#255fandom

In 2015, fan artist Zamii070 was posting art on Tumblr for fandoms like My Little Pony and Steven Universe. They posted some art that made the plus-size character Rose Quartz skinny and art that portrayed Fluttershy as a Native American, among other things. What followed was months of intense and persistent harassment across Tumblr from fans attacking them for their artistic interpretations, escalating into a total character assassination until the artist attempted suicide.

This situation's stakeholders included the artist, Zamii070, the fans harassing them, and the show's creators such as Rebecca Sugar, who got involved at one point to denounce the harassers. This controversy also involved many ethical concerns, including policing art, harassing individuals, organized and relentless social media threats and mockery, character assassination to the point of attempted suicide, and the misuse of labels like racist, ableist, pedophile, etc.

Reading this situation through a Rights Lens, the harassing fans infringed on an individual's right to make art and interpret a show's art style to their personal art style. The harassing fans claimed the artist didn't have the right to use their art as personal expression rather than exact duplication of the show's art style.

Reading through a Justice Lens, this whole situation was a gross miscarriage of justice. The fans believed they were carrying out their own justice online by calling the artist out for their problematic portrayals and giving Zamii070 fair treatment by forcing them to face the consequences of their actions. However, these fans took their so-called justice much too far, and instead completely destroyed the individual.

Read through a Utilitarian Lens, the fans were not thinking about the risk to the individual's mental health or physical safety by threatening them so much. They did not think about the consequences of their own actions in their attempt to prove they had the moral high ground—instead, they just dogpiled on this artist, joining in a mob mentality to hurt them.

I'm a fan of a lot of things, but one of the fandoms most integral to my identity and which I've spent possibly the most time engaging with is WandaVision. WandaVision is a nine-episode limited series that released weekly episodes on DisneyPlus beginning on January 15, 2021. The plot of the show surrounds super-powered Avengers Wanda and Vision living idealized suburban lives together, but they quickly begin to realize that not everything is as it seems. This show and this fandom have influenced me so much. I wear clothes and accessorize in ways that convey my pride in being a WandaVision fan, and I'm always hoping to find other fans that way so we can geek out together. Half of my wardrobe are Marvel graphic tees, but I have four shirts alone dedicated to WandaVision. I've also collected accessories and Funko Pops!

Some of my Wanda and Vision merch!

As a fan of WandaVision, I went back and watched the show multiple times to analyze subtext, find easter eggs, etc. I am a very analytical person, I was already a Marvel fan, and Wanda and Vision had been two of my favorite MCU characters for a long time, so this show seemed made specifically for me. WandaVision was uniquely suited to rewatching because the plot was a mystery. The audience doesn’t know how Wanda ended up in what is revealed as the hex, and we also don’t know how Vision is alive either—in his last appearance, he died (technically twice). So, each episode hints at the answer to the mystery and the other forces at work that Wanda comes into conflict with. That’s one of my favorite elements of all Marvel content—they’re built for Marvel fans looking for easter eggs referencing the comics or foreshadowing future projects.

I was heavily involved in the online fandom community for WandaVision, but mostly as an observer. I didn’t write any fanfiction or make analysis videos of my own. That’s how I interact across all my fandoms, no matter how engaged I am with the content, simply because I’m nervous to ever say anything online since it’s permanent. I was afraid to get hate or regret what I’d put out there. I watched many YouTube analysis videos and TikTok fan commentary videos. If I ever had anything to say, I would make little notes to myself. Something about revealing myself online in any capacity is scary, even if I had the mask of anonymity. So, this textpost with my own name on it is a big step out of my comfort zone, but I'm excited to finally share my thoughts with others.

On social media, I followed the actors. I also looked into the directors and writers behind the show, since I’d like to work as a screenwriter one day and admired the way they wrote the show. In addition, I followed content creators who primarily analyzed the show. Two Youtube creators that I was already following—New Rockstars and Beyond the Trailer—I returned to religiously every week to watch their analyses and reviews of the show as it dropped weekly episodes. I planned certain days around watching the show; I created a ritual of watching new episodes at night after dinner, then watching fan commentary immediately afterward. I can’t say I’ve been that dedicated with other shows simply because I wasn’t as passionate about the characters—I'd already been emotionally attached to Wanda and Vision for years.

Jensen states that fandom is often characterized as an “obsessive loner” or the “hysterical crowd,” creating, “a thin line between ‘normal’ and ‘excessive’ fandom,” (qtd. in Malone). WandaVision may have that distinction between normal and excessive, but I would argue that for most viewers it was excessive. And that excess became the new normal. This new excess as normality became the standard for much media, like WandaVision, released during the pandemic—a time when most people didn’t have much to do, were stuck inside, and were experiencing much emotional turmoil. Thus, they turned to newly available streaming services for entertainment and escape. The conditions around WandaVision’s release made it perfectly suited for excessive fandom: it was the first Marvel DisneyPlus show, so it received extra promotion, which built excitement among the already strong Marvel fanbase; episodes dropped weekly, giving fans time to discuss and build more anticipation week-to-week; and TikTok was becoming popular in the U.S., so people anywhere and everywhere with access to the app could talk about it.

