Fan Culture @ Swarthmore

Fan Practices

• I’m interested in discussing how/why something becomes an object of fan adulation – why do some shows / books / films whatever generate “cultish” fan response (fanfic, cosplay, etc) while other material (which may even be equally popular) is generally left untouched in that way.
• I have no prior experience with fan fiction or really relating to fans in any other way than an occasional post on IMDb.com. However, I am interested in many fan-created media.
• Consumption practices (sociological / anthropological)
• In what specific ways do fans respond to media and why are those methods chosen and popular?
• Fan fiction – both sociologically, as in what its value is for people and online communities, and to get recommendations from other people about fanfic that they like.
• How people can actively engage in media that they are “supposed to” passively consume.
• The idea of realizing the text, and the intersection between the “alternate” universe and the “real” universe (i.e. via cosplay)

Identity & Psychology

• What is a fan? When does someone go from liking something to being a fan? Who are fans?
• When do people start defining themselves as fans?
• Psychological aspects of fandom: what makes a person become a fan? What are the psychological effects (positive and negative) of heavy involvement in fan culture?
• I would like to learn more about the psychology of fandom. At what point does it become obsessive and unhealthy? Are there particular character types that are more likely to be obsessive – or completely averse – to fan culture?
• Aspect of fantasy in relation to fandom (not necessarily the genre “fantasy,” but the idea of an imagination and fantasy that fandom creates)
• I am wondering if it is an inherent personality trait in people that makes them more likely to be obsessed fans or really involved in fanfic, etc.
• Since I don’t have experience in it myself, I’m curious to hear about why people dress up / create a genre of fanfic / what’s the thrill in this?
• The similarities to religion that some fandoms create and how they evolve. (Create some senses of security? Salvation?)

Community

• Societal aspects of fandom: how do fan social groups function? What effect does the mass migration of individuals into these relatively isolated groups have on society at large?
• Retaliation against fandom both within and without the fan community
• Fandom as community or society
• I am interested in social censure among the fan community, i.e. Lost fans perhaps finding Star Trek fans nerdy
• The tensions between the casual fan and the hardcore fan. Most basic: casual fan finding the hardcore ridiculous / lame / nerdy while hardcore finds casual to be a poser / phoney.

Gender & Sexuality

• Women in fan culture / images of women in fan culture
• Why women constitute a large portion of the fan community
• “Queering” media products (whether slash, Jerry Falwell, etc. – alternative “queer” interpretations
  • Women in fandom:
  • Fic as alternate “women’s writing”
  • Slash & het female sexuality
  • BNFs (Big-Name Fans)
  • Male creators, female fans?

Sub- and Superculture

• Jenkins talks a lot about the stereotype “superfans” create; how might this be addressed and disproven?
• Creation of alternative spaces / publics, alternative mainstreams, publics & counterpublics
• Most importantly I hope to understand the allure of a very tightly knit and somewhat intimidating fan culture to an outsider looking in (and inevitably becoming a fan).
• Pop culture versus high culture – distinctions, validity
• I’m interested to look at how the fan culture has become a subculture, often marginalized / judged by the mainstream
• Relation between the subculture and the production of mass media (i.e. the influence of the subculture and the production of canon, etc.)
• Is fandom alternative to traditional cultural paradigm or has it been co-opted?
• I would like to discuss how people respond to fans – why is being a hardcore sports fan and dressing up / painting your face for a big game “mainstream” and “normal,” but dressing up as a knight for a convention is “cultish” and “uncool”?

Media, Technology, and Commerce

• Internet publication, sociology of internet forums & publication areas (from things like Something Awful, to YouTube, to fanfic and discussion sites like Fiction Alley used to be [?])
• Online fannish communities
• How active/engaged are most people with the media they “consume”?
• Implications of fan practices on media production
• Viral and guerilla marketing ideas (and the ideas behind these concepts, not necessarily tied to commerce)
• Capitalist connections / explanations (if any) of the fan

Law and Authorship

• Effect of fandom on intellectual property debates, i.e. Rowling’s rants on fandom’s usurpation and “bastardization” of her work
• Mainstream reaction, especially the response of authority figures (i.e. authors, producers, judges, copyright lawyers) to fans
• I am interested in exploring the relationship between fans and canon authors and other figures, i.e. the relations between active fans and writers, producers, and actors in TV series
• I want to look more closely at the continuing convergence of fan interaction and content with the production of the media they are related to.

History

• I want to know more about the history of fandom – especially pre-internet fandom, and especially fandom that didn’t arise out of science fiction magazines of the early 20th century
• I am very interested in music fan cultures over the past 40 years.
• I would like to gain a better understanding of the history of fandom and generally where fan interaction began on a scale larger than average water-cooler chit chat.
• I’m interested in the beginnings of fandom. By that, I mean how did the first Star Trek conventions, or other conventions, come about.

Global Contexts

• Right now I am really interested in Western fans of non-Western culture, especially anime fandom – which I found really hard to research from the outside
• Fan cultures in other societies (for instance India)

Canons & Fanons

• Reclaimed canon, resurgent fandoms (e.g. Austen)
• What emotional / intellectual connections do fans have to their canon?
• The separation between canon fans and more “fanon” fans.
  • Is there an important difference?
  • Which ones are “true” fans?

Specific Fandoms

• Nontraditional fandoms (e.g. crossword puzzles)
• I’m interested in the development of reality TV. It is often considered a “trashy” TV phenomenon, but is it at all a mainstream branching out of fanfic?
• What makes Star Wars and Star Trek (and the similar) so ripe for the incredible depth fans have brought it to?
• What stimuli converged to bring about Dungeons and Dragons’ fan culture? How was D&D reactionary?
• What types of stereotypes exist for certain fan cultures and why are certain ones given a bad rap? i.e. Metalheads
• Webcomics
• Anime fandom
• If we have time I’d love to look into the Beatles phenomenon since I think that’s one of the earliest and most extreme examples of fan culture.
• Similarities between traditional fandoms (movies, TV series, etc.) and less traditional ones (music, celebs, sports). Why are some fandoms more accepted as “normal” (like sports fans) and others as “weird” (like Trekkies)?
• I’m a big fan of jazz music, and (while we may not focus on music) the established subculture of jazz fans and musicians interests me.

Celebrity

• The cult of celebrity as opposed to characters / stories
• Explore our obsession with drama and disaster in celebrity lives – for example: the boom of “real-life” reality series.
• I would like to know what it is about celebrities that makes fans so involved in finding out all the details of their lives.