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?

Fans do more than just like or even love a particular media text, ‘true fans’ have a devotion that goes beyond simply consuming media texts, and is, as Matt Hills argues, part of a person’s identity in much the same way as gender, class and age define who we are.

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

• hardcore fan
• newbie
• anti-fan

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?

It is a passion for something that brings groups of people together who all share the same passion. 

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

Th cultural capitol gives a fan a sense of symbolic power amongst other fans in the fandom. Any merch they own or how much knowledge they have about the thing they are fans of proves how big of a fan they are and therefore makes them a 'true' fan.

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?

The Vampire Diaries

Family Guy

The lord of the rings 

Harry Potter

Sherlock Holmes

Liverpool

Apple

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

It distinguishes the fan from any other consumers online. They produce content not for any money but just to show how much of a dedicated true fan they are.

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?

Services have transformed the difference between producers and consumers, you can connect with others, express yourself or expand your own horizons.

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!)

"In the age of the internet, no one is a passive consumer anymore because everyone is a media outlet."

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

• Loyals
• Prosumers
• Media-actives
• Inspirational Consumers
• Influencers
• Connectors

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

Anderson argues that investing in niche properties with small but committed consumer bases may make economic sense if you can lower costs of production and replace marketing costs by building a much stronger network with your desired consumers.

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

the video iPod as a distribution channel for media content and as people begin to talk about something fans have been promoting at least since the 1980s—subscription-based models for supporting the production and distribution of cult television series.

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’.

The media landscape will be reshaped by the bottom-up energy of media created by amateurs and hobbyists as a matter of course. I agree because it is no longer professionals who can create a media product with an intentional approach but the audience can choose what they see it as based on their own conceptual map. They also are able influence what professionals produce based on their opinions and what they share.

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

fans rather than traditionally people who spent all their time just consuming media.

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

Fandom is no longer niche but how the media will operate going forwards an d who they will target, the community and active participation in media is becoming mainstream.

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

The fans could be exploited and be seen as ways to make money rather than people . If the industries try to copy what they fans are doing it no longer becomes a fandom and gets rid of what the community was built around.

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 definitely be more mainstream, certain fandoms are already seen as mainstream. I think that people want fandoms to remain niche as it gives them a sense of feeling special and they often pride themselves on how niche there interests are. I also think that the levels in fandoms will always remain with most people being fans but the niche part of it will always remain with the hardcore fans.