According to Nielsen ratings, in its first week, with just two episodes, WandaVision was number 6 in the top 10 most watched original shows (Spangler). I would argue that pandemic-era shows like WandaVision pushed the line between “normal” and “excessive” fandom more toward the excessive side, raising average fan engagement levels. Excessive fan engagement became more normalized and remains that way thanks to how active and accessible fan spaces on TikTok, Tumblr, Reddit, and Twitter are.

As for myself, I’d say I've always been an intense fan of whatever I get into because I’m a naturally obsessive person. It’s hard for me to be a “normal” fan of media I consume unless I can't emotionally connect with the characters. However, I would say that WandaVision pushed my threshold more, and I became invested in it more than I had in possibly any other fandom before. 

I became so invested in WandaVision because of my circumstances at the time. The show, like many other fandoms, compensated me psychologically. The times in my life when I have felt the loneliest are when I’ve become the most obsessed with my fandoms. When I got into WandaVision, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic when everything was shut down, and I was stuck in the house all the time. On top of that, my dad was going through chemotherapy at the same time. I was already a fan of many things, but the fandoms I got involved with during this period were at a heightened level I’d never experienced before, and I don’t think I’ve experienced since.

My WandaVision (and other fandoms) themed homescreen

WandaVision gave me something to look forward to every week when everything else in life seemed like shit. I needed an escape, and I love to analyze shows, so WandaVision became my life. I thought about it all the time, I bought a ton of merch, and after the show ended, that summer I made all my devices WandaVision-themed and even taught myself how to code to program my phone so that when I plugged and unplugged it from the charger, Vision’s voice greeted me (I have since forgotten how to code, unfortunately). I developed a kind of parasocial relationship with Wanda and Vision—I was devoted to their love story in the show, which was bolstered by my years shipping them since their first MCU appearances in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Their relationship in the show gave me intimacy that I was lacking at the time. I lived vicariously through the two characters since they had such a positive relationship.

Wanda was experiencing so many mixed emotions around the same time I was, and in the penultimate episode when she realizes her happy family life is entirely a fantasy—that her children don’t exist and the love of her life has been dead all along—she breaks down, and so did I when I watched it the first time. Wanda releases all of her emotions in this blast of energy, and breaking down with her was a cathartic experience for me because I had much tension in my own life. Plus, I missed Vision—he's been my comfort character for years. It felt like I was losing a friend who’s been with me since 2015. As a result, WandaVision was psychologically compensating for me in a liberating, positive way. The show gave me an emotional outlet when I lacked one. It came at such a tumultuous time in my life, and I became so deeply entrenched in the show and in the discourse surrounding it at the time that it became a part of my identity. I can't imagine how I would've gotten through the loneliness and lethargy during the pandemic without the intimacy from my attachment to the characters and the online community of WandaVision fans that I became a part of.

I miss them :')

Works Cited:

Malone, Lauren. "Fan Autoethnography." Canvas, https://utampa.instructure.com/courses/15499/assignments/43917?module_item_id=287377.

Spangler, Todd. "‘WandaVision’ Breaks Into Nielsen Top 10 Streaming Rankings." Variety, https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/wandavision-nielsen-ratings-top-10-streaming-1234907166/.

The attachment of my feelings towards certain characters has shown me that even though other people may not understand your struggles. You have to find a way through them or you just keep struggling. I think it shaped me to be stronger about myself and give grace to certain struggles.

On Instagram, I follow most of the cast of The Sopranos. I do this because I like to see what the cast is up to nowadays. Some of them even have their podcasts and promote that which I think is cool. To be able to read the comment section under certain posts and see the fans collaborate or leave a comment that’s positive towards maybe their favorite characters is fun for me.

I do not wear any merchandise. I have many times come very close to buying either a shirt or a sweatshirt. I do have a poster in my room that has Tony and his crew on which obviously unless you come into my room you see it. But for me, the poster is for my enjoyment when I come to my room to look at it. Online people have made a lot of funny and cool shirts. They get very creative either based on certain characters or episodes.

I would say I follow a lot of Instagram fan pages where they make memes or make edits of scenes. Tik Tok is where I also follow many fan pages who make very cool edits of the characters. Which for me gets me excited and like if its my favorite character its super cool to see them hyped up. Again reading comments of fans engaging with the memes or edits I can relate to what they have to say.

I believe that my fandom has not constructed an us vs them viewpoint personally. There are many different aspects to The Sopranos and I do not think that has created a divide.  During the show, they spoke on a lot of topics that I feel during that time were not normally talked about. Mental health, homosexuality, racism, and so on. I think that if you put on a TV show that talks about non-normal topics and makes them seem normal then mainstream media will start to talk about it too. Just as the fans watch and come to understand as well. It gets people to bring up the topics and talk about them.

