Henry Jenkins - fandom

Factsheet #107 - Fandom

Read Media Factsheet #107 on Fandom. Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or log into your Greenford Google account to access the link. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of a fan?

It is someone with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal for something/someone.

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

There are hardcore/true fan, newbie and anti-fan.

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?

It can be a group of people all fascinated over a subject as they all share this enthusiasm for the same thing.

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

It states how its not simple about preferring one team over another showing  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?

There are Rituals and Participation, Ironic Readings, Defy Critics and Institutions and Imaginative Extension and Text Creation.

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

Its able to distinguishes fans from ordinary consumers, meaning they create things like websites or fan fictions. They're not only focused not on making money but on expressing the complex ideas and value systems behind fandoms.

Henry Jenkins - degree-level reading

Read the final chapter of ‘Fandom’ – written by Henry Jenkins (note: link may be blocked in school - try this Google Drive link if you need it.) This will give you an excellent introduction to the level of reading required for seminars and essays at university as well as degree-level insight into our current work on fandom and participatory culture. Answer the following questions:

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

It states how services transform the relationship between media producers and consumers. This means how it helps many people with similar interests connect over one subject.

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!)

'some are calling them “prosumers,” suggesting that as con-sumers produce and circulate media, they are blurring the line between amateur and professional;'

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

Names such as “loyals,” “media-actives,” “prosumers,” “inspirational consumers” “connectors” or “influencers,” are dominating more.

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

He says how lowering cost of production and building a stronger connection with target audience can help niche properties with small but committed consumer bases.

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

Frequently using terms such as “fan,” “fandom,” or “fan culture,” reinforces the stereotypical aspect of geeks. The consistency of seeing this online can show how it has been implemented into mainstream culture becoming a normal thing.

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 [sic] emerging which could lead to a sea change in how media is made and consumed.' This shows how the younger generations grew up with the idea of fandoms being normalised that they have adapted to the creativity that following showing how these consumers have the power to share media.

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

The ideal consumer is a fan who talks up the program and spreads word about the brand.

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

Fandom and not fans are the  the rest of the people involved in this are more focused on consumption as a social, networked, collaborative process, whereas so much of the recent work in fan studies has returned to a focus on the individual fan.

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

It means how we should avoid giving credit to fans and completely forgetting the original media. Even though it may be a way of promotion for industry's, it could make these fans more influential for other audiences creating context that is not associated to the original text.

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?

The future of fandom will reach the point of where there will not longer be a right way of consuming media showing how fans ill evolve and introduce new creative ways to support their subject. It is believes that everyone is a fan without being aware and that there is an absence of fans stereotypes in media normalising the constant obsessions and dangers that come to follow. Fandoms will now always be seen as mainstream after being introduced to society with a new background for people to express their creativity and skills with other. However, some fan communities may stay niche and small as they don't include consumers who want to share that passion with others but instead want to keep it private and personal as some sort of secret.