Fan Culture Research

Ok, didn't manage to get to 1,000 words last night, tired eventually cover came me, however, not far off. This is what I've come up with so far. It's very sketchy as I am struggling at the moment to comment on some of the quotations I use. So it's just a rough draft.

“Today, a cult audience is praised by the media and the cult series has gone mainstream – “LOST” is a prime example, with millions of viewers worldwide puzzling over the series enigmas. Its mysteries and meaning. It’s easy to see that the media moguls want watching their shows, the more viewers, the merrier, and the more lucrative a series franchise becomes”

According to Matt Hills in his book “The Cult TV Book”, fandom and societies perception of being a fan has certainly changed. Of course, this can be mainly identified by the ever fast advances in technology and communication. Before the internet became a commons source for fandom activities, fans weren’t as easily connected or acquainted with one another. Meeting fellow and equally dedicated fans often would only occur at conventions, and of course, this cost money too, and with meeting fellow fans on the internet to discuss their favourite TV shows etc, is of course, a little cheaper then forking our hundreds of pounds on attending a convention and buying a costume to wear for it.

Since the improvements in technology has become widely accessible for the public, fans are able to share their passion for cult TV shows such as ‘LOST’ through the medium of fan sites, forums, videos, blogs, podcasts, avatars etc. The main avenue to this fan culture through fan sites and forums, where fans discuss their favourite TV show as well as contributing with theories and other forms of fan activity such as fan fiction, art and videos.

Merchandise is still a strong and successful pull in consumer consumption of fan culture. There are many stores and online markets where fans can purchase products that relate to their fandom in which they can proudly display their dedications.

Matt Hill reviews Kurt Lancaster’s discussion of fan consumerism and contrasting fan commodity between good and bad. He quotes Lancaster’s discussion “Forbidden Planet is a ‘clearinghouse’ for science fiction commodities that allow people to enter worlds of fantasy... the objects purchased in this store become a means for branching out into other worlds (by reading and fantasising), the participants of which come together in a setting at this bookstore, online or at a convention.” Authored in 1996.

Hills accuses Lancaster discussion as “a betrayal of an anxiety over the commodity-status of its contents, moving all to rapidly from the (‘bad’) fan-commodity to the (‘good’) fan-commodity. From the quote provided alone, Hill’s statement isn’t comprehensible, as the quote is more a statement discussing the availability of fan-commodity and does not provide personal opinion of rash comparison of ‘bad’ and ‘good’ fan-commodities. (comment. Come back to. Not making sense)

Looking at the history of fandom and cult tv, it is a common aspect that fans produced from a particular cult TV show are often represented as acting in bizarre behaviours’ and are often compared as socially abnormal in society. Many have considered that the ‘Trekkie’ fan to be of an absorbed breed. The recently edited “Cult TV Book” by Stacey Abbot addresses the cult audience and the identity of ‘devoted fans’.

This chapter in this book suggests that society’s views of the behaviour of the ‘obsessive fan’ are hardly different to sport and music fans. The sport fan that will attend every game possible, wear team uniform and colours and the music fan that will do their best to follow their favourite artists on tour. Television fans are described as those who “reschedules activities around airings of their favourite TV series, haunts the internet for interviews or the latest casting news, and knows each episode and storyline by heart.”

Hilary Robson, the author of this particular chapter, comments that “these behaviours may seem obsessive, odd and eccentric to the fan” but contrasts the fact that these harmless acts of fandom can escalate to further dramatic acts, such as Edward Seidel. “In 1979, the 15-year-old jumped to his death from an overpass bridge after learning his favourite television series ‘Battlestar Galatica – had been cancelled.”

Book being used – Fan Cultures by Matt Hills. The Cult TV Book by Stacey Abbott Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World by Jonathon Gray; Cornel Sandvoss; C. Lee Harrington and Henry Jenkins