I know for myself and the other people I know who have watched the show we sometimes will mock the language. The Italian American language is what I would call it. Not just in Sopranos but in other Italian American shows the langue matches up perfectly. Certain shows or reality TV even have the same vocabulary which I find very interesting. I think the langue is easy to bleed into your own life especially if your friends understand or watch the show as well.

Reflection

To start off, the two fandoms I'm going to be talking in depth today are Batman and Harry Potter. I'm choosing these two because Harry Potter has been a fandom that I've been apart of for many years and I've been deeply involved in the community and Batman is a fandom that I've been shallowly apart of for years but have obsessively fallen into lately and reflects a recent desire to analyze media that I engage with.

I own a few pieces of fan merch, mostly Harry Potter or MCU. I have official HP merch from Universal like a Deathly Hallows crop top and a Slytherin pendant necklace and scrunchie. I also have non-official merch like a tumbler with HP plants or various MCU stickers that I got from my friend's business. I don't own anything Batman related.

Recently, I have gotten into analyzing the movies/TV shows that I watch and while I don't go back and rewatch them, I do look them up online to see the cinematography choices, themes, and other relevant information which I've done with various Batman media. I've also just deep-dived into how Batman has been portrayed in animated movies, TV shows, and live actions like the Burton movies, Nolan, and latest R-Pat revival because it's an interest of mine.

I've definitely been involved in fandom communities. I engage with fanfiction for both communities respectively, right now Batman but I have engaged with Harry Potter fanfic in the past and probably will again in the future. I've also created fanworks - like, really long fanfictions for Harry Potter and other fandoms, including Batman - and in doing that I've engaged in discussions with other people in those fandoms. I've also been apart of groupchats with people and started friendships online over mutual interests.

I've definitely followed actors from media that I engaged with in the past, but I no longer do that because I don't want to follow celebrities. I fan a finsta for my fanfic writing and all I follow are other fandom members on there.

I've only engaged with rewatch podcasts slightly. My only experience was watching the pilot episode of the Lost Girl rewatch podcast because they just aren't what I enjoy. I'd rather just listen to music. I'm much more interested in watching videos about fandom on YouTube, whether it be discussing the media itself or the fandom. It doesn't matter if I'm apart of the fandom the video is about, I just like learning about fandom so I'm inclined to watch the video if I like the creator, like Strange Aeons.

Analysis

I do think there is an "us" vs. "them" binary because of the way fans are viewed but those who don't see themselves as participating in a fandom. I also see it in myself when discussing fandoms that I'm not apart of because I'm an outsider of a community. In my fandoms, I'm an insider. For Harry Potter, I think I'm expert who is accomplished and has spent several years writing and has a good amount of followers. For Batman, I think I'm newer and still learning about the media so that I can feel like an expert. But for mainstream, I think bleeding feels uncomfortable, because for me growing up there was such strict separation to where now when I try to blend the lines I feel such push back internally because of the many years I tried to repress this part of myself.

I think anonymity affects online fandoms by making people feel more comfortable. When I was younger and making my way into fandom, if I had to use my legal name and add a picture, I would've run the other way, but instead I had the freedom to choose a name that I liked more than my legal one and the ability to be whoever I wanted. My pseudonym allowed me to write what I wanted and gain control over my thoughts and feelings and in turn meet people online that I never would've had the chance to in real life. Anonymity makes people feel free, which is good, but I do see the downsides because I saw firsthand the bullying that comes when people don't see the repercussions for their actions. When I was creating my podcast, it helped me because I already had the experience of existing in a fandom space and knowing about Harry Potter and the queer community but also felt the freedom of speaking into my phone mic under the guise of not giving my name.

I think fandom has acted as both a site for me to built autonomy and intimacy but I did use it for psychological compensation. I went looking for something when I went online; I wanted to engage more with a media I loved, and then I wanted to continue the story. I did have a parasocial relationship - or perhaps a hyperfixation on certain medias - where I just need to cling onto a media and continue the story either through reading about it continuously or writing about it. However, through fandom I also found community and people. People I could talk to about my day, people who gave me advice, people who become my friends. I also became more confident in my writing and my abilities in simple graphic design, the latter which I wouldn't have engaged with if I hadn't been apart of fandom.

Deck Breakdown: Number cards - Each number card corresponds to a character and their position of importance on either Team Black or Team Green. Team Black is Odds, Team Green is Evens. 0 is an honorary "even" and given to Aegon II, as his existence is responsible for the Dance of The Dragons, so he sits as the metaphorical "first" card of the game. Skip Cards - Skip cards are King Viserys because he never wanted to make decisions or let other people speak. Reverse Cards - Aemma Arryn and Laena Velaryon, two characters who were important to the story but died before choosing a "team", just as UNO Reverse cards are not necessarily beneficial to the player but not usually harmful Wild/Color Change Cards - The Iron Throne, what everyone is fighting for and the true "game changer" Draw 2 Cards - The younger dragons, Syrax, Sunfyre, Vermax, and Arrax Draw 4 Cards - The older dragons, Vhagar, Caraxes, Meleys, and Dreamfyre Deck Mockup: