The Ashgate Research Companion to Fan Cultures (Ashgate Research Companions)

Fans Constitute A Very Special Kind Of Audience. They Have Been Marginalized, Ridiculed And Stigmatized, Yet At The Same Time They Seem To Represent The Vanguard Of New Relationships With And Within The Media. 'participatory Culture' Has Become The New Normative Standard. Concepts Derived From Early Fan Studies, Such As Transmedial Storytelling And Co-creation, Are Now The Standard Fare Of Journalism And Marketing Text Books Alike. Indeed, Usage Of The Word Fan Has Become Ubiquitous. The Ashgate Research Companion To Fan Cultures Problematizes This Exaltation Of Fans And Offers A Comprehensive Examination Of The Current State Of The Field. Bringing Together The Latest International Research, It Explores The Conceptualization Of 'the Fan' And The Significance Of Relationships Between Fans And Producers, With Particular Attention To The Intersection Between Online Spaces And Offline Places. The Twenty-two Chapters Of This Volume Elucidate The Key Themes Of The Fan Studies Vernacular. As The Contributing Authors Draw From Recent Empirical Work Around The Globe, The Book Provides Fresh Insights And Innovative Angles On The Latest Developments Within Fan Cultures, Both Online And Offline. Because The Volume Is Specifically Set Up As Companion For Researchers, The Chapters Include Recommendations For The Further Study Of Fan Cultures. As Such, It Represents An Essential Reference Volume For Researchers And Scholars In The Fields Of Cultural And Media Studies, Communication, Cultural Geography And The Sociology Of Culture. Introduction -- Re-defining The Fan. Returning To 'becoming-a-fan' Stories : Theorising Transformational Objects And The Emergence/extension Of Fandom / Matt Hills ; Populating The Universe : Toy Collecting And Adult Lives / Kristen N. Bryant, Denicse D. Bielby, And C. Lee Harrington ; Much Ado About Keanu Reeves : The Drama Of Ageing In Online Fandom / Shenja Van Der Graaf ; Music For (something Other Than) Pleasure : Anti-fans And The Other Side Of Popular Music Appeal / Liz Giuffre ; A Severe Case Of Disliking Bimbo Heidi, Scumbag Jesse And Bastard Tiger : Analysing Celebrities' Online Anti-fans / Nathalie Claessens And Hilde Van Den Bulck ; Fandom As Survival In Media Life / The Janissary Collective ; From Interpretive Communities To Interpretative Fairs : Ordinary Fandom, Textual Selection And Digital Media / Cornel Sandvoss And Laura Kearns --^ Fans And Producers. Fan/celebrity Interactions And Social Media : Connectivity And Engagement In Lady Gaga Fandom / Lucy Bennett ; Fans Of Folklore Performances : Identifying A New Relationship Between Communication And Marketing / Angela Chang ; Investors And Patrons, Gatekeepers And Social Capital : Representations And Experiences Of Fans' Participation In Fan Funding / Francesco D'amato ; Music Fans As Mediators In The Age Of Digital Reproduction / Arturo Arriagada And Victor Cruz ; Celebrity : The Return Of The Repressed In Fan Studies? / Mark Duffett ; Fans Who Cut Their Soaps Queer : A Queer Theoretical Study Into Online Fandom Of Gay Television Representation / Frederik Dhaenens And Sofie Van Bauwel --^ Localities Of Fandom. Transnational Cultural Fandom / Hye-kyung Lee ; Retreating Behind The Scenes : The 'less'-civilising Impact Of Virtual Spaces On The Irish Heavy Metal Scene / Gary Sinclair ; Kvt-er Than Thou' : Power, Suspicion An Nostalgia Within The Black Metal Fandom / Ross Hagen ; A Decade In The Life Of Online Fan Communities / Ruth A. Deller ; Placing Fan Cultures : Xenites In The Transnational Spaces Of Fandom / Kaarina Nikunen ; Emobodied Fantasy : The Affective Space Of Anime Conventions / Nicolle Lamerichs ; Watching Football In The Fan Park : Mediatization, Spectatorship And Fan Identity / Karin Becker, Robert Kautsky And Andreas Widholm ; 'we're Not Racist, We Only Hate Mancs' : Post-subculture And Football Fandom / Steve Redhead Edited By Linda Duits, Koos Zwaan, Stijn Reijnders. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 Acknowledgements 12 Introduction 14 Part I Re-defining the Fan 20 1 Returning to ‘Becoming-a-Fan’ Stories: Theorising Transformational Objects and the Emergence/Extension of Fandom 22 2 Populating the Universe: Toy Collecting and Adult Lives 36 3 Much Ado about Keanu Reeves: The Drama of Ageing in Online Fandom 48 4 Music for (Something Other than) Pleasure: Anti-fans and the Other Side of Popular Music Appeal 62 5 A Severe Case of Disliking Bimbo Heidi, Scumbag Jesse and Bastard Tiger: Analysing Celebrities’ Online Anti-fans 76 6 Fandom as Survival in Media Life 90 7 From Interpretive Communities to Interpretative Fairs: Ordinary Fandom, Textual Selection and Digital Media 104 Part II Fans and Producers 120 8 Fan/Celebrity Interactions and Social Media: Connectivity and Engagement in Lady Gaga Fandom 122 9 Fans of Folklore Performances: Identifying a New Relationship Between Communication and Marketing 134 10 Investors and Patrons, Gatekeepers and Social Capital 148 11 Music Fans as Mediators in the Age of Digital Reproduction 162 12 Celebrity: The Return of the Repressed in Fan Studies? 176 13 Fans Who Cut Their Soaps Queer: A Queer Theoretical Study into Online Fandom of Gay Television Representation 194 Part III Localities of Fandom 206 14 Transnational Cultural Fandom 208 15 Retreating Behind the Scenes: The ‘Less’-Civilizing Impact of Virtual Spaces on the Irish Heavy Metal Scene 222 16 ‘Kvlt-er than Thou’: Power, Suspicion and Nostalgia within Black Metal Fandom 236 17 A Decade in the Life of Online Fan Communities 250 18 Placing Fan Cultures: Xenites in the Transnational Spaces of Fandom 262 19 Embodied Fantasy: The Affective Space of Anime Conventions 276 20 Watching Football in the Fan Park: Mediatization, Spectatorship and Fan Identity 288 21 ‘We’re Not Racist, We Only Hate Mancs’: Post-Subculture and Football Fandom 302 Index 316