of memorabilia and merchandise via eBay, Amazon and specialist retailers. • Sharing of fanfictions with sites like fanfiction.net. • Sharing of fanart with sites like DeviantArt. • Sharing of fan videos via YouTube. • Use/spreading of memes using sites like Tumblr.

  8. Fandom as collective intelligence • Fandom in the age of Web 2.0 = collective intelligence. • Pierre Lévy: “No one knows everything, everyone knows something, all knowledge resides in humanity.” • Cited in Jenkins, Henry (2008) Convergence Culture: When Old and New Media Collide, New York: NYU Press. Pp. 26-7.

  9. Fandom as collective intelligence • Knowledge, information, news, gossip and rumours are collected online on forums, blogs, Twitter feeds, Tumblr feeds etc. enabling fans to be both either passive or active members of the fandom.

  10. Examples from Glee • Glee Wiki. • Collective knowledge base for all things Gleeincluding characters, episodes, spoilers, “ships”, fanfictions etc. • Edited and updated by its members. • Chat enabled through discussion boards. • Gleehab. • Blog that collates all news, rumours, images, interviews and spoilers from around the web and print press. • Also has a Twitter feed.

  11. Here be spoilers! • Online fandom often focuses on spoilers or “working things out”. • E.g. Lostpediafeatures a forum where members can (and still do) discuss various theories on Lost. • The Leaky Cauldron is a massive Harry Potter fansite that covers the books, films, games and Pottermore. It, again, features a forum where fans can discuss the franchise – theorising, filling in backstories and so on.

  12. Fan resources • Social networking sites such as Facebook and Fanpop make the creation of fan pages and groups easy for anyone. • Sites like GetGlue and Miso allow fans to check in when they are viewing, reading, gaming etc. in order to have a social experience with other fans.

  13. Creative fandom • Fanfictions, fanart etc. existed before the internet. • Exhibition restricted to fanzines and similar. • Web 2.0 enabled the exhibition of these creative expressions of fandom on a global scale.

  14. “Shipping” • Shipping, derived from the word relationship, is the belief that two fictional characters, typically from the same series, are in an intimate relationship, or have romantic feelings that could potentially lead to a relationship. It is considered a general term for fans' emotional involvement with the ongoing development of romance in a work of fiction. Though technically applicable to any such involvement, it refers chiefly to various related social dynamics observable on the Internet, and is seldom used outside of that context. • From Wikipedia. • I can use it, you can’t! • Examples from Glee. • Rachel/Finn = Finchel. • Kurt/Blaine = Klaine. • Santana/Brittany = Brittana. • Quinn/Puck = Quick. • Fanfiction terminology: • Canon – elements established by original source material. • Drabble – stories of exactly 100 words. • AU – alternate universe – not following the canonical story. • OTP – One True Pairing – author’s “ship”. • PWP – Porn Without Plot – self-explanatory! • Slash – Homosexual pairing – derived from the way author’s presented the pairing in summary e.g. Kirk/Spock. • Read more terms.

  15. Fan vids • Web 2.0 – specifically YouTube – combined with digital video technologies has made fan videos (fan vids) easy to create and share. • Potter Puppet Pals • Created Harry Potter fan vids using puppets for YouTube. • Became so popular they had to create their own site. • The Dalek Song • Doctor Who inspired version of a well-known internet ditty – The Llama Song

  16. Potter Puppet Pals – The Mysterious Ticking Noise

  17. The Dalek Song

  18. Internet memes • The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. • Rickrolling • LOLcats • Weeping Angels (Doctor Who) • Within fandoms, memes are often specific to characters, ships, storylines etc. • Usually involve the creation of images or animated GIFs.

  19. Creative fandom • What does this creative involvement give fans? • Status within the community. • Extended enjoyment of original product. • Ability to shape the plot of chosen fandom. • Way of exploring possible theories/outcomes (see Lost and Harry Potter).

  20. So what has Web 2.0 done for fans? • Given them a much louder voice. • Global exhibition site for creative outlets. • Possibility of gaining own fan following. • Chance to find out spoilers and “outwit” producers/authors. • Opportunity to communicate with other fans. • Development of large fan culture.

  21. Seminar info • Key readings: • Jenkins, Henry (2008) Convergence Culture: When Old and New Media Collide, New York: NYU Press. (Chapter One) • Jenkins, Henry (2006) Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture, NYU Press, New York. (Chapter One) • We’ll be dividing into groups and analysing a variety of online fandoms. • This seminar will be in a computer suite! • Eleanor Rathbone Building Teaching Centre, Room 201, 2nd Floor Eleanor Rathbone Building.

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