Hello there! Congratulations on your thesis!!! I've got it queued to read it soon! I have a question for you. I've been recently accepted into a US university for my master's in literature for this fall, and I will have to write a thesis by the end of my two years. I have a strong interest in fandom and am toying with the idea of using one of my favorites as my primary text. However, I did something similar for a paper in my undergraduate degree. (1 of 2 parts.)
Using a text I loved actually kinda damaged my enjoyment of the material for some time after. Did this occur for you? Or did it make you fall deeper in love with the primary text? (2 of 2)
Congratulations on being accepted on a masters program! I’m sure you’ll be amazing.
This is an interesting question! I do still love Sherlock. But I suppose when I started writing this I didn’t really love Sherlock. It was after series 4, and I was just really angry. The anger turned into, well, 10,000 words! It was quite cathartic, writing out my anger. I felt I was doing my bit to right a wrong, and that was a strong motivator. I’d definitely reccomend having a greater purpose in your writing than just as an academic exercise.
Another important factor was that I didn’t analyse the show itself very much. Of course, in my research, I watched it, but I mainly analysed the culture around the show - other adaptations, the Sherlock Holmes fandom history, other queerbaiting examples, etc. This just grew my respect for the fandom so much, and validated my experience as a fan. I think if you looked at it more in terms of literary analysis you could get more sick of it. Then it comes down to if it’s worth that sacrifice for having a personal passion for what you’re writing about. I’m a believer that if you’re writing about something important to you, it spurs you on ❤️
Please let me know how it goes!
