Capstone assignment( Admin2390- Capstone Experience for APT

Social Awareness in Fan Communities

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Abstract

Media fan communities based around a shared interest in a media text such as a television show, film, or even video game frequently initiate a broad range of fan-driven charity efforts. The traditional stereotype of the fan as a passive viewer and social outcast fails to take into account the many ways in which fans actively engage with media texts. By forming communities, fans not only come together to discuss their favorite films, books, and television shows, they also provide support for one another and strive to make a difference in society at large. Many fans have been inspired by a media text’s themes or messages to form campaigns and charities for various cases.

This paper examines several instances in which fans have come together to fight for a cause and contribute to a charity. The paper concludes that contrary to popular belief, fans are not socially isolated or out of touch with reality, and in fact are using their interests to make a real difference in the society in which they live.

Fan communities exist both online and offline to bring like-minded people together. Fan communities allow members space (whether physical or virtual) to discuss their favorite media texts and to participate in a wide variety of fan activities. These communities can also serve as complex social networks that allow fans to seek support and form close-knit bonds with fellow fans. These relationships can transcend the show, movie, or event that initially brought them together. As in traditional communities, fans will often overcome their differences and unite when threatened by an outside force or when there is an opportunity to make a difference in the “real” world. Fan-organized charity campaigns and events have become increasingly common, yet they have received little academic attention so far. The concept of the ‘active fan’ has gained widespread recognition, but studies of fan action and participation usually concentrate on the ways in which fans interpret and reinvent media texts, particularly through fan fiction writing. Fan interpretation is undoubtedly important to an understanding of fan cultures, but it can be taken further and applied to fan charities. With reference to theories of fan communities and fan productivity, I will argue that the stereotype of the isolated fan out of touch with society can be further discredited by taking into account the ways in which fan communities enable fans to take action both within their fandom and in society at large.

A common stereotype of fans is that they are passively enslaved to an escapist fantasy, have lost their sense of reality, and are social outcasts who are unable to function normally in society. This stereotype has been challenged in fan studies, with theorists such as Joseph Donnelly (2001) and Gary Inglewood (2005) reformulating the fan as an active participant who interprets a media text to suit his or her desires and social values, and as a member of a wider community that creates an alternative social network (Ogilvie, 2010, p. 28). According to Robert Janzen, media use is “an occasion for learning social mores while also providing a means to participate in the wider society”. This function of media text is demonstrated by the formation of fan communities. By coming together in communities, fans are not just sharing their ‘geeky’ enjoyment of a television show or a movie, nor are they participating in a socially isolating activity when they discuss their interests online. In their study of The Bronze, an online community of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB, 1997-2001; UPN 2001-2003) fans Gates and Ogilvie found that the “site was a place for much more than fan interaction” (p. 28). Although fans came to The Bronze because of their interest in Buffy, they ultimately stayed for “the relationships developed over a year-long period” (p. 28) and increasingly the site became more about the community and the people in it than the show itself. Their study indicates the strength of the social bonds, as community members frequently came together to support each other, and they note that the community members “came together online in a way that actually strengthened their offline social skills”. Fan communities, both online and offline, in fact have much in common with ‘traditional’ communities: a sense of belonging, a support system, and a social network of people ranging from close friends to sworn enemies.

Fan communities can be very fragmented and there tends to be a lot of drama and arguing in fandom as a whole; however, in certain situations fans will overcome their differences and unite. This can happen on a small scale within a particular established community, as in the case of The Bronze where the members were generally close already and therefore primed to provide support. On a larger scale, an entire fandom may unite, and sometimes even many different fandoms will come together. This often happens when a fandom is threatened. One of the most common threats to television fandoms is the cancellation of a favorite show. Cancellation affects all fans of the program, and as such many of them will come together to fight for their show – sometimes successfully, usually not. For example, the cancellation of the cult hit Farscape (SciFi, 1999-2003) resulted in a massive letter-writing and advertising campaign by fans, which eventually led to a concluding mini-series being produced. While an argument could perhaps be made that fans are serving no truly useful cause by fighting for a television show, these campaigns are significant for a number of reasons. First, as stated above, they position the fans as active and discerning consumers who are specifically concerned with reviving a certain show which they hold in high esteem for its intrinsic qualities rather than because of blind devotion. Campaigning for a favorite television show may seem irrelevant to non-fans (the ‘it’s just a TV show, why do you care so much?’ argument), but by doing so, the fans are actively involving themselves in the production of the show and expressing their desire to see quality (in their eyes, at least) programming continue on television. Second, these campaigns are increasingly doubling as a means for doing charity work. When Angel (WB, 1999-2004) was cancelled abruptly, fans predictably hastened to write letters and donate money for advertising of the show. What was interesting and notable about the save Angel campaigns was that fans donated money not just for the show, but also for charity. In March 2004, the Save Angel campaign[footnoteRef:1] organized a blood drive in the name of Angel, and in May 2004, the Saving Angel campaign[footnoteRef:2] donated $13,000 to the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross). Although they were trying to save their favorite show, the fans also wanted to help those in need by donating their money and blood. The campaigns may have failed to resurrect the show, but no fan could consider them unsuccessful given the contribution they made to society. [1: http://www.saveangel.org] [2: http://www.savingangel.org ]

Fan charity campaigns, such as Save Angel and Saving Angel, bring some new dimensions to established fan culture studies. Fan culture theorists have suggested that fans engage with the social issues within media texts, and “[Iris] Barton notes that fan activity often enables social behavior that leads to political and social action” (Ng, 2011). Fan activity, especially the writing of fan fiction, can be used by fans to express their own social values and beliefs in relation to the media text. Furthermore, Gary Inglewood argues that fandom can be seen as “a form of cultural creativity” that allows fans to “interact with (and across) the boundaries between ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’”. Inglewood also states that fans do not use media texts as escapism but as a way to actively engage with the real social issues within the texts. This argument is particularly useful in regards to fantasy and science fiction television, which is popularly thought of as pure escapism. Davida Warren argues that fantasy television “promotes an engagement with cultural notions of what is perceived as reality” (p. 7).

For many theorists, then, media is seen as a means through which fans can actively deal with social issues in the real world by engaging with and reinterpreting a text. Fan charity is noteworthy because it takes this engagement a step farther. In fact, the proliferation of fan charities suggests that fans are in fact taking that next step. Having considered, discussed, and perhaps reinterpreted the issues being put forth in a media text, fans are now trying to go out and do something about them. Warren’s argument that fantasy texts allow fans to engage with social issues is particularly noteworthy, considering that many fantasy-based fandoms have been heavily involved in charity works. Ng makes a brief reference to fan charities in the Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001) fandom: “Xena fans use the Web to move beyond talking about a favored television program to putting ideals espoused by the program into practice” (Ng, 2011, p. 60). Fan charities are often related to the issues raised in a certain text. For example, writer Joss Whedon is well known for his belief in gender equality and his portrayal of strong female characters in his three television series (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly). When Firefly/Serenity fans decided to start a series of charity screenings of Serenity in 2006, Equality Now was a logical choice. Fans of Firefly (many of whom also admire Whedon’s other work) were inspired by Whedon’s portrayal of gender equality and therefore sought to do something about real gender inequalities in the world. Since 2006, these screenings have raised several hundred[footnoteRef:3] thousand dollars for Equality Now. Another example can be seen in the Harry Potter fandom (more a literary than a media fandom, but the same ideas still apply given the huge online fanbase). In 2002, The Leaky Cauldron[footnoteRef:4], a well-known Harry Potter news website, organized the first “Get a Clue” fundraiser which raised $24,000 USD for Book-Aid International. In subsequent years, they have organized several more fundraisers and to date have raised more than $35,000 USD for Book-Aid.[footnoteRef:5] These fundraisers again indicate how fans put their fannish interests into action. The Harry Potter novels are well known for their effect on youth literacy[footnoteRef:6], and many fans consider literacy to be an important issue. These fundraisers therefore allowed fans to put their beliefs to good work by donating money to promote literacy across the world. [3: http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com] [4: http://www.leakynews.com] [5: http://www.leakynews.com/#static:charity] [6: In July 2006, the Kids and Family Reading Report (in conjunction with Scholastic) published the following evidence: 51% of Harry Potter readers ages 5-17 years old say they did not read books for fun before they started reading the series. 65% say they have been doing better in school since reading Harry Potter and 76% of parents agree. (http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/news/readingreport.htm)]

It is important to note briefly that fan charity is not necessarily tied to a single fandom, nor does it always arise from fan engagement with a text’s issues. In recent years, Livejournal communities such as fandom_charity[footnoteRef:7] and blood_for_fic[footnoteRef:8] have emerged in response to disasters such as the tsunami in South Asia in December 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in September 2005. The fandom_charity community has since branched out from its initial purpose as a tsunami relief fund and now provides fans a method to contribute to any charity of their choice. These communities allow fans to request fan fiction or fanart in return for a charity donation. This gives fans a fandom-related reason to donate: people often say that they should give to charity but never get around to it, and these communities give them inspiration to finally do so. They also provide fans who cannot afford to donate a way to help out by writing fan fiction in exchange for someone else donating. [7: http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_charity/] [8: http://community.livejournal.com/blood_for_fic/]

Fan communities provide fans with a space to come together and interact with the outside world in a way that counteracts the common stereotypes of fans. By coming together to help each other out and take action in various ways, fans experience a sense of pride in their community. Fans are not in any way isolated from the social world or out of touch with reality. Through their fandom, fans can make a difference, whether it be on a small scale (helping out a fellow fan) or a large one (helping to end inequalities and injustices in the world).

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