A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies

A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies offers scholars and fans an accessible and engaging resource for understanding the rapidly expanding field of fan studies. International in scope and written by a team that includes many major scholars, this volume features over thirty especially-commissioned essays on a variety of topics, which together provide an unparalleled overview of this fast-growing field.

Separated into five sections—Histories, Genealogies, Methodologies; Fan Practices; Fandom and Cultural Studies; Digital Fandom; and The Future of Fan Studies—the book synthesizes literature surrounding important theories, debates, and issues within the field of fan studies. It also traces and explains the social, historical, political, commercial, ethical, and creative dimensions of fandom and fan studies. Exploring both the historical and the contemporary fan situation, the volume presents fandom and fan studies as models of 21st century production and consumption, and identifies the emergent trends in this unique field of study.

Notes on Contributors xi

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction 1

Paul Booth

Part I Histories, Genealogies, Methodologies 11

1 Fandom, Negotiation, and Participatory Culture 13
Henry Jenkins

2 Foundational Discourses of Fandom 27
Daniel Cavicchi

3 Literature Fandom and Literary Fans 47
Alexandra Edwards

4 The Fan Experience 65
Karen Hellekson

5 Soap Fans, Revisited 77
C. Lee Harrington and Denise Bielby

6 Not My Lifeblood: Autoethnography, Affective Fluctuations and Popular Music Antifandom 91
Ross Garner

7 Representations of Fans and Fandom in the British Newspaper Media 107
Lucy Bennett

8 Ethics in Fan Studies Research 123
Ruth A. Deller

Part II Fan Practices 143

9 Make Space for Us! Fandom in the Real World 145
Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen

10 Nostalgia, Fandom and the Remediation of Children’s Culture 161
Lincoln Geraghty

11 Fan Fashion: Re�-enacting Hunger Games through Clothing and Design 175
Nicolle Lamerichs

12 Slash/Drag: Appropriation and Visibility in the Age of Hamilton 189
Francesca Coppa

13 “Becoming a Part of the Storytelling”: Fan Vidding Practices and Histories 207
Katharina Freund

Part III Fandom and Cultural Studies 225

14 “Angry False�-Teeth�-Chattering Mayhem”: Synecdochic Fandom, Representation and Performance in Mature Woman Fandom of British Professional Wrestling 227
Tom Phillips

15 It’s About Who You Know: Social Capital, Hierarchies and Fandom 243
Bertha Chin

16 Ontological Security and the Politics of Transcultural Fandom 257
Lori Morimoto

17 Fandom and Otaku 277
Miranda Ruth Larsen

18 Otaku Pedestrians 289
Marc Steinberg and Edmond Ernest dit Alban

19 The Unbearable Whiteness of Fandom and Fan Studies 305
Mel Stanfill

20 Who Do You Mean by “Fan?” Decolonizing Media Fandom Identity 319
Rukmini Pande

21 Racebending and Prosumer Fanart Practices in Harry Potter Fandom 333
Jessica Seymour

Part IV Digital Fandom 349

22 Tumblr Pedagogies 351
Melanie E.S. Kohnen

23 Active Fandom: Labor and Love in The Whedonverse 369
Casey J. McCormick

24 “May We Meet Again”: Social Bonds, Activities, and Identities in the #Clexa Fandom 385
Mélanie Bourdaa

25 Of Spinoffs and Spinning Off 401
Louisa Stein

26 #AskELJames, Ghostbusters, and #Gamergate: Digital Dislike and Damage Control 415
Bethan Jones

27 Red Pillers, Sad Puppies, and Gamergaters: The State of Male Privilege in Internet Fan Communities 431
Katie Wilson

28 “Fate Has a Habit of Not Letting Us Choose Our Own Endings”: Post�]object Fandom, Social Media and Material Culture at the End of Hannibal 447
Rebecca Williams

Part V The Future of Fan Studies 461

29 Understanding Which Fandom? Insights from Two Decades as a Music Fan Researcher 463
Mark Duffett

30 Implicit Fandom in the Fields of Theatre, Art, and Literature: Studying “Fans” Beyond Fan Discourses 477
Matt Hills

31 Janeites and Sherlockians: Literary Societies, Cultural Legitimacy, and Gender 495
Roberta Pearson

32 Porn Consumers as Fans 509
Alan McKee

33 Kant/Squid (The Fanfiction Assemblage) 521
Anne Jamison

34 Interdisciplinarity in Fan Studies 539
Tisha Turk

Index 553